Want students fluent in French? Get them to debate the ethics of zoos

At times, the students in Nicolas LeBlanc's class stumble through phrases or must search for the right words, but they are motivated to get their opinions out — in French. 

In a debate over the ethics of zoos, the viewpoints in the high school course are beginning to contrast. 

LeBlanc, a French immersion teacher, scans the class list on his clipboard to make sure each student actively participates.

"Often I do what we call penses, parles, partages," he said. "Which is when they start by just thinking what they want to say, they do it in a small group, and then we do a larger group."

The class at J.M.A. Armstrong High School in Salisbury, N.B., about 30 kilometres west of Moncton, is part of a pilot project to improve French-second language learning. 

The initiative is one of 13 new programs at anglophone schools and early-learning centres across New Brunswick. It's part of a push by the province to improve conversational proficiency after concerns over the success of graduates of immersion and intensive French programs.

Education Minister Dominic Cardy has raised concerns about "unacceptable" poor achievement rates among French immersion students. 

Less than half of New Brunswick high school graduates are able to speak French at a conversational level, according to the province.

For those enrolled in French immersion programs, most students graduate below the target of advanced level.

The sign on the floor to Hannah Davidson's classroom reminds students at the doorway that it's time to switch to French.

After teaching immersion for more than two decades, she said the recent shift to focus on conversation is noticeable — and likely should have happened earlier. Students are speaking more in their second language and need fewer reminders.

"The number one thing they can do in order to improve their French is to speak it. And it's something that immersion teachers have always struggled with sometimes," Davidson said.

The initiative in Salisbury is called Culture By/Par Conversation and is backed by provincial funding. That support has allowed for a dedicated resource teacher, guest speakers, and field trips to connect with francophones outside the school.

Each school with a pilot project is also using an online platform to track student progress throughout their course of the program. At J.M.A. Armstrong, that means recording videos of a student speaking to see how their conversation skills are improving.