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YRT

10 May2023

The Government of Canada invests in artificial intelligence and teaching French as a second language from early childhood

Posted in York Region News

 

Teaching French as a second language is essential to encouraging bilingualism and promoting the French language in Canada. The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of supporting continuous minority-language education from early childhood to the post-secondary level, and we are proud to support innovative initiatives that will help us meet this goal.

Today, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, announced more than $2 million in funding to Voilà Community Help for two projects that use metaverse technology to support French-language teaching. Minister Petitpas Taylor was joined by Arielle Kayabaga, Member of Parliament (London West).

Thanks to this innovative investment, the organization has created Artificial Intelligence for Official Languages, a project conducted in partnership with more than 35 school boards. The project aims to optimize Voilà Learning, an engaging interactive virtual platform that allows students to improve their language skills while having fun. Students on Voilà Learning’s virtual campus can interact with each other, do homework, write on a board, create videos, interact with facilitators, and get help from qualified teachers.

The addition of artificial intelligence has enabled the platform to gather information about each student’s unique learning profile and provide them with personalized educational content that enhances student learning and the use of French as a second language.

The organization has also committed to carrying out the MétaLingo project for learning French in early childhood. This project will allow preschoolers to interact easily in French with hosts and other children their age through activities and games designed to meet the evolving needs of children in this age group. The metaverse will simulate public spaces such as a daycare, park or movie theatre, allowing each child to interact in French with their peers in realistic scenarios.

Early childhood plays a critical role in fostering the transmission of language, building identity, and maintaining the demographic weight of Francophones in Canada. These investments will make it possible to meet new needs and priorities in French-language education, starting in early childhood.

Quotes

“It’s a real pleasure to see the launch of projects that combine new technologies and French-language learning in Canada. The pandemic has multiplied the need and demand for these learning mechanisms. I’m delighted to see that the virtual campus is already in high demand by school boards across Canada. It’s through innovative projects like this that we can continue to improve education programs and offer young people opportunities to grow and flourish in French.”

—The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

“We have shown that our virtual campuses have the potential to create a more inclusive and accessible education system for all students in Canada, regardless of their linguistic background. We look forward to working with all stakeholders in elementary, secondary and post-secondary education in Canada.”

—Hosni Zaouali, President, Voilà Community Help

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