By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
Champlain College Lennoxville has been awarded nearly $300,000 under the Entente Canada-Québec (ECQ) agreement to support its implementation of Quebec’s Law 14, a new policy requiring CEGEP students to complete additional French-language courses as part of their programs. This mandate has created fresh challenges for the college, where administrators, teachers, and students are working to adapt to the bilingual course structure.
The project proposal, spearheaded by Champlain College pedagogical counsellors Daniela Fernandes and Jordan Glass, was developed in partnership with Professor Sunny Lau of Bishop’s University. According to Glass, “the grant will provide crucial support for our teaching staff, helping them manage the new language requirements while ensuring students from diverse linguistic backgrounds don’t fall behind.”
Navigating Law 14’s impact
Law 14, known also as Bill 96, which came into effect in recent years, mandates that all students attending CEGEPs in Quebec, regardless of their linguistic background, complete a set of core courses in French. For Champlain College, which traditionally offers English-language programs, this requirement means a substantial shift. As Fernandes explained, “Previously, all general courses were conducted in English. Now, each program will have at least two courses taught in French.”
The law also adds an administrative layer to the college’s curriculum design. Students who are recognized as “rights holders” – typically anglophone students – are allowed to complete their core courses in English, but are still required to take five courses in French. This includes two basic French courses and three additional courses that vary by program. Non-rights holders, who include recent immigrants and Indigenous students, must also complete five French-language courses, but their curriculum will focus more heavily on French literature to prepare them for Quebec’s mandatory French exit exam.
“The addition of the French exit exam is a particularly heavy burden for non-rights holders,” Glass noted. “This exam is challenging even for francophone students, so you can imagine the pressure it puts on allophones and others for whom French isn’t their primary language.” This challenge is compounded for students who come from immigrant backgrounds or Indigenous communities, whose first language may be neither English nor French.
Introducing plurilingual pedagogy
To help teachers adapt, Champlain’s project, which will begin in January and span one year, aims to integrate “plurilingual pedagogy” into the classroom. Lau, an expert on plurilingual teaching approaches, will guide Champlain’s faculty through professional development that encourages them to view the classroom’s linguistic diversity as a strength. This approach seeks to create teaching resources that draw on the variety of languages and cultural backgrounds students bring into the classroom.
“Plurilingualism is all about recognizing the rich linguistic resources students bring with them and using that to enrich the learning experience for everyone,” Glass said. He elaborated that the concept goes beyond Quebec’s typical categorization of students as either anglophone, francophone, or allophone, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of each student’s unique linguistic profile. “In Quebec, we often classify students in binary terms, but plurilingualism asks us to recognize that someone might be fluent in social contexts in English, while their academic background is in French,” Glass explained.
For Champlain’s teachers, the plurilingual approach means they’ll be supported to build “more inclusive and effective teaching strategies,” Fernandes said. The eight teachers involved in the pilot phase will have the chance to work directly with Lau and will receive release time to design course materials that can bridge language gaps. “We want to ensure that everyone’s language skills are seen as an asset, not a barrier,” Fernandes added.
A broad impact across programs
Law 14’s requirements extend across Champlain’s various programs, from nursing to computer science, with each needing to adapt to offer French-language courses that meet the law’s standards. “It’s a huge administrative and pedagogical challenge to suddenly implement a bilingual curriculum,” Glass acknowledged. “Each program is a bit different in terms of how it’s affected, but every single student will experience some of their coursework in French now.”
For Champlain’s anglophone students, the new French-language requirements come alongside their usual English exit exam. In contrast, non-rights holders must pass Quebec’s French exit exam to graduate. This presents a major hurdle for students who may not be fluent in French, yet need to reach a high enough proficiency level to pass the exam. “Some of these students face the very real risk of not completing their diplomas because of these new requirements,” Fernandes pointed out.
Despite the challenges, Fernandes and Glass view the grant as an opportunity to support both teachers and students. “We’re committed to finding ways to make these new requirements as accessible as possible,” Fernandes said. “By collaborating with Bishop’s University and bringing in experts like Sunny Lau, we’re hoping to establish best practices that can be shared across Quebec’s CEGEP network.”
Looking forward
The project’s rollout is set to begin with teacher recruitment and training in early 2024. As Lau leads the program, participating teachers will be given the time and resources to craft course materials that help students of all linguistic backgrounds succeed in a bilingual environment. Champlain plans to assess the program’s impact at the end of the academic year and share successful strategies with other institutions facing similar challenges.
Reflecting on the initiative, Glass expressed optimism that Champlain’s students and faculty are well-prepared to adapt to the changes. “Champlain has long served a diverse community of students,” he said. “This grant acknowledges that diversity and gives us the tools to build a curriculum that works for everyone.”
For Champlain College, the ECQ grant represents both a recognition of its educational role within the Eastern Townships and a challenge to reimagine language education. By the end of the project, Champlain hopes to have created a model that not only meets the province’s legal requirements but also supports students in becoming more fully bilingual – an asset, as Glass remarked, “not just within Quebec but in an increasingly multilingual world.”