CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR IMMERSION PROFESSIONALS
Canada needs 10,000 teachers to address its French immersion and FSL teacher shortage

On November 4, the Canadian Association for Immersion Professionals (ACPI) and the Canadian Association for Second Language Teachers (CASLT) released the results of their study to measure the state of the French immersion (FI) and French as a second language (FSL) teacher shortage.

The study suggests that nearly half (42%) of schools offering FI programs are currently experiencing a shortage of teachers for their program. This represents a shortage of between 1,000 and 1,400 full-time equivalent (FTE) FI teachers across the country. Schools with a confirmed FI teacher shortage lack 1.58 FTEs.

For other FSL programs, more than one third (36%) of schools are affected by the shortage. Of the 10,530 English-language schools in Canada, the estimated shortage of FSL teachers is between 7,000 and 8,000 FTEs. Schools with a confirmed FSL teacher shortage lack 2.51 FTEs.

In total, this represents a deficit of nearly 10,000 qualified FSL teachers to meet today's demand. To address the growing rate of FI enrollment, it is therefore essential that we continue to invest in concrete solutions to the challenges associated with recruiting and retaining FI and FSL teachers in order to meet the country's bilingualism goals.

"Bilingualism is increasingly valued by Canadian families and this is reflected in the continually growing popularity of French immersion programs across the country. With this momentum, it is essential to support the accessibility of French immersion programs across the country by developing solutions to alleviate the shortage of French immersion teachers. Together, let's build a bilingual future for all Canadians through French immersion programs, the best way to contribute to bilingualism in Canada," said Caroline Roux, President of ACPI.

"This study is an important contribution to our understanding of the scale of the challenges Canada is facing with the shortage of French-language teachers. It will help us plan for a future where all Canadian children have access to quality, sustainable French-language-learning programs. It is incumbent upon all second language education stakeholders to act strategically to address this chronic shortage," shared Carole Bonin, President of CASLT.

• View a summary of the results
• View the full report of the Study of the Shortage of French Immersion and French as a Second Language Teachers
• Watch the press conference

In ACPI's Canada-wide Consultation released in 2018, 70% of participants identified the shortage of qualified French immersion teachers as a major issue in the country. This finding echoed the findings of a 2015 CASLT study that identified a shortage of qualified teachers in FSL programs. It was clear that the shortage of FI and FSL teachers was real, but no one really knew the status of the situation.

In December 2020, ACPI, in collaboration with CASLT, embarked on this process to get a true picture of the shortage by turning to Socius - Research and Consulting to lead the study. Conducted with the financial support of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the study is based on a literature review, interviews, and an online survey conducted last spring. The responses represent 934 schools across all provinces and territories in Canada. This sample represents about 26% of schools offering FI, which is quite significant, but only about 5% of schools offering other types of FSL programs in Canada. The survey collected data on the FTE teachers who teach in the programs without being qualified and on the FTEs that would have been required to provide the FI and FSL classes that were requested but not offered.