Monologues from the margins: Voices and experiences of racially minoritized French immersion students

This doctoral study investigated race and racism in French immersion (FI) programs in Ontario and Canada. Much research in the field of FI prioritizes efficacy of language learning and the studies that do consider equity speak to English language learners, immigrants, socioeconomic status, and special education needs. Meanwhile, racial identity is frequently overlooked entirely or simply not researched, despite long-standing evidence FI is dominated by White people. Despite the racial diversity of the French-speaking world, race has only recently started to be considered in FI. This study investigates racially minoritized students’ experiences in FI to find ways to improve their experiences.

This exploratory sequential mixed method study aimed to better understand how racially minoritized students experience FI. Stage 1 engaged racially minoritized FI student participants (n=3) in modified Playbuilding (Norris, 2016) to create autoethnographic counter-stories and monologues about their experiences in FI. Participants in Stage 1 also created a list of suggestions and needs to improve FI. Stage 2 of the study employed a qualitative and quantitative online questionnaire. FI Stakeholders across Ontario and Canada (n=39) read and watched the stories and monologues, then reacted to them via the online questionnaire. Stakeholders rated and expanded on the suggestions from Stage 1. Stage 3 included one follow-up interview with a participant from Stage 1.

Thematic analysis, critical discourse analysis, content analysis, and descriptive statistics revealed three major findings: 1) there was very little cultural learning—let alone racially and culturally diverse learning— in FI; 2) participants experienced racism in FI and FI teachers and administrators needed to address antiracism; 3) participants in Stage 1 were more concerned about improving their French proficiency than addressing racism. Disturbingly, some participants accepted racism as a foregone conclusion, but could not accept that their French had not improved in years. Findings reveal that there is a pressing need for diverse, culturally responsive and sustaining intercultural teaching in FI as well as training on anticolonial and antiracist pedagogy for teachers. Given the small participant size, this study serves as a launching point for future research into diverse intercultural teaching and learning, and antiracism in FI.