Intensive English in Quebec : Popular Attitudes and News Media Debates

The author points out that in Quebec, linguistic issues are often covered by the French-language news media in a way that vilifies the English language and victimizes the French language. A case in point is how three French-language newspapers in Quebec (Le Devoir and La Presse, from Montreal, and Le Soleil, from Quebec City) framed the debate about the Ministère de l'Éducation, Loisir et Sports's (MELS) announcement of its intention to implement a mandatory intensive English program policy in all Quebec schools (Grade Six) between July 2010 and July 2012. The author investigates how positive or gain frames contrast with negative or loss frames in these three newspapers, with details of how the publications chose to position themselves on the issue. In total, 60 newspaper articles (news, editorials, op-eds and letters) containing the key words 'anglais intensif' were studied by the author. Her findings show that all three newspapers, but especially Le Devoir and Le Soleil, were mainly against the policy and that most of the arguments were framed as losses or negative attributes of intensive English. The author's results also show that the extensive scholarly research on intensive English was not well represented in the newspapers, and newspaper readers should question themselves about the objectivity of the reporting.

Master's Thesis

McGill University

Montreal

2013

149p.

en