Raising FLAGS: Renewing Core French at the Pre-service Teacher Level

A new program for core French teacher candidates called FLAGS (French Language and Global Studies) was established at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2007. The program is intended for those who are keen to teach core French and possess rudimentary proficiency in the language but may not necessarily have the same proficiency or prior coursework as candidates applying to existing French specialist cohorts. The FLAGS program begins with a five-week summer immersion experience through Explore! and then proceeds with UBC's regular Bachelor of Education program but with an added French conversation course, a core French methodology course and a core French practicum concentration (augmented, in some cases, with a three-week practicum in a francophone locale). FLAGS is intended to address the less than satisfactory state of elementary core French teaching and learning in British Columbia.