Teaching and Learning in Bilingual Countries: The Examples of Belgium and Canada

As a Canadian visiting Belgium I struck by similarity in linguistic challenges in two countries. Like Canada, Belgium is officially a bilingual country with French as language both countries have in common. In Canada, of course, other language is English, whereas in Belgium it is Dutch. It seemed to this visitor that there existed same lack of cohesion and same stresses between two linguistic' groups as exists in Canada. As a student of bilingual language polity in Canada and as someone interested in teaching and learning of a second language, I wanted to investigate some of similarities and some of differences in language instruction between two countries. For this study, I have chosen to examine more closely teaching of French to Dutch speakers in Belgium and teaching of French to English speakers in Canada. This paper will look at policies for student learning and for teacher education in both countries. Background Information In order to understand educational policy, it is important to present some data concerning linguistic and political situation in Belgium. Modern Belgium is divided into two regions with Dutch speakers living in northern part called Flanders, and French speakers living in southern part called Wallonia. Each region is responsible for its own educational system. The 1932 Belgian law on language use in primary and secondary education was based in principle on concept of region unilingualism, whereby only Dutch would be used in North (Flanders) and only French in south (Wallonia) (Sonntag, 1989, p. 17). Brussels, capital, interestingly enough, is located geographically in Flanders but is predominantly French speaking, although officially bilingual. In education, Brussels area has a special bilingual status. Belgium is a small country of less than 12,000 square miles, but with a population of 10 million. Over years, there has been friction between groups, each vying for preeminence both politically and economically. Speaking linguistically, Goethals (1993) has stated that the presence of Dutch in Wallonia and Brussels has grown, in an increasingly friendly or at least more accepting atmosphere and in Flanders, French is much less felt to be a threat to Flemish culture (p. 18). As in Canada, French speakers are minority; however, official bilingualism makes it imperative that French be taught as a second language to non-francophones (French speakers). Canada, conversely, is an immense country geographically with a relatively sparse population of approximately 25 million. The country, officially bilingual nationally, is divided into ten provinces each with its own linguistic policy. French is only official language in one, Quebec. New Brunswick is officially bilingual, and Ontario, also with a significant francophone population, is like other provinces officially. English speaking. Education is a provincial concern, so each province has its own jurisdiction over policies and practices of teaching French to anglophones (English speakers). For purposes of this paper, I shall use Ontario as Canadian example since it is province with which I am most familiar. The policies regarding teaching of French in Ontario are similar to those in other officially English speaking provinces. French as a Second Language In Flanders, French is introduced to neerlandophones (Dutch speakers) in last two years of primary school (ages 10-12) with approximately two hours of instruction per week. In Brussels, though, FSL is introduced two years earlier giving students there extra years to improve their linguistic abilities. In secondary schools of Flanders, French is taught for four hours per week (Goethals, 1993, p. 16). It should be noted that amount of language instruction varies with academic stream student is in. …

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