Glendon College - Bilingualism

Bilingualism

Glendon's undergraduate curriculum emphasizes languages and public affairs. Due to this, Glendon was recently granted $20 million by the Ontario government in order to become the country's first "Centre of Excellence for French language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education," in collaboration with Collège Boréal. Language skill assessments are given to new students to determine the level needed to take to fulfill Glendon's second-language requirement. Students who attain higher levels can either take advanced-level language instruction in their second language, or a course taught solely in their second language.

This bilingual approach to university education is said to be unique in Canada, because all students within York's Glendon College receive education in both English and French. Canada's other bilingual postsecondary institutions, including portions of Concordia University, Laurentian University, University of Alberta (Faculté St-Jean), and the University of Ottawa, often educate students in one language or the other. Although each of the latter offers students the possibility of a fully bilingual education, Glendon is the only institution in Canada where all students are obliged to take at least one class in their second language regardless of their initial ability in the language. As a result, code-switching is relatively common among students on campus.