Embarrassed to call CCRSB my local school board: Why French Immersion is important for students’ education By Susan Parker, Recently I heard from my parents back home in Pictou County that our local school board was strongly considering canceling the middle French Immersion program. This program has been a staple in Pictou County schools for years, and one that I, and several others, hold dear. To put this in context, I am a second year honours student at Mount Allison University, focusing on Canadian History and Canadian Studies. I was enrolled in the French Immersion program starting in fourth grade at West Pictou Consolidated, and completed it at Northumberland Regional (NRHS). For the last two years of the program, I was enrolled in the French International Baccalaureate (IB) courses offered at my high school, which included a French language course and IB Geography taught in French. One of the final projects I did for the French language course was an analysis of French Immersion in schools across Nova Scotia. Below, you will find both research from that project, my own personal views about the program, and comments about the report that CCRSB commissioned, conducted by A.E. Orlando. First of all, the French Immersion program is one of the best things CCRSB has ever offered to its students. Starting in fourth grade, a student in the program begins to learn French. It starts off with easy things such as the letters of the alphabet and the colours in a rainbow. As they gain more vocabulary and a better understanding, they move onto their first complete sentences and conjugations of simple verbs. By fifth grade, they are able to write speeches on their own. By the time they reach high school, they are able to talk, write, and even debate clearly in French. At this point, the program focuses on fine tuning their French, since it has already developed enough that they can almost call themselves fully bilingual. They graduate high school with a bilingual diploma that represents their ability to fluently communicate in both of Canada’s official languages. If the program works so well, then why is there a decline? The drop in enrollment can be pinned to several causes. However, the most pressing issue that I have noticed from my experience is the lack of promotion and public knowledge. When I was a student in third grade, I often heard reasons why I should not take French Immersion. Rumors were saying that learning French will make you forget how to speak English, lower your grades, and limit your course options. Some even discouraged the program based on the enrollment in the IB program in grade eleven and twelve for program completion. Instead of hearing why I should take it, I heard the opposite, and I am not the only one. The fact is that these rumors are not true. On top of that, the IB courses were a blessing instead of a curse. The French language course in the IB program is just a refining course for French Immersion students, and is easier to follow than some rumors may suggest. Eleven years later and there is still a lack of promotion. With all these rumors though, how can we encourage students to take French Immersion? A greater effort by the school board to promote the program will positively affect the enrollment. Holding public parent meetings at the schools and sending out little letters are not enough. Although I have heard there are presentations in January, this is too little too late. The presentations need to start in September, and continue on every month. My youngest sister in the third grade informed me that not once have they talked about French Immersion at school, and that the only reason she knows about it is because of me. It’s not just the parents that need to know, but the students as well. Presentations should be conducted by both teachers and students (both former and current) from the program. Similar presentations should be held for parents that feature students who have either completed the program or are near completion, considering that they would be able to answer the majority of questions about the program and the IB courses. I for one would be glad to answer any questions or concerns about the program, or go to third graders and tell them about how wonderful the program is. Promotion is the key, and the lack of useful information is pitiful. As the report by A.E. Orlando stated, many parents are disappointed in the lack of information available. I checked the CCRSB site, and there is nothing that is clearly marked as French Immersion information. In this day and age, information should be readily available on the internet for concerned parents. French Immersion is a program that should always be an option for students. Being bilingual in French, or bilingual in general, is beneficial for students. French is not only a part of our national identity but also opens doors to learning other languages as well. Being a Latin based language, other common Latin based languages such as Spanish and Italian are quite similar and easy to learn once you know French. French Immersion does not just teach a language, but a culture as well. It exposes students to cultures from French regions such as Quebec, Algeria, France, and Haiti – cultures that they would not have seen in most English classes. It also engages the mind, enabling students to use more of their brains. Studies conducted by Statistics Canada found that teenagers who took French Immersion scored higher on English reading tests than non-French Immersion students. This can also be due to their larger English vocabulary when compared to monolinguals. There are also more future employment opportunities for students who speak both languages. Canada is a bilingual country, and you will encounter people who speak both languages in the majority of workplaces. French is spoken across the world in several countries, further expanding the chances. Employers look for students who are bilingual to make sure that there is someone who can communicate with French speaking clientele. Being bilingual gives students an advantage over others in the job market. It also allows them to work in French speaking areas, such as Acadian areas or Quebec, as well as opportunities in the Canadian government. Speaking French is no longer an option, but a necessity in the work force. The cancellation of the French Immersion program not only hurts the school board’s reputation, but also the education of its students. By refusing the students a chance to learn French, CCRSB is limiting the ability of students to interact with a more bilingual Canada and a globalized