TORONTO - A multimedia French-language platform will be available in classrooms across Ontario for the first time this fall.

The TFO Education resources were already available to French-language school boards and some French immersion classrooms on a paid subscription basis.

But Madeleine Meilleur, minister responsible for Francophone affairs, announced today that this year the online platform will be available across the province for use by French-as-a-second-language teachers.

Meilleur says she hopes students in English-language school boards will have the confidence to use French effectively in their daily lives, as learning a second language opens the door to more opportunities.

School boards won't have to pay for the service, rather the money comes from a federal government fund provided to provinces for minority-language education.

TFO Education says teachers can plan their lessons directly on the platform, use it for teaching guides and send links for students and parents to watch videos at home.