French school in North America made its
inauguration few years ago at a single trial school in an English-speaking
Montreal conurbation. Enrollment boomed in the late ’70s and the ’80s, with
programs opening in school boards from coast to coast as part of the federal
government’s newly introduced policies on bilingualism and multiculturalism.
Today, French Immersion(FI) a public education program delineated for
non-French speakers that teaches all or most subjects in French. This can be
found in every region and two of three territories (Nunavut is the exception).
A made-in-Canada approach, this style of education has also been exported to a
number of countries around the world. And while the boom town days are gone, FI
continues to show modest growth. At last count, in 2006, some 309,000 students
(7.7 per cent of total eligible enrollment) were enrolled between JK and Grade
12, more than a third of them in Ontario. Certain places, including parts of
British Columbia and areas of Toronto, are experiencing sharp rates of growth,
and some school districts have even adopted lottery systems to allot available
places (a better option than parents lining up overnight prior to registration
day or registering their child while in utero, which had been happening in
B.C.).
The durable popularity of French immersion can be
ascribed to a number of proven doles, some of which are well identified.
Parents often enroll their children in order to open doors of employment down
the road, and at least one study, performed by the Association for French
Studies, has validated these hopes. It found that workers who speak both French
and English earn almost 10 per cent more than those who speak English alone.
There’s also the pleasure of being able to converse in both of Canada’s
official languages, and the fact that French speakers have another handy tool
when travelling abroad and can make a wider variety of cultural connections. Bilingual
schools near me also enjoy certain cognitive advantages,
says Ellen Bialystok, distinguished research professor in the department of
psychology at French
program bilingual school. Bialystok has authored a number
of studies in this area, and notes that the benefits of bilingualism include
enhanced problem-solving skills, although, she adds, these cognitive abilities
only kick in when someone enjoys fully balanced and fully functional bilingualism,
and after “massive amounts” of practice.
Importance of reading French language education
in North America
However, Statistics French, in a 2004 report entitled
“French immersion 30 years later,” has documented that kids in the program
tend to come from higher socio-economic backgrounds and are more likely to have
parents with a French language education in North America.
Moreover, the same report notes that “there may also be a tendency for
less-skilled students to transfer out of immersion programs if there is a
concern about their ability to learn in the second language.” Added to this is
the fact that the availability of support for students in FI with learning
disabilities varies from board to board, and is often inadequate. Not
surprising is a 2007 finding by the Canadian Council on Learning that attrition
rates are particularly high among these students.
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