Teach at a French-language school

To teach in French at a French-language school, you will need:

  • an undergraduate degree in French from a university or college (for example, a Bachelor of Science (BSc) or a Bachelor of Arts (BA))
  • to complete a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree which qualifies you to teach at a kindergarten to Grade 12 school

There are three universities offering French-language teacher education (BEd) in Ontario:

To teach in a publicly funded school, you must be certified by the Ontario College of Teachers.

Learn about the requirements to be certified by the Ontario College of Teachers.

Teach French as a second language

To be a French as a second language teacher, you will need:

Teacher education degrees

French as a second language teacher education degrees (BEd or MT) are currently offered at the following publicly-funded universities in Ontario:

To teach in a publicly funded school, you must be certified by the Ontario College of Teachers.

Learn about the requirements to be certified by the Ontario College of Teachers.

Teach French as a primary/junior teacher: kindergarten to grade 6

To become a primary/junior teacher and teach French as a second language to students from kindergarten to grade 6, you must complete the French as a Second Language (FSL) Additional Qualification (AQ), Part 1 course after the completion of an initial teacher education program.

Some primary/junior teacher education programs allow candidates to complete the FSL AQ during the program.

These institutions offer French as a Second Language Focus for Primary/Junior divisions:

  • Nipissing University [consecutive and concurrent]
  • Queen’s University [consecutive, concurrent and multi-session consecutive]
  • Western University [consecutive]
  • Tyndale University [consecutive]
  • University of Ottawa (EN) [consecutive]
  • Wilfrid Laurier University [consecutive]
  • York University [consecutive and concurrent]
  • Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE) [consecutive]

Teach French as a junior/intermediate/senior teacher: grade 4 to grade 12

To teach French as a Second Language to junior/intermediate grades (grade 4 – 10) or intermediate/senior grades (grade 7 – 12), you can either:

  • take a qualification in French as a Second Language during your teacher education program, or
  • take an Additional Qualification (AQ) course in French as a Second Language after completing your teacher education program

Find a job in French education

If you are already a qualified French-language teacher, you can find jobs through the Jobs in Education website.

Get certified to become a French teacher

Apply to a teacher education program

To become a teacher, you can apply to a teacher education program through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre.

If you are already a qualified teacher in Ontario

If you are proficient in French, you may get qualifications to teach French as a second language (FSL). Additional qualification courses allow you to add another division or subject area to what you are already qualified to teach.

Learn more about these courses through the Ontario College of Teachers.

If you are a Canadian certified teacher trained outside of Ontario

With a few exceptions, certified teachers from anywhere in Canada can be recognized in Ontario, without any additional training, experience or assessments.

Learn more about receiving a Certificate of Qualification and Registration at the Ontario College of Teachers.

Find additional information on teacher education programs and certification.

If you are a French teacher trained outside of Canada

If you want to get certified to teach in Ontario and you have completed a teacher education program outside of Canada, the Ontario College of Teachers provides information to help you with your application.

Professional development for French as a Second Language (FSL) teachers

Learning opportunities are available for FSL teachers currently working in Ontario English-language school boards. For example, bursaries are available to help teachers attend summer immersion programs to improve their oral French linguistic competence and knowledge of Canadian French culture. These include:

  • Projet à Québec and Projet à Moncton: summer programs run by the Ontario Modern Language Teachers’ Association (OMLTA) for FSL teachers to improve their language abilities and second language instructional skills.

How students learn French

All students in Ontario learn French:

  • at a French-language school
  • as a second language at an English-language school

At a French-language school, all subjects are taught in French and schools are expected to give students a solid foundation in Francophone culture.

At an English-language school, students can learn French as a subject (core) or choose, if available, an extended French or French immersion program where subjects are taught in French.

Ontario's publicly funded education system has:

  • 12 French-language school boards with more than 480 French-language elementary and secondary schools
  • 60 English-language school boards with more than 4,300 schools that offer French as a Second Language Programs

Students in English-language schools are required to study French as a second language from Grades 4 to 8 and earn at least one credit in FSL in secondary (high) school.

Find your school to learn more.

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