French immersion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which a child who does not speak French as his or her first language receives instruction in school in French. In most French-immersion schools, children will learn to speak French and learn subjects such as history, geography and science in French.
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[edit] Use of French immersion programs
[edit] Worldwide
The Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger (AEFE) runs or funds more than 300 schools worldwide, with French as the primary language of instruction in most schools.
[edit] Australia
French immersion is used in Australian schools such as Mansfield State High School; teaching mathematics, SOSE, science and French, entirely in French.
There is also a French immersion program offered at Methodist Ladies' College and Benowa State High School teaching a variety of subjects over three years in French.
Telopea Park School in Canberra is a bilingual French-English school.
The program is also offered at The Glennie School in Toowoomba Queensland
[edit] Canada
French immersion is offered in most Anglophone public school districts. Most early French immersion students, starting in kindergarten or Grade 1, do all their work in French, except English language arts, which usually starts in between Grades 2 and 4. Late immersion generally begins in middle school (grade 6) or in late elementary school (grade 4), although these students are not usually in the same classes as early French immersion students. Some schools do not offer French immersion until later grades. Extended French programs provide a variation on late immersion, where students take some courses in English and others in French. French immersion is also done in some private schools and preschools.
Several Canadian universities offer opportunities for students to continue to study subjects in either French or English, such as the University of Alberta Faculté Saint-Jean in Edmonton, the Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia, the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, University of Ottawa, Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario and York University's Glendon College in Toronto. French Immersion schools in these cities tend to hire teachers trained at these institutions, due to the training having taken place in French.
Although the program earns support from most Canadians, largely because it promotes bilingualism, others are concerned that Anglophone students in immersion programs will not learn to read and write well in English. However, statistics show that students in French immersion tend to outperform non-immersion students in reading while their English-language capabilities are not harmed [1], although metaphorical understanding can prove to be difficult to them.
In 2008, an editorial in the Vancouver Sun [1][2]criticized French immersion programs for having become a way for higher socioeconomic groups to obtain a publicly-funded elite track education. Since lower socioeconomic groups and children with learning and behavioral problems have lower rates of participation in French immersion, a situation has developed in which ambitious families prefer French immersion possibly more for its effective streaming than for the bilingual skills it gives to students. If research could illustrate that this streaming effect were real, French immersion programs would be going against government mandates to provide equality of opportunity in public education. Research by Willms [3][4]provides evidence in support of this effect. Concerned about providing equal educational opportunities, the province of New Brunswick has eliminated French immersion in the early grades in favor of universal French education in the later grades.
French-immersion programs are offered in all ten Canadian provinces, but their popularity differs by province and region. Currently, enrollment in French immersion is highest in the Maritime Provinces and parts of Quebec and Ontario. Western Canada, which is predominantly Anglophone, is experiencing high population growth. This has resulted in increased enrollment in French immersion programs, which can be attributed in part to the immigration of Francophones from Eastern Canada as well as other parts of the world, such as Haiti and Africa.
[edit] United Kingdom
Walker Road Primary School, Aberdeen, Scotland started an early partial immersion programme in 2000.[5] Also, Judgemeadow Community College, Evington, in Leicester, England, has been using a French Immersion course in one form group a year for the last four years. Pupils answer the register in French, and their French, IT and PHSE lessons are all in French.
Immersion teaching is now common in the UK from nursery (PK) to year 5 (ii year olds).
[edit] United States
Private French language immersion schools in the United States have existed since at least the 1950s. Most of these schools receive help from the AEFE. There are currently almost 40 of these schools in the United States.
Public school districts have run French immersion programs since 1974.
- Montgomery County, Maryland (since 1974)
- Holliston, Massachusetts (since 1979)
- Louisiana (since 1984) - 26 immersion program in 9 parishes (counties)
- Prince George's County, Maryland (since 1984)
- Eugene, Oregon (since 1984)
- Miami (since 1986)
- Milton, Massachusetts (since 1987)
- Columbus, Ohio (since 1987)
- Edina, Minnesota (since 1991)
- Madawaska, Maine (since 1995)
- St. Paul, Minnesota (since 1996)
- New York (since 2007)
- Fairfax County, Virginia
- Henrico County, Virginia - High school French immersion program
- San Diego, California (since 1994)
The Southern part of Louisiana has a strong French heritage extending back to colonial times. During the mid- to late twentieth century, however, the number of native French speakers in Louisiana plunged as the region became increasingly enveloped in mainstream American culture. As a result, French immersion was viewed by parents and educators as a way to save the French language in Louisiana.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Gardner, D. The Vancouver Sun, July 26, 2008
- ^ http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=144196bf-8a12-47e8-8109-b7be65a7bb9b
- ^ Willms, D. Policy Options, July-August 2008 pp. 91-96
- ^ http://www.irpp.org/po/
- ^ 2001Early Partial Immersion in French at Walker Road Primary School, Aberdeen by Professor Richard Johnstone, University of Stirling, Scottish Centre for Information on Language Teaching & Research
