Specializations are available to all students majoring in French, and they are an excellent way of developing a more nuanced area of expertise in French Studies. Our two intensive specializations (FTS and FFLCS) are mutually exclusive, but both of them can be combined with the Professional French Specialization (PFS).
French Teaching Specialization (FTS)
The Waterloo French Teaching Specialization (FTS) is a long-established and prestigious program of consecutive education in which students receive an Honours B.A. in French from the University of Waterloo and have the option of pursuing a B.Ed. from Nipissing University. It is a comprehensive program providing excellent academic and work experience designed to meet the need for well-educated teachers of French. As such, the FTS program has a nearly 100% employment rate upon graduation.
FTS has many features that distinguish it from other programs in the province, giving our graduates an edge when applying for permanent teaching positions.
- Guaranteed acceptance at Nipissing to complete the requirements for teacher certification in Ontario.
- 160 hours of volunteer work in schools.
- Thorough grounding in French language, literature, and civilization.
Upon graduation at Nipissing, students are fully qualified to teach at the Junior/Intermediate (Grades 4 to 10) or the Intermediate/Senior (Grades 7 to 12) levels. Students may also qualify to teach at the Primary/Junior level (Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6) by taking additional education courses at Nipissing's Faculty of Education, following the completion of the Honours B.A./B.Ed. program.
Nipissing University Faculty of Education
City of North Bay
In-school experience
Students in the French Teaching Specialization are required to complete a total of 160 hours of volunteer in-school experience over their 4 years at the University of Waterloo. This amounts to 20-30 hours per term, including volunteer school experience in Nantes or Chicoutimi.
The in-school experience is an essential component recognized as part of the teaching experience required for admission to Nipissing University.
In-school experience includes:
- teaching conversation groups,
- in-school tutoring,
- supervisory projects and extra-curricular activities,
- classroom observation,
- unit preparation.
All volunteer work must be supervised by a certified teacher.
We encourage students to volunteer in the levels that interest them (i.e. Primary/Junior, Junior/Intermediate, Intermediate/Senior).
In-School Experience forms must be signed by your supervising teachers.
Please contact the Department for help should you have trouble finding a school for your in-school experience.
The second teachable subject
No second teachable subject is required in the Junior/Intermediate level (Grades 4 to 10). Please see teaching subject (French) requirements under the P20 Junior/Intermediate section of Nippissing University's Calendar.
A second teachable subject is required in the Intermediate/Senior level (Grades 7 to 12). Please see second teachable requirements under the P30 Intermediate/Senior section of Nippissing University's Calendar.
Students may also qualify to teach at the Primary/Junior level (Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6) by taking additional education courses at Nipissing's Faculty of Education following completion of the Honours B.A./B.Ed. program.
The Professional French Specialization (PFS) is your introduction to professional bilingualism. In the courses available for this plan, students will learn essential skills such as translation, phonetics, linguistics, and business-oriented vocabulary.
