“French Teachers Can Figure It Out” - Understanding French as a Second Language (FSL) Teachers’ Work in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Oct 15, 2026

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic pushed Ontario educators to adopt online or hybrid instruction, prompting interviews with four Ontario French as a Second Language (FSL) teachers about their experiences with educational technology and remote teaching. Findings are interpreted through Hargreaves and Fullan’s (2020) reframing of teachers’ work during the global pandemic. Results indicate that teachers’ professional capital reflects shared Canadian educational concerns while also revealing FSL-specific dynamics. Participant professional marginalization and seclusion underscore the value of psychic rewards of teaching and cultures of collaboration.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

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Abstract

Introduction

Research Questions

Theoretical Framework

“French Teachers Can Figure It Out”: Understanding French as a Second Language (FSL) Teachers’Work in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic Cameron W. Smith University of Ottawa Stephanie Arnott University of Ottawa Abstract In 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced teachers in Ontario to move online. Since then, teaching online or in hybrid models has been common across the province. To understand how French as a Second Language (FSL) teachers navigated these spaces, four Ontario French teachers were interviewed about their experience using educational technology and teaching online. Findings were analyzed in light of Hargreaves and Fullan’s (2020) reframing of classic understandings of teachers’ work in the context of the global pandemic. Findings show that factors influencing these teachers’ professional capital reflect common concerns among Canadian educators, alongside those specific to the FSL context. Participants' professional marginalization and seclusion demonstrates the importance of both the psychic rewards of teaching and cultures of collaboration. Ongoing efforts to capture ways in which teaching FSL has been shaped by the pandemic experience, therefore, require looking beyond individual classrooms to connected systems and systematic efforts of reform. Résumé En 2020, la pandémie (COVID-19) a forcé les enseignants de l'Ontario à se déplacer en ligne. Depuis lors, l'enseignement en ligne ou dans des modèles hybrides est devenu courant dans la province. Pour comprendre comment les enseignants de français langue seconde (FLS) naviguent dans ces espaces, quatre enseignants de français de l'Ontario ont été interrogés sur leur expérience de l'utilisation des technologies éducatives et de l'enseignement en ligne. Les résultats ont été analysés à la lumière du recadrage par Hargreaves et Fullan (2020) des conceptions classiques du travail des enseignants dans le contexte de la pandémie mondiale. Les résultats montrent que les facteurs influençant le capital professionnel de ces enseignants reflètent des préoccupations communes aux éducateurs canadiens, ainsi que des préoccupations spécifiques au contexte du FLS. La marginalisation et l'isolement professionnels des participants démontrent l'importance des récompenses psychiques del'enseignement et des cultures de collaboration. Les efforts continus pour saisir les façons dont l'enseignement du FLS a été façonné par l'expérience de la pandémie exigent donc de regarder au-delà des salles de classe individuelles, vers les systèmes connectés et les efforts systématiques de réforme. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics: 25, 1 (2022): 88-109 CJAL * RCLA Smith & Arnott 89 “French Teachers Can Figure It Out”: Understanding French as a Second Language (FSL) Teachers’Work in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic In the spring of 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced teachers in Ontario to move online. While some educators returned to in-person school, others continued teaching online after the start of the 2020-2021 school year (The Canadian Press, 2021) . However, while COVID-19 created chaos for schools across the country, it also“unleashed a wealth of energy in innovative, collaborative and laser-focused problemsolving,” particularly in the way that teachers used “digital opportunities to enhance existing professional capital and community”(Hargreaves & Fullan, 2020, pp. 334–335) . Teachers were required to adapt to, and in many cases learn about, teaching online and using digital technologies – which were supported to varying extents and in different ways by schools and educational authorities (Kim, 2020; Mpofu, 2020) . For French as a Second Language (FSL) teachers, a chronic lack of such support was already well documented before the pandemic (see Knouzi & Mady, 2014; Lapkin et al., 2009) . These kinds of inequalities undermine the work of teachers, and the experiences ofthe pandemic have exacerbated educational gaps, disengagem

FAQs

How did FSL teachers in Ontario experience working online during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Four Ontario FSL teachers described how the shift to online and hybrid models shaped their experience, including the need to adapt and learn digital approaches under varying levels of support.

What technology-related affordances or challenges affected online FSL education?

The study examines how educational technology influenced online FSL instruction, highlighting both recurring systemic concerns and issues specific to the FSL context.

What theoretical lens explains the study’s findings?

The analysis uses Hargreaves and Fullan’s (2020) reframing of teachers’ work in the context of the global pandemic, linking it to concepts from the sociology of teaching and teachers’ emotional and psychic rewards.

Oct 15, 2026

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