Results of the Survey on the Status of French in Illinois Schools

 

 

            Thank you to all of you who took the time and effort to complete the Questionnaire on the status of French in the Chicago/Northern Illinois area.  Here are some of the results of that survey.

 

            I received 26 replies in all, which probably do give a representative sample of the successes and problems French teachers are currently experiencing.  Of those 26 replies, 25 were from elementary, middle school, and high school teachers; one from a university-level professor.

The number of classes in various languages in these districts is as follows:

            French                          20

            Spanish                        21

            German                        10

            Italian                             3

            Latin                               9

            Chinese                          3

            Hebrew                          2

            Japanese                        2

            Polish                             1

The teachers responding to the questionnaire are, of course, French teachers, so the number of French classes compared to Spanish may be somewhat exaggerated.  There were only two Chicago Public School teachers responding; the number of classes in Hebrew, Japanese, Chinese, Polish, and Arabic might have been higher with more CPS responses.

 

            The level at which students are first introduced to a language – usually only one language offered – varied greatly:

            Kindergarten                            2

            Fifth grade                                2

            Sixth grade                               2

            Seventh grade                           7

            Ninth grade                              9

            Eighth grade gifted                    1

            Second grade (Latin)                1

            Fourth grade                             1

               (French, Spanish or Latin)

 

Enrollment in French (2004-2005):

            Increased                     5

            Remained steady          5

            Decreased                    7

            Number of teachers who feel threatened that programs may be cut or eliminated:

            Yes                              13

            No                                 8

            Perhaps                          1

 

 

 

 

 

Reasons?  (1) Three responses cited elimination or reduction of programs in the feeder schools; (2) one class replaced by a German class; (3) lack of administrative support for the program; (4) two teachers responded that students (and probably parents) question the usefuleness of French versus Spanish; (5) low reading scores in middle school mean freshmen must take reading; therefore language is dropped; (6) legislation will force students to choose one elective which meant more enrollment in Spanish.

 

            Help wanted!  Here are some of needs and suggestions from the responders:

(1)           Local and guest Francophone contacts, speakers (Francofête)

(2)           Using French in careers (Career Fair)

(3)           Publicity programs, brochures, to download and print

(4)           Sessions on how to increase enrollment

(5)           More (free) teaching materials; pop and rap

(6)           Field trips (programs)

(7)           Sister Cities contacts

(8)           Collaboration between teachers and/or between students of different schools

(9)           Useful, inexpensive (under $15) performances or programs for middle school students

 

Publicity campaigns requested!

 

Reach out to middle schools to increase language courses in feeder schools

 

Programs to inform administration, guidance counselors, and the community the importance of offering more than one language.  Inform public that French is not more difficult than Spanish – and why.

 

Keep me informed about your successes!

 

                                    Anne Hebert, Advocacy