French language teaching resources

Curriculum Laboratory

French Language Resources

For further assistance in using any of the resources in the Lab, please ask at the Curriculum Lab Information Services Desk

Define your topic, and check basic sources.
Teaching and studying the French language in Alberta schools occurs in three ways:

as French as a Second Language (FSL) -- a program where French is taught as a subject in a regular English language school, for about 25-40 minutes a day. Students study French as a second language "to learn to communicate in a variety of school, travel, leisure and job-related contexts." There are three stages of second language development: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced. Teaching of French as a second language can begin at any time from kindergarten to grade 10.

as French Immersion (Imm.) -- "a program in which French is the language of instruction for a significant part of the school day." It is designed for students whose first language is not French. Objectives are "full mastery of the English language, functional fluency in French, as well as an understanding and appreciation of the French culture." French Immersion usually begins in kindergarten or grade 1 (early immersion), or in grade 7 (late immersion).

as French Francophone (Fr.) -- "the provincial program taught in French for Francophone students (children who have at least one Francophone parent)." Objectives are "full mastery of French as a mother tongue, full fluency in English, and a sense of identity with and belonging to the French community." French Francophone usually begins in kindergarten or grade 1.

Get relevant Alberta curriculum publications.

French as a second language is covered in Alberta Education's curriculum publications in these places:

Elementary, Junior High and Senior High Schools general Program of Studies under Second Languages -- covers what must be taught in Alberta schools.

There are individual Program of Studies in both English and French for each of the 3 stages of competency:

French as a second language : program of studies, beginning level (1991) "375 French FSL Alta. Gr.EC-12"
Francais langue seconde programme d'etudes : niveau debutant : de le maternelle a la 12e annee (1991) "375 French FSL Alta. Gr.EC-12"
French as a second language : program of studies, intermediate level, year 4 to year 12 (1992) "375 French FSL Alta. Gr.4-12"
Francais langue seconde programme d'etudes : niveau intermediaire : de la 4e a la 12e annee (1992) "375 French FSL Alta. Gr.4-12"
French as a second language : program of studies, advanced levels (1992) "375 French FSL Alta. Gr.10-12"
Francais langue seconde programme d'etudes : niveau advances, French 31a, 31b, 31c : de la 10e a la 12e annee (1993) "375 French FSL Alta. Gr.10-12"

There are two teacher resource manuals (one in English and one in French) for teaching French as a second language, which describes the 4 major components, some teaching methodologies, strategies and activities, as well as lesson and unit planning:

French as a second language : teacher's resource manual (1991) "375 French FSL Alta. Gr.EC-12"
Francais langue seconde : guide d'enseignement : de la maternelle a la 12e annee (1992) "375 French FSL Alta. Gr.EC-12".

French Immersion is covered in Alberta Education's curriculum publications in these places:

The general Program of studies are available in French, and varies in content from the English version mostly in Social Studies and Language Arts. They are shelved just after the English versions of the general Program of Studies. They are:

Programme d'etudes : elementaire (1994) "375 General Alta. Gr.1-6"
Programme d'etudes : secondaire -- premier cycle (1994) "375 General Alta. Gr.7-9"
Programme d'etudes : secondaire -- deuxieme cycle "375 General Alta. Gr.10-12"

For Language Arts in French Immersion, the following guide is available:

French language arts : programme d'etudes de francais langue seconde, immersion, (M-12) (1998) "375 French Imm. Alta. Gr.EC-12"

French Francophone is covered in Alberta Education's curriculum publications in these places:

The general Program of studies are available in French, and varies in content from the English version mostly in Social Studies and Language Arts. They are shelved just after the English versions of the general Program of Studies. They are:

Programme d'etudes : elementaire (1994) "375 General Alta. Gr.1-6"
Programme d'etudes : secondaire -- premier cycle (1994) "375 General Alta. Gr.7-9"
Programme d'etudes : secondaire -- deuxieme cycle "375 General Alta. Gr.10-12"

For Language Arts in French Francophone, the following guide is available: Francais : programme d'etudes de francais langue premiere, (M-12) (1998) "375 French Fr. Alta. Gr.EC-12"

Curriculum publications for subjects other than Language Arts (e.g. Social Studies, Science) for both French Immersion and French Francophone programs, are shelved with their English counterparts in the 375 area of the Curriculum Laboratory.

