Monologues from the Minoritized: Racialized Students’ Experiences in French Immersion

This paper presents three monologues created from an arts-based doctoral study investigating race and racism in French immersion programs in Ontario. French immersion has been criticized for being exclusionary, especially based on race ( Yoon & Gulson, 2010 ), special education status ( Wise, 2011 ), nationality, and home language ( Mady, 2013 ). In this study, three racialized minority French immersion students shared counter-stories and created monologues highlighting their overall thoughts and experiences related to race and racism in French immersion. Two participants created videos to accompany their monologue, while the third created an audio recording. Participant monologues are analyzed through the lens of critical race theory ( Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995 ), using thematic analysis ( Nowell, Norris, White, & Moules, 2017 ) and critical discourse analysis ( Wodak & Meyer, 2016 ). Findings show that student experiences were negatively impacted by racism and lack of representation in French immersion programs. Racism was rarely challenged by teachers, administrators, or peers. Despite participants being upset about racism, racism was expected and inevitable. Indeed, participants were more concerned about French proficiency than the racism they were experiencing. These findings show a concerning need for anti-racist action and pedagogy in French immersion. Given the small sample size, more research investigating race in French immersion is needed.