L’insécurité linguistique dans l’enseignement du français langue seconde : de quoi parle-t-on?

Abstract

Linguistic insecurity is often defined by a lack of confidence in one’s linguistic abilities, which is grounded in the idea that there is a superior, more authentic standard against which one’s own language variety should be measured. In French second language (FSL) education in Canada, this perception of an idealized standard often leaves teachers and teacher candidates questioning their sense of belonging in the teaching profession, especially those who speak French as an additional language themselves. This insecurity can be attributed to a persisting orientation to the European standard of French and teachers’ orientation to the idealized standard of the native speaker. This article offers an analysis of manifestations of linguistic insecurity to highlight the socially constructed nature of this phenomenon, based on data excerpts from research conducted with so-called “non-francophone” FSL teachers in British Columbia.