TV viewing in other languages is becoming more widespread among youth in Canada, with the majority of French speakers watching content in their second official language, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitor (MTM).
Twenty-one percent of English-speaking children watch TV and movies in French each week, a notable increase from 9% in 2023, while 49% of French-speaking children consume content in English, up slightly from 47% last year. On a monthly basis, the numbers remain high, especially among Francophones, with 66% of them watching content in English. About 28% of English speakers consume French content on a monthly basis.
Native-born Canadians are more likely to watch content in their second official language, according to the report. About 26% of racialized Anglophones watch in French, up sharply from 7% in the 2023 report, while 59% of racialized Francophones consume in English, down from 71% last year.
Going further, MTM shows that younger English-speaking children (two to six) are more likely to watch content in French compared to older age groups. Meanwhile, French-speaking teenagers age 12 to 17 are more likely than any other group to watch in English (61%).
The number of English-speaking respondents consuming in French varies in each province. About 30% of English-speaking respondents in the Atlantic region say they consume in French, while 21% of those in B.C. and Ontario do the same, and 15% do so in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Half of English-speaking children living in Quebec watch content in French.
The report also found that consumption of French-language content is higher among English-speaking kids living in households with a university-level education (24% vs. 18% of households without). Half of French-speaking children view content in English, regardless of the highest level of education in their household.
This story originally appeared in Media in Canada
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