Fonds

Born in St.
Martin de Beauce, Hélène Baillargeon-Côté (1916-1997) began her career as a
folk singer and actress. A mother of three, she was best known as the main
character on the CBC television show "Chez Hélène."

Produced in
the national broadcaster's Montreal studios, the program was the first
children's show devoted to teaching the French language to English-speaking
preschoolers. It was inspired by the work of renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Wilder
Penfield, who believed that the ideal time to begin learning a second language
was between the ages of three and seven. The content and pedagogical approach
of "Chez Hélène" was based on the "Tan-Gau" method, which
encourages comprehension rather than simple repetition, through exposure to
simple conversations where the dialogue alternates between French and English.

For 14
years, from 1959 to 1973, Hélène and her friends Peter, Louise, Suzie the mouse
and Compère L'Heureux were very popular. However, the show was cancelled in
1973 because CBC executives felt that it had been on the air long enough and
that "Sesame Street," which included five minutes of French content,
could adequately meet this pedagogical mandate.

From 1973
to 1985, Hélène Baillargeon-Côté worked as a Canadian Court of Citizenship
judge in Montreal. She was also involved in numerous causes, notably as
Executive Director of the Quebec Federation of Volunteer Bureaus (Fédération
des centres d'action bénévole du Québec).