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.
