General Program Description 

The objectives of the French Immersion Program are to provide an opportunity for students to achieve a functional competency in the oral and written use of the French language, and to familiarize students with the culture of Francophone communities in Canada and throughout the world. 

Students in French Immersion must complete a total of 13 courses in French with a combination of core and optional courses. At the core of the program are Français langue from grades 8 to 12 and Sciences humaines in grades 8 to 11. Electives such as Sciences naturelles, Éducation physique et santé, Communication artistique 9 and Éducation au choix de carrières et de vie 10 can be taken to meet the required 13 courses. The recent addition of the Éducation artistique 9 has provided students with further opportunities to improve their oral fluency and to understand how language and culture coexist in different Francophone communities. Upon the successful completion of 13 courses in the program and the Évaluation de littératie de la 12e année – Français langue seconde-immersion, French Immersion students will earn both a British Columbia Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma) and a Diplôme de fin d’études secondaires en Colombie-Britannique. 

As a bilingual school, Handsworth offers an extensive collection of French resources. The teaching staff encourages students to participate in a number of co-curricular activities in French, thus giving them opportunities to hone their linguistic skills in more natural environments.​

French Immersion Dogwood Diploma Checklist: 

Required French Courses

All French Immersion students must take the following French courses: 

• Français langue 8 and 9
  
• Français langue 10** 
• Français langue 11 (Must take a minimum of one of the following courses) 

• Français langue 11: Communication orale 
• Français langue 11 : Études du cinéma et de la littérature francophones** 
• Français langue 11 : Médias et communication numérique* (Only available through NVOL) 
• Français langue 12** 
• Sciences humaines 8-9 
• Sciences humaines et sociales 10** 
• Senior-level Sciences humaines et sociales course (Must take a minimum of one of the following courses) 
• Histoire 12 
  
• Explorations en sciences humaines et sociales 11* (Only available through NVOL) 
• ​Peuples autochtones de la Colombie-Britannique 12* (Only available through NVOL) 

Optional French Courses 

French Immersion students must complete a minimum of four optional courses in French. At least one of these optional courses must be at the Grade 10 or 11 level. Optional French courses may include: 

• Sciences naturelles 8, 9 
• Sciences naturelles 10** 
• Éducation physique et santé 8 
• Éducation artistique (Culture et communication) 9 
• Éducation au choix de carrière et de vie 10**  
• Langue et culture de la francophonie 11* 

*These courses are only offered remotely through North Vancouver Online Learning 

**In addition to being offered in-person at Handsworth, these courses are offered remotely through North Vancouver Online Learning​​

For detailed information on the above courses, please see our latest course programming guide​.

Resources in French for Students_HSS Library.pdf

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