The Research Project
This website reports some of the stories, experiences, and findings from a doctoral research project about race and racism in French immersion programs. On this website, we share stories and monologues from stage 1 of the research project where participants responded to the question:
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What are our experiences related to race and racism in French immersion?
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You are invited to read, listen, and watch as many stories as you would like. The goal of this project is to improve the French immersion experience. Please note that this website serves as a brief overview of findings. For detailed explanation, study background, analysis, findings, and more, please consult my dissertation and/or the "Read More" tab.
​Study Details
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Stage 1
Four participants (including the researcher) participated in stage 1. Participants were all racial minority students who had participated in French immersion programs in Ontario. We responded to the question:​ What are our experiences related to race and racism in French immersion?
As a collective, we shared stories about what it is like to be a racial minority in French immersion and we compiled a list of needs to make the program better. ​Participants created short scripts of their experiences in immersion and turned them into videos or audio recordings. Stories and monologues were posted on this website.
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Stage 2
Stage 2 of the study invited French immersion stakeholders to take part in an online questionnaire, reflecting on the stories outlined on this website as well as the suggestions for improvement that emerged from stage 1. 39 stakeholders (students, teachers, parents, administrators, professors) participated in stage 2.
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Stage 3
Stage 3 invited stage 1 participants back to review the findings from stage 2. Only 1 participant joined this session.
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Findings from both stages are summarized in the "Findings" tab.
For detailed information on methodology, please consult my dissertation.
ÀPROPOS
A background on French Immersion
French immersion was created as an experiment in Quebec for middle-class Anglophone families who were worried that their children would be excluded from the Francophone economy. Since then it has grown to be a very popular language learning program.
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Immersion is known to be beneficial for cognitive development as well as on the job market. Many people view this program as "elite". However, immersion programs are also very exclusionary.
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Immersion programs are known to exclude:
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English language learners
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Immigrants
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Students with special education needs
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Lower-income students
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Racially minoritized students
Racial identity in French immersion is under-researched. This study aims to understand how racially minoritized people experience(d) French immersion programs in Ontario.
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Visit: www.who-is-immersion-for.com for more information about French immersion policies.
About Me!
Hi! My name is Marika Kunnas. I am an Assistant Professor in the Language and Literacy Education department at the University of British Columbia and a secondary school teacher certified to teach French, Drama, and Senior Social Studies. I am a second generation Canadian Black woman. My first language is English and my second language is French. I became bilingual through the Core French program and through university studies. I have always loved French and language learning in general.
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I am interested in how race and other identities intersect with French programs. After completing my thesis project, I was left wondering most about race and French immersion since it was barely discussed within the documents of my study.
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My PhD research is funded by the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship for Doctoral Students.
Current and Future Research
In my PhD, I investigated French immersion programming in Ontario. I am now focusing more explicitly on race in French immersion and working with French immersion students instead of policies and documents.
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​My research question is: what are the experiences of racially minoritized French immersion students?
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I use the dramatic arts with secondary school French immersion students. This study uses Playbuilding and autoethnographic monologue creation to represent students' experiences related to race and racism in French immersion programs across the province. I hope to discover more about how race intersects with and manifests itself in French immersion programs. This study also aims to discover programmatic needs for racially minoritized students in immersion.
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Future research will seek to document more racially minoritized students' experiences and expand beyond Ontario. Research will also consider anti-racist pedagogy in FI and other French programs in Canada.