A critical policy analysis of French immersion documents
About Me
Marika Kunnas
Hi! My name is Marika Kunnas. I am a PhD candidate at York University and a secondary school teacher certified to teach French, Drama, and Senior Social Studies. I am a second generation Canadian Black woman. My first language is English and my second language is French. I became bilingual through the Core French program and university studies. I have always loved French and language learning in general.
I love getting involved and community-building. In 2021-2022, I served on the student council in my department as one of the co-coordinators of the Graduate Student Conference and as the Community and Professional Development Coordinator for the student body. In the 2022 - 2023 school year, I will be fulfilling the role of co-chair within my department's student council.
I like to read, write, and do arts and crafts and costuming for fun. Sometimes I still find time to do so!
Current and Future Research
I am interested in how race and other identities intersect with French programs. After completing my thesis project, I was left wondering most about race and French immersion since it was barely discussed within the documents of my study.
In my PhD, I am continuing to investigate French immersion programming in Ontario. I am now focusing more explicitly on race in French immersion and working with French immersion students instead of policies and documents.
My research question is: what are the experiences of racially minoritized French immersion students?
I am planning to use the dramatic arts with secondary school French immersion students. This study will use Playbuilding and autoethnographic monologue creation to represent students' experiences related to race and racism in French immersion programs across the province. I hope to discover more about how race intersects with and manifests itself in French immersion programs. This study also aims to discover programmatic needs for racially minoritized students in immersion.
My PhD research is funded by the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship for Doctoral Students.