Diversity in French Immersion Classrooms: A Quick Inclusion Guide for Teachers

Today’s French immersion classrooms are as diverse as other classrooms. This means that some
students may require some accommodations to participate fully in a French Immersion program.
This can be an opportunity for administrators and teachers to find innovative ways of meeting the
needs in their classrooms so that all students may benefit from learning French. Experts such as Fred
Genesee (Duval, 2008) believe that there is no reason to exclude any students from French
Immersion programs. For many students, even those who may appear to struggle with learning, the
benefits outweigh the challenges and help build better language strategies in ways that might not be
possible in an English-only program.
This brochure presents a series of questions and answers to help teachers in meeting the needs of students
who may need extra support in the French Immersion program.