Your child attends a Francophone school or preschool centre but you don't speak French? This doesn't need to be an obstacle for you in participating in his or her education! 

More than 87% of students who attend the Conseil scolaire francophone schools in B.C. have a Francophone parent and also a parent who does not have French as their mother tongue. Therefore, parents who don’t speak French are in good company! Here are some resources that can help non-Francophone parents participate actively in their children's French language education. We encourage you to explore:
 

• “Mixed Couples – When Only One Parent Speaks French” is part of a series of four information sheets available in French and English. These sheets offer winning strategies and resources to help mixed couples (i.e., with one Francophone parent and the other who doesn’t speak French) support a French experience at home.

Download this sheet at www.fpfcb.bc.ca/feuillets-grandir-en-francais.

There’s more: these information sheets have inspired the creation of videos, including one in English, featuring a family where one parent is non-Francophone and helps to support the French experience at home! Watch the four videos, which are each 15 to 30 seconds long, at www.fpfcb.bc.ca/nos-videos.
 

• “Les défis de l’éducation francophone quand un seul des parents parle français” and “The challenges of Francophone education for non-Francophone parents (and their Francophone spouses)” are video recordings of two webinars, one in French and one in English, by Mr. Glen Taylor, who is a leading authority on the subject.

You can watch these two free webinars in the “Vidéos” section of the Fédération des parents website, www.fpfcb.bc.ca/nos-videos.
 

• “Fusion - Raising a Bilingual Child in a Two-Language Household” is a guide written in English by Glen Taylor, a leading authority on the subject. A unique resource in Canada, this book provides helpful information and insight for exogamous (mixed) couples. The book was written to answer questions that both the Francophone and non-Francophone parents often ask regarding the French education of their children.

 

• 1 enfant 2 langues is a bilingual website devoted to bilingual language development in young children in Francophone minority environments. Information on the website is grouped under different topics, ranging from the optimal age for learning a second language to the importance of reading in language development. The website also has information about the stages of language development, types of bilingualism, how to correct your child’s language errors, and a comparison between Francophone and French immersion schools.

 You will find, for instance, an article about "The role of the Non Francophone Parent in a Bilingual Family". Discover this text, and the rest of the website, for yourself by visiting www.fpfcb.bc.ca and clicking on the « 1 enfant 2 langues » logo!