In the summer, I took my kids to a French bakery for their favourite croissant and pain au chocolate. My son ordered in French, and the girl at cash was charmed. This is his fifth year in French Immersion at a Toronto public school, and his language skills are increasingly strong. I am pleased about that, but I also have other concerns.I was a French Immersion student years ago in New Brunswick. Our program of study, however, started in Grade 7. As a result, we already had a good foundation in the English language. Our English writing, spelling and grammar had been established and the French education did not disrupt that base. The challenges for us, however, were learning all our high school subjects in French. To this day, I only know some Chemistry and Biology terms in French. When I went into a science program at university, where everything was being taught in English, this proved to be challenging,.
In our neighbourhood in East Toronto, the French Immersion program begins in senior kindergarten. In some ways, I see the advantages to starting at this time. At these young ages, the kids are like sponges, and appear to absorb new concepts with ease. Learning a new language when you're a child is much easier than the alternative.
But, lately I have been having some serious concerns. For his "English" class, my son had to write a four to five page essay featuring his autobiography. I left him to do it on his own, and asked to look at it when he was finished. I was shocked and dismayed! Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors glared profusely at me from every angle of his essay. With his French training, he frequently placed the adjectives after the noun (e.g. milk chocolate, a tournament of hockey fun - you get the picture).
I expressed my concern to other parents and his teacher. The general response and reassurance was that he will "catch up". I hope so: his future educational and career goals will be contingent on his ability to express himself well.
I decided to start some rituals at home to strengthen my son's English skills. He's now only reading English books at home, and my two older kids have started to keep journals. Every day after school I ask them to write two pages about anything. I don't correct it or comment on it. It's just there. My mom did the same with me, and the daily writing taught me to express myself more clearly through language.
I'm hoping this helps. If not, we will re-examine the situation again in a few months. Has anyone had similar experiences with French Immersion? If so, what did you do to support your kids' English language skills?
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I do see your point, Amreen, and I think for some kids it is too much and some will have to work harder to catch up. However, what a great gift! Another language is going to serve him well in many aspects of his life.
My son entered Extended French in grade 7 like you did. I see that he will likely have some challenges but I am also envious as his French is already much stronger than mine will ever be. It opens up a whole slew of opportunities from a career perspective and travel becomes much more exciting. In addition, we are looking at exchange programs for him. What an amazing way to spend a few months!
Anyway, my point is, I think the positives outweigh the challenges :)
I agree with Jen - I think the positives far outweigh the challenges, too. My son is at an all-French school... until last year, he could barely even read English, but I'm sticking with the "he will catch up" mantra. French is soooo much harder to learn than English is (the rules are trickier) and at least, at home his English is supported due to the fact that our home is primarily English. He will learn. I'm not too worried about his English at this point.
And what I love the most is his pronunciation is absolutely beautiful. His accent? Almost flawless. It's amazing, really. But, he's learned the basics so well, it's the only way he knows when he sounds a word out. (Of course, he applies the same accent on the English words he's trying to read, too... but it will change with more practice.) "He will catch up."
Every parent must be patient. The skills a child will learn in the French language will transfer to the english sector as well. It much more difficult to learn the French language than the english language. The French language has so many more exceptions, than the english language. I studied in a completely french environment through my entire primary, junior and senior academic experiences (including university and graduate school). The rewards have certainly outweighed any issues that I faced during my academic years. I am now a supply-teacher with a first language French school board and I have not regretted any of my parents decisions regarding my educational requirements.
I am also a tutor and I would be willing to help any student in both official languages. A little help will go a long way to academic achievements. A student should feel special to be involved in french immersion or entire first language French instructions at school.
Enjoy our child's development and provide a good support system.
There are always pros and cons. You just have to be determined to do the best with whichever choice you make. If there's a concern that one is suffering because of the other, i.e. studying in French is having a negative impact on learning in English, make a concerted effort to enhance opportunities for more learning in English (tutoring, extra reading and writing, outside of school). The cons of being slightly behind where the child would be in English to where he or she might be with only one language, are outweighed by the pro of learning a second language. There is ample research and evidence to support that knowing a second language enhances overall language abilities as well as abilities and achievement in other areas of study. Whatever choices we make about educating our children, we always have the option to supplement where we anticipate the child might require or appreciate a little extra either from within the system or from somewhere else. Thank you for raising the question to help me think it through for my children too :) Loving the helpful comments