Building French-as-a-Second-Language Teacher Candidates' Linguistic Confidence through Drama-Based Activities.

This article focuses on a pilot project called the Conversation Club, designed to improve French-as-a-second-language (FSL) teacher candidates’ (TCs) linguistic confidence and proficiency at a Canadian university. Conducted as five weekly one-hour online sessions, the club used drama-based and improvisational activities entirely in French to foster spontaneous language use, pedagogical skill development, and peer collaboration in a low-pressure environment. Findings indicate that even brief, informal practice opportunities can enhance TCs’ linguistic confidence, provide experiential learning applicable to their future classrooms, and build supportive social networks, which may contribute to improved recruitment and retention of FSL teachers. The study highlights the importance of integrating oral communication practice and community-building within teacher education programs, while noting that such interventions are only partial solutions to broader systemic challenges in FSL teacher preparation.