This year again, several dozen French-speaking teachers have chosen to leave their daily lives behind and settle in Louisiana to teach French, via a program sponsored by CODOFIL (Council for the Development of French in Louisiana). The programs followed in primary and secondary schools remain those of the Louisiana Department of Education and expatriates must deal with a program that is unfamiliar to them and constraints, such as for example the standardized tests that students must take from 3rd grade onwards. (the equivalent of CE2 in the French educational system).
“The welcome from Louisianans has been wonderful, whether from a professional or personal point of view,” rejoices Gwenaëlle Jaubert, who teaches French to 5th grade students at North Lewis Elementary School, New Iberia. “The history of Louisiana intertwines with that of France, it is an honor as a teacher to transmit these common values of Francophonie to the younger generation.” Matt Menez, another teacher at North Lewis, wanted to explore new horizons. “I am very attached to my native region (Brittany) but I wanted to discover new horizons. I learned of the existence of a French promotion program in Louisiana and decided to embark on the adventure.”
Gwenaëlle and Matt are part of the latest CODOFIL promotion, who arrived this summer. Although all of these expatriate teachers share a common language and history with Louisiana, they nevertheless have to adapt to a new culture, understand a new teaching system and adapt their methods and materials to the state’s educational program.
The system [is] perhaps too rigid and the thirty minutes allocated daily to the French language and culture are far too short to begin deeper educational projects.
“I admit I was disconcerted when I arrived (and I still am today!), but despite everything it was a very enriching experience,” admits Matt. Whether personal or professional, everyone around me was kind (…) and I am convinced that exchange between cultures is positive for everyone. » Gwenaëlle shares this feeling of ‘culture shock’, “both intense and nuanced.” On a professional level, she “regrets the lack of time and opportunities to address subjects outside the curriculum, the system [being] perhaps too rigid and the thirty minutes allocated daily to the French language and culture are far too short to begin deeper educational projects.”
Integrating a new educational system with a professional background to adjust, while respecting the structures in place and its limitations, is a daily challenge for the teachers who come to transmit their knowledge. A large number them, from elementary to high school, testify to their difficulties, and it clearly appears that the context is not favorable to the transmission of French.
Often, children only speak French at school; for some American parents, French is a sign of prestige that they desire for their children, but do not necessarily care about how the subject is taught and whether students actually succeed in practicing the language. In addition, some children in immersion already experience academic difficulties in their mother tongue, which can make French less of a priority and its learning even more complicated.
It is the translation of an American English curriculum which is not very good, which is overloaded and which, in fact, is not at all adapted to a level-based pedagogy. Which means that today’s immersion is an immersion where teachers are asked to be practically magicians, that is to say, to allow, through constant use of the language French in the class, to create this learning of the language.
The heart of the problem, as Olivier Châtelain de Pronville, a professor specializing in French studies who joined the French immersion program at North Lewis, explains, is a shaky immersion system that reveals a disparity between demands implemented and reality, and makes it increasingly difficult to maintain a wonderful initiative which, since the 1960s with the creation of CODOFIL, has allowed thousands of young people to keep part of their French roots. The latter has seen immersion lose speed over the last ten years.
Two reasons for this according to him: first, “the curriculum offered at the state level of Louisiana is a very heavy curriculum that teachers from France or French-speaking countries are asked to teach in schools. It is the translation of an American English curriculum which is not very good, which is overloaded and which, in fact, is not at all adapted to a level-based pedagogy. Which means that today’s immersion is an immersion where teachers are asked to be practically magicians, that is to say, to allow, through constant use of the language French in the class, to create this learning of the language.”
Second, the programs followed in primary and secondary education remain those of the Louisiana Department of Education and teachers have to deal with a program that is unfamiliar to them and constraints, such as for example the standardized tests that students must take starting in 3rd grade. So, in addition to a program whose operation is not adapted to reality, the teachers who come to teach in French are overwhelmed, frustrated, and spend a lot of energy to prepare their students for the tests, and the latter have not no more time to assimilate the French language, which finds itself relegated to the background.
I like French immersion, I like the work that we do every day with my teacher on the French language and the culture of this country. Discovering the history program in French is a little more complicated because I often have to translate. But I am very happy to be immersed and I find it a good experience.
Despite the obstacles, many children, parents and teachers remain invested in learning this language. French is still spoken, read and written with passion, giving hope that future generations will preserve this heritage. In Iberia parish schools, young children express their pride in speaking the language of their ancestors. Dedicated teachers implement modern teaching tools, including the use of artificial intelligence to create engaging educational materials. Audrey, a 5th grade student at North Lewis Elementary School, is very happy to be part of this immersion program. “I like the work that we do every day with my teacher on the French language and the culture of this country. Discovering the history program in French is a little more complicated because I often have to translate. But I am very happy to be immersed and I find it a good experience.”
Between festivals, cultural gatherings, exchanges and French-speaking intellectual creations, French immersion stands proudly in Louisiana. Its defenders work every day to make French a second living language. During parent-teacher meetings in French immersion schools, the satisfaction of adults is palpable to see the youngest prepare to become bilingual citizens. In bars and restaurants, listening to the elders, we feel the strength of their attachment to this language. French immersion remains solid, even if it is sometimes weakened by limited resources; it unifies, even if French is not always a passion for everyone. By continuing to work together – French and English speakers, members of CODOFIL or not – French has a bright future ahead of it in Louisiana.
We must not be satisfied with the status quo because there is a lot to do, as Olivier Châtelain de Pronville recognizes, if we want teachers to continue to choose the Louisiana adventure and that immersion programs like the one set up by CODOFIL survive and prosper. He hopes for “a little more firmness on the part of those who are responsible for it vis-à-vis the Louisiana state, in order to obtain an understanding of the necessities that this program requires.”
