I think we should start by recognizing the importance of core French and stop treating it, as it is in many schools and school boards, as a second-class program. I have heard stories of core French teachers who do not have their own classrooms and have to carry their books from one classroom to another in a cart, and whose job situation was much more precarious than those of immersion teachers or teachers of subjects such as math and social sciences.
I myself took core French courses. I challenge this idea that immersion is the only way to learn French. I believe it is important for students to have access, in addition to this foundation that can be very important, to exchange programs, summer jobs or summer camps, for example, to work on their French outside the classroom.