How do you develop a sense of belonging and legitimacy? A pilot project that became a credited course in initial teacher training

In British Columbia, between 60-75% of student teachers in teacher training programs for French education have. French as an additional language (L2/L+). On the other hand, we observed that in the teacher training courses, the student teachers who spoke up were mostly individuals who have French as a dominant language. This poses a real challenge for the 60-75% who are sometimes afraid to speak in front of francophones and therefore find their learning experience compromised. Moreover, even when these student teachers become teachers in immersion or in the Core French program, the lack of confidence in interacting in a French-speaking professional community can greatly affect the longevity of their career in French and can lead to their attrition (Parks, 2017). To address the identity issue experienced by this majority of student teachers, a new course was created with the aim of developing a sense of belonging and legitimacy that would allow them to find their voice in a French education program. In this presentation, we will explain the pedagogical devices used to help develop a sense of belonging and legitimacy in a minority context.