In 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced teachers in Ontario to move online. Since then, teaching online or in hybrid models has been common across the province. To understand how French as a Second Language (FSL) teachers navigated these spaces, four Ontario French teachers were interviewed about their experience using educational technology and teaching online. Findings were analyzed in light of Hargreaves and Fullan’s (2020) reframing of classic understandings of teachers’ work in the context of the global pandemic. Findings show that factors influencing these teachers’ professional capital reflect common concerns among Canadian educators, alongside those specific to the FSL context. Participants' professional marginalization and seclusion demonstrates the importance of both the psychic rewards of teaching and cultures of collaboration. Ongoing efforts to capture ways in which teaching FSL has been shaped by the pandemic experience, therefore, require looking beyond individual classrooms to connected systems and systematic efforts of reform.

Institutions strive to offer programs that address both the needs of the educational system and incorporate current pedagogical research. Creating a program that is relevant, inspiring, and accessible to aspiring French as a Second Language (FSL) teachers, while also equipping them with the skills and knowledge deemed necessary by the education system, is a delicate balancing act. This study reviewed 44 FSL teacher education programs that lead to professional certification across Canada. Environmental scans drew information from the program websites related to admission requirements, program structure and content, practicum, and graduation criteria. Follow-up interviews with program stakeholders were conducted to verify or clarify the data. The results highlight the inconsistencies that exist among programs for developing FSL educators. We position the ways in which Canadian faculties of education might provide a more holistic “pathway” approach to recruiting, preparing, and retaining emerging FSL teachers.

This study examines the potential impact of training informed by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) on future French as a second language (FSL) teachers’ language proficiency and developing pedagogical practice. Specifically, it examines the implementation of the Diplôme d’Études de Langue Française [DELF] Correcteur training in a Canadian preservice FSL teacher education program from 2018 to 2021. Findings from surveys (N = 42) and semi-structured interviews (n = 3) reveal key possibilities and limitations for this training to optimize language teacher preparation, eventual transition to the field, and overall retention in the Canadian FSL teaching context.