The search for Canadian bilingual reference content. Does it measure up?

Reference material is the bane of my existence.  There, I said it.  And not because I don’t love research, or don’t love inquiry projects, or don’t aspire to become a Teacher Librarian, but because I am a French Immersion Middle School teacher.  As such, over the years, I have spent countless hours creating my own curriculum content for lack of anything that suits the level of reading or comprehension of my students.  I have translated worksheets or made up my own.  I have paraphrased articles to a grade 8 level.  I cannot tell you how often I have shown movies and had students do research for French Immersion projects in English. For years, I have found videos perfect for social studies curriculum in English only.  To this day, French content is tricky to find and does not always have the exact information I am looking to share with my students. 

When I walk into the library with my grade 8 class and set them loose on the stacks to find relevant material on anything social studies related, I very quickly realize that it ain't’ happening.  There may be a book or two on a semi-relevant topic, but not enough to do a thorough job.  And so we switch to English.  

What about digital references, you ask?  Our school pays a fair chunk of change for a Discovery Education subscription.  This is a highly regarded, easily searchable educational subscription that includes thousands of videos and learning opportunities for students in all manner of subjects.  And yet, again, we’re talking about (mostly) English content.  Yes, there is a smattering of French, and a fair amount of Spanish material, but English is the dominant language.  Discovery Education is an American company, so this only makes sense.  

So, what is a girl to do?  We switch to English.  

But the times, they are a changin’.  Let me be clear when I say that Canadian content producers are beginning to recognize the need for reference materials that are bilingual and varied in reading/listening ability.  I am on a mission, dear readers, to find that elusive source, the one that will solve all of my problems as a French Immersion Social Studies teacher… and I will use this course to do it.  But will it measure up?

If I base my search using Riedling’s (2019) evaluation process, for the purposes of my curriculum content, I require reference material that has the following: 

Content Scope - it must reflect the social studies curriculum from a Canadian perspective and include significant relevant and current indigenous content in French, though bilingual would be optimal. 

Accuracy, Authority and Bias - again, it must be relevant, current, accurate, include indigenous worldviews from a Canadian perspective but must also include other aspects of the curriculum on an international scale.  Does it cover some of the more difficult aspects of Canadian and world history?

Arrangement and Presentation - Is it reader friendly and easy to access for both students and teachers?  I can only assume that “it” will be online.

Accessibility/DIversity - It is imperative that, while French is a key component, it must be accessible by middle school anglophone students who are learning French.  This means that it must be simple enough to be read/listened to by students who have only been taking French classes for a few years or less.  This is important to student engagement.  Additionally, it must have a diversity of cultural perspectives including indigenous.  

Cost - This is the most obvious, but our budget is limited.  It cannot outweigh the cost of a resource we already have.  

Two options have come up in my discussions and searches so far:

Idello, a French only online resource for education run by TFO and Curio, a bilingual online resource for news and education run by CBC/Radio Canada.

Here’s a little promotional video for each one as I head into my search for the ideal French Immersion reference resource. 

Idello:                                                                               Curio:

     

Wish me luck!!

References:

Ann Marlow Riedling, & Houston, C. (2019). Reference skills for the school librarian : tools and tips. Santa Barbara, California: Libraries Unlimited, An Imprint Of Abc Clio, Llc.

Schrank, P. (2009). English is coming. The adverse side-effects of the growing dominance of English. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/migrated/D0709EU0.jpg