world. It is those people who can speak more than one language who will be filling job opportunities in the future. In retrospect, this is already happening. Businesses, such as those in the tourism industry or that have clientele in Quebec, need French speakers. During my summer job, I spoke with Quebec visitors daily, and even some from France and Switzerland. Without a program to teach students French, how can they be prepared for the future? Turning towards A.E. Orlando’s report now, there were some good points made. As Orlando mentioned, there is a lack of promotion in the feeder schools. I, however, believe that there is a lack in all schools. To reiterate Orlando, we need to recreate the “buzz” by actually doing presentations for both parents and students. I also agree with his statements about what would happen if the program was cut or parts of it were changed. Cutting the program even for a year would create a domino effect throughout the entire program, and would also put doubt into parents’ minds about whether the program will last if they enroll their child in it. The program needs to stay untouched; it is what the school board does outside of the program that needs to change. Although Orlando’s report did shed light on some problems, I worried that he did not truly consider the program in its true form within Pictou County. As he stated numerous times, a large percentage of the students from high school that were interviewed were from Amherst. How could a student from Amherst possible understand French Immersion in Pictou County? He also mentioned that he did not talk to anyone in twelfth grade. How can you accurately portray the student body without consulting with students who have seen the program throughout its entire course? I also question how much consulting was even conducted at NRHS. Within the report, it starts more than once that NRHS has competing French Immersion programs. Not once during my four years at NRHS has there ever been two French Immersion programs. There is only one class. This class enters in the high level IB French courses to complete the program along with integrated students. Any integrated students not taking IB from tenth grade on will be in their own class. When I was in the IB course, there were twenty one of us in this high level IB French course. I would also like to note that not once did I have a scheduling conflict at NRHS and was able to take both French Immersion and every course that I wanted. Separating IB and French Immersion between NRHS and North Nova (NNEC) makes no logical sense and would not beneficial to anyone. Perhaps if both schools were located within the same town or city, it would work. Students from all over western Pictou County go to NRHS, such as River John and Salt Springs. They already have a long distance to go for French Immersion at NRHS, and I sure I speak for everyone when I say that they would not appreciate an extra half an hour to their already lengthy trip. It would be easier for them to just go to CEC. I for one would not appreciate an extra thirty minutes compared to the five minutes it takes to get to NRHS currently. It would also damage the IB program at NRHS. The program relies on its French Immersion students to take the second language component, in this case French, in order to fill classes. Without these students, the IB program would no longer be sustainable and would eventually be removed due to lack of interest. It is not only IB that will suffer, but also other parts of the school such as the athletics department, music programs, and the clubs and committees due to fewer students within the school. I would have quit the program if I was forced to go to NNEC. Going there would mean losing connections with people that I have grown up with who took English programs instead of French. This will force students who come from different backgrounds to mesh, instead of letting students stay at NRHS with people they have known for years. It is ridiculous to make students who want to continue their studies to go to NNEC instead of being able to take IB French courses at NRHS. I highly discourage this, seeing that IB has not only helped my French, but also my academic career. Due to what I learned in the program, I felt well prepared for my first year of university and was not as overwhelmed as my friends who never took IB. I also was given six credits from Mount Allison towards my degree because I took IB French. Without these credits, I would not be able to finish my honours degree on time. The Middle French Immersion should stay at West Pictou, without any change or additions. Students in this program also have the option of enrolling in Integrated French in high school, therefore providing yet another feeder school for Integrated French. Late Immersion would not be an ideal program to add. It would mean forcing the school to hire more French teachers (which Orlando noted were few), have class space for them, and try to fill yet another class. Early Immersion would disadvantage students who want to take the program currently. It would also hurt English education for students at West Pictou who come from primarily Anglophone homes. Learning English is difficult as is at such an early stage, adding French too soon in a county that is not overly Francophone would overwhelm students. The sixth grade intensive French option suggested by Orlando would further discourage students from staying in the course. The first four to five years of the French Immersion program are already hard for students. This is the period in which you began to grasp the concepts of the language. Cutting two years out of the program will not only make it harder, but also weed out more people who find it too difficult. Those two years in fourth and fifth grade are two are the most important years in the entire French Immersion program. It’s shameful to purposely deny children education that will help them in their future. By changing the French Immersion program, you will be inhibiting them from engaging in a bilingual country and a more globalized world. Middle French Immersion has proved to be one of the best programs out there to teach students a second language, and has produced positive results. Promotion is key to attract more people to the program. Giving up on the program is no way to support education Focusing on education is something that a school board should be doing. French is no longer an optional course but a necessity.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 13:51:15 +0000
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