Immersion has evolved since 2007, the date the decree organising it came into force. Given the progress made, the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation began, in January 2023, a series of hearings with stakeholders from immersion schools, in order to study its current functioning and shape its future. The MR proposes recommendations at the end of this year of work.
It was in the Philippe Geluck room of the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation that we voted this Wednesday on the recommendations concluding these “General States of Immersion”.
The work confirmed that the teaching method of language learning through linguistic immersion offers clear benefits, both for pupils and for teaching teams. The hearings also revealed the difficulties faced by educational teams, but also highlighted objectives and avenues for improvement to address them. Indeed, if we want to be able to adjust learning methods to objectives, it is necessary to establish clear guidelines and remove obstacles by setting up a clear and modernised legislative framework for immersion teaching.
In this regard, we advocate for the creation, within the General Administration for Education, of an inter-network unit dedicated to immersion, in order to strengthen coordination and missions, notably through the presence of contact persons available to schools. Such a service for education stakeholders would support teams, strengthen and improve the efficiency of what already exists, as well as networking between schools. This unit would notably be responsible for centralising administrative and pedagogical information for teachers and school administrators, developing a practical guide based on the relevant decree, and disseminating educational research results to support teams in immersion practices, notably the sharing of best practices among teachers through networking.
In order to clarify the regulatory landscape, while avoiding freezing current practices, we support the proposal to establish an inventory of linguistic immersion projects in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, specifying their organisational characteristics.
We would also like to recall that education is the foremost social policy aimed at emancipation. School must be the place for equal opportunities and for identifying talent. These talents must therefore be nurtured from the youngest age. We want a school that is open to the challenges of our time regarding languages, including for schools and pupils who have made the pedagogical choice of language teaching through immersion.
We often hear that immersion is an elitist project. Yet, on the contrary, during the hearings, many testified that it is a genuinely inclusive school project. The MR wants a proactive policy for inclusive immersion, so that more young people can benefit from immersion, by launching pilot projects in vocational, artistic and specialised education, but also in schools with a low socio-economic index, regardless of level or type of education. Immersion language teaching must be supported, as it enables the development of a wide range of skills in pupils, including those with learning difficulties. It is also important to ensure the establishment of remediation measures such as personalised support within immersion projects.
For us, language assessment also deserves particular attention. Recognition of the immersion pathway is necessary, in order to assess each pupil's progress within their own schooling, rather than in comparison to the class group. This is why we want to develop a language assessment pathway throughout the school curriculum.
As for school administrators and teachers, they are of course a central and essential link for the quality of education. It is therefore necessary to define an ambitious, comprehensive approach to language training within teacher training and to ensure that both initial and continuing training are ambitious and of high quality, meeting needs both in terms of mastery of the language of instruction and of the subjects to be taught.
After an initial training that must equip future teachers with solid knowledge through the introduction, within sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of teaching master's degrees, of an introductory module to linguistic immersion, as well as through the roll-out of the inter-university college certificate in the didactics of immersion languages and second languages (including Dutch, German and English), the continuing training modules must serve the daily school realities of teachers and school administrators. We also want to ensure effective and strengthened support for teachers, particularly for beginning teachers, whether newly qualified or embarking on a second career.
Finally, in order to tackle the teacher shortage, the access requirements, including being a “native speaker”, must be eased.
In this regard, the cooperation agreement between the communities needs to be revised so that, on one hand, it clarifies the conditions and support available for teachers who choose to teach across the language border, and, on the other hand, it encourages dialogue between the communities to further promote exchanges between pupils, as well as between teachers of the three communities.
Furthermore, particularly in a context of shortage, greater flexibility regarding the Qualifications and Positions that could be granted for immersion teaching should be considered. If the previous system was too lax, the current one is too rigid. This decree, in times of shortage, is highly restrictive and contributes to further reducing the attractiveness of the profession.
An awareness and communication strategy on the importance of language learning for all pupils, aimed at speech therapists, staff of PMS centres, teachers, educators, school administrators and parents' associations, appears necessary.
To support teaching teams, learning and teaching materials must be developed that meet the specific needs of immersion teaching, notably by ensuring the promotion of existing tools and the creation of tools, resources and teaching materials specific to immersion teaching and made available to teachers via e-classe; by defining a competency framework specific to teaching in the target language; by producing annexed guides to existing frameworks in subjects frequently taught in one of the three immersion languages and, finally, by having the FWB produce a practical guide to the organisation of immersion teaching for education stakeholders.
Let us conclude by recalling that at the MR, we are particularly committed to language teaching in schools. And we pay particular attention to all work aimed at strengthening language teaching across all approaches. We are in favour of multilingualism and of reflecting on bilingual schools. Mastering several languages is such an asset in life!
By Stéphanie Cortisse, Jacqueline Galant, Fanny Constant and Nicolas Janssen