Current curriculum publications for each province can be found at each provinces' Education web site. Historical curriculum guides for French programs in other provinces and U.S. states are available in the Curriculum Laboratory microfiche collection.

Find basic and support resources recommended by Alberta Education. The LRC (Learning Resources Centre) Resources Catalogues lists those resources which are recommended by Alberta Education to support the teaching of the French Language. These LRC Resources Catalogues in both English and French are located at the Information Desk in Curriculum Laboratory or can be searched online at http://www.lrdc.edc.gov.ab.ca/scripts/cgiip.exe/resources/findares.htm

A listing of resources for French as a second language is found under the "Second Languages Resources (K-12)" section in the Elementary, Junior High and Senior High Resources Catalogues. The Curriculum Laboratory collection includes some of the basic French Language resources listed in the Resources Catalogues. Alberta Education also published two separate bibliographies for French as a second language

French as a second language : learning/teaching resources for the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels (elementary, junior high, senior high), "375 French FSL Alta. Gr.1-12" and
French as a second language : annotated bibliography of learning resources : beginning, intermediate and advanced levels (early childhood services - grade 12). 1995 Supplement "375 French FSL Alta. Gr.EC-12."

A listing of resources for French Immersion and French Francophone programs is found in the French Resources Catalogue titled "LRC Catalogue des Ressources", which lists resources for Kindergarten through Grade 12. The Curriulum Laboratory collection includes some of the basic resources used for teaching French Language Arts, and a few resources for teaching other subjects in French.

Search the Library Catalogue. For subject searches, start with "Subject Heading" (Library of Congress) Search, and browse the subject headings and "related subjects" which come up on the screen. Use these general subject headings or related subject links to get the best possible list of materials.

French language -- lists a wide variety of materials about the French language. This heading is quite broad and it would be more useful to use a more specific subject heading.
French language - Study and teaching -- is the term used for the study and teaching of the French language. This subject heading can then be further subdivided by Elementary, Primary, and Secondary. It includes materials for French Immersion, French Francophone and also French as a second language programs.
French language - Study and teaching as a second language -- is the term specifically used for materials for French as a second language.
French language - Study and teaching- Foreign speakers -- is a term used for materials for students whose first language is not French; in other words for materials for French as a second language.
Finding fiction materials in French: Using the Search by Subject feature on EUREKA! enter the subject French fiction. You will then see all the fiction books written in French which are in the University Library and Curriculum Laboratory collections.

For the best results, type in a specific subject heading like:

French language - Alphabet
French language - Bibliography
French language - Composition and exercises
French language - Computer-assisted instruction
French language - Conversation and phrase books
French language - Curriculum planning
French language - Dictionaries
French language - Grammar
French language - Lesson planning
French language - Orthography and spelling
French language - Readers
French language - Study and teaching - Audio-visual aids
French language - Syllabication
French language - Verb - Tables
French language - Vocabulary

For French as a second language, a sample of some resources that are recommended by Alberta Education are listed below:

Acti-vie 1, 2 and 3 -- kits for the beginning level (448.24 Act Gr.4-6)
Savoir faire : visages 1, 2, and 3 -- kits for the beginning level (448.24 Sav:A Gr.4-6)
French as a second language - beginning level 1 -- kits (448.24 Alb Gr.7-10) (IN PROCESS)
Savoir faire : passages 1 -- for the beginning level (448.24 Sav Gr.7-10)
Savoir faire : passages 2 -- for the intermediate level (448.24 Sav Gr.8-11)
Savoir faire : passages 3 -- for the intermediate level (448.24 Sav Gr.7-12)
Destinations 2 -- for the intermediate level (448.24 Des Gr.7-11)
Destinations 3 -- for the intermediate level (448.24 Des Gr.9-12)
Destinations 4 -- for the intermediate level (448.24 Des Gr.12)
Destinations 5 -- for the advanced level (448.24 Des Gr.12)

For French Immersion and French Francophone, here is a sample of some resources that were (but are not any more) recommended by Alberta Learning, and are in the Curriculum Laboratory:

Francais 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (448.2 Fra Gr.1 to 448.2 Fra Gr.5)
Portes ouvertes sur notre pays 1, 2, and 3 (448.2 Por Gr.4 to 448.2 Por Gr.6)
Bienvenue 1, 2, and 3 (448.2 Bie Gr.4 to 448.2 Bie Gr.6)
Textes et contextes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (448.2 Tex Gr.7-8 to 448.2 Tex Gr.11-12)
Reperes 4e and 5e (448.2 Rep Gr.9-10 to 448.2 Rep Gr.10-12)

The Curriculum Laboratory has a number of French items on curricular subjects other than French language. There are two ways to find these non-fiction items through the Library Catalogue.

Look under a specific subject heading (e.g. Canada - History) and then limit the results by the LANGUAGE of French.
Using the Search by Subject feature on the Library Catalogue, enter the subject French language - Non-fiction, and you will get a listing of all the non-fiction books written in French which are in the Curriculum Laboratory collection. This is a broad search for browsing, so you may want to use a more specific subject heading.

HINT: When you are searching for French titles in the Library Catalogue, remember to skip La, Le, Les, Un, or Une when it is at the beginning of the French title. Ignore these initial words and start your search with the next word. However, if the title of the French resource starts with the word A, type the word A TWICE into the Library Catalogue, followed by the rest of the title. (The computer has been programmed to ignore the A at the beginning of a title, because it is an insignificant article in English for filing purposes.)

If you are unhappy with the results of an author, title, or subject search, broaden your search using Keyword Search It searches the author, title, subject and notes fields of an item record. Some sample searches for this subject are listed below:

Videos showing French Language teaching can be found by searching: francais and programme and LIMIT by MATERIAL TYPE film/video. The result is "Programme de francais," a series of 6 videorecordings (448.2 Pro Gr.1-6).
Works about speaking French: francais and orale, and limit your search to the Curriculum Laboratory

Browse the shelves (If you only want to search for materials in the Curriculum Lab, click on the Limit this search button and then change the location from ANY to U of L-Curriculum Lab):

Curriculum Lab hints and helps: These are some of the sections of the collection where you will find French language arts materials:

440s -- French language

French Immersion, & Francophone

French as a second language

sound cassettes

French as a second language

840s -- French literature

French materials on many other curricular subjects are shelved with English materials on the same subjects. For example, French and English materials on Canadian history are both located in the 971 section of the Curriculum Laboratory.

Check the Education Indexes/Databases on the Library Home Page. For a more comprehensive list of journal indexes, you can select "Journal Indexes By Subject", and select "Humanities," and then select "Modern Languages."

For a list of general education journal indexes, which can be used to search for articles on teaching French, select "Education" under "Journal Indexes By Subject."

MLA International Bibliographyconsists of bibliographic records pertaining to literature, language, linguistics, and folklore from 1963 to the present. It provides access to scholarly research in over 4,000 journals, series, books, working papers, proceedings and bibliographies. e.g. "second language learning and french language", or "french language and immersion", or "french language and first language."

CBCA Fulltext Education provides access to the principal education literature published in Canada. e.g. "french second language," or "french immersion programs," or "french canadian culture" or "french language and francophone," or "french language and quebec."

CPI.Q (Canadian Periodicals Index) is a comprehensive list of Canadian and international journals, magazines, selected sections of the Globe and Mail, Canadian biographies, and other reference content, all with a Canadian focus. e.g. "education bilingual" or "francophone and french language," or "french as a second language."

Expanded Academic ASAP indexes multidisciplinary literature from Arts and Humanities, to Social Science, and Science and Technology. Because this database is multidisciplinary, you may want to add terms like "education" or "teaching" to French language terms. e.g. "french immersion" and "second language acquisition and french."
accesses the world's largest source of education information here. Some ED documents from 1996 on may be available in full-text from E*Subscribe . If possible, search by Major Descriptors using terms chosen from the ERIC Thesaurus. e.g. "French Canadians" or "immersion programs and french," or "second language learning and french," or "second language instruction and french."

Search the Internet:

ERIC Digests provide short reports which give you an overview of any educational topic. e.g. "immersion programs and french," or "first language and french."
Browse the Telus Learning site for ideas, links, and articles. See the "curricular resources" category, and then "French."
A number of lesson plans on this topic can be found on SchoolNet using the "language arts" area, and then on "first language French" or "English/French as a second language."
Search the Lesson Plans links under "Great Sites for Educators" on the Curriculum Laboratory Web Page.

Other Resources:

Make use of Inter-library loan.
The Lethbridge Public Library has a number of resources in French, both fiction and non-fiction, as well as some videos. Use the public library, or other libraries.

Prepared by: Margaret Rodermond, August 2002. Updated July 2005.

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