CJAL - RCLA Arnett & Mady 19 - A critically conscious examination of special education within FSL and its relevance to FSL teacher education programs

Oct 15, 2026

A critically conscious analysis examines the sometimes tenuous relationship between special education and French as a Second Language (FSL) instruction, focusing on inclusion of students with language-based learning disabilities/difficulties in immersion contexts. Drawing on empirical, theoretical, and popular literature, the authors argue that current tensions stem from conflicting educational ideals for learners who study atypically. The article evaluates how FSL teacher education could help reconcile these tensions and expand inclusion while acknowledging structural sources of conflict across the two fields.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Critical theory lens on special education and FSL

Inclusion of language-based learning disabilities in immersion

Implications for FSL teacher education programs

Origins of tensions and reconciliation possibilities

CJAL * RCLA Arnett & Mady 19 A critically conscious examination of special education within FSL and its relevance to FSL teacher education programs Katy Arnett St. Mary’s College of Maryland Callie Mady Nipissing University Abstract Using the lens of critical theory, this article explores the tenuous relationship between special education and French Second Language (FSL) education, particularly as it manifests in the issue of including students with language-based learning disabilities/difficulties within the French immersion context. Drawing on considerations of these issues within empirical, theoretical, and popular literature, the authors point out that the current tensions are borne of conflicting ideals about what should comprise the requisite educational experience of students who learn inatypical ways in an age where learner difference is fully expected to be accommodated. Through this analysis, the authors consider how FSL teacher education programs could become sites for reconciling these tensions and potentially enabling greater inclusion within FSL programs, eventhough their current structures could explain some of the tensions that exist between the fields of special and FSL education. Résumé Utilisant de la théorie critique, cet article explore la relation ténue entre l'éducation spécialisée et les programmes de français langue seconde (FLS), surtout tel qu'elle se manifeste dans la question de l'inclusion des élèves avec des troubles d'apprentissage liés au langage dans le contexte de l'immersion française. En examinant ces questions dans les littératures empiriques, théoriques et populaires, les auteurs soulignent que les tensions actuelles sont à cause des idéaux contradictoires sur ce que devrait comprendre l'expérience pédagogique pour les élèves qui apprennent de façon atypique dans un âge où on exigue que les différences chez les apprenants soient accommodées. Grâce à cette analyse, les auteurs considèrent comment les programmes deformation pour enseigner le FLS pourrait devenir des sites de concilier ces tensions et de permettre une plus grande inclusion dans les programmes de FLS, même si leurs structures actuelles pourraient expliquer certaines des tensions qui existent entre les domaines del'éducation spécialisée et de FLS. CJAL * RCLA Arnett & Mady 20 A critically conscious examination of special education within FSL and its relevance to FSL teacher education programs Introduction The purpose of this article is to examine, through the lens of critical theory Willis, Montavon, Hall, Hunter, Burke, & Herrera, 2008), the sometimes tenuous relationship between French as a Second Language (FSL) 1 programs and students with special education needs2, and how the current tensions within that relationship could be influenced by FSL teacher education. There was a multi-layered impetus for such an analysis. Our previous study of one mother’s experience with her son’s learning-difficulty-based struggles in the French Immersion (FI) program (Mady & Arnett, 2009) revealed that the situation was apparently influenced by societal, legal, and philosophical schisms within and between special education and FI education in Ontario. In addition, since 2008, FI programs in several jurisdictions have come under scrutiny, including through legal actions, for their perceived discrimination against certain learner populations, including students with learning difficulties (Law Society of New Brunswick v. Ryan, 2003; Rushowy, 2009). Yet, recent research within the core French context has indicated the potential for successful inclusion of students with special education needs in that learning environment (Arnett, 2003, 2008, in press) by focusing on the link between pedagogies that that addresses diverse learner needs 3 and pedagogies that support language 1 References to “FSL programs” imply considerations of French immersion and core French, the two most common FSL teaching models in Canada. I

FAQs

How does the article frame the relationship between special education and FSL?

It uses a critical theory lens to examine a sometimes tenuous relationship, especially where inclusion of language-based learning disabilities/difficulties intersects with French immersion contexts.

What does the article say drives current tensions?

The authors argue tensions arise from conflicting ideals about what constitutes the required educational experience for learners who learn atypically, even in an era expecting learner differences to be accommodated.

How could FSL teacher education programs influence inclusion?

The analysis considers FSL teacher education as a site that could reconcile field tensions and enable greater inclusion within FSL programs, despite structural factors that may currently explain some conflicts.

Oct 15, 2026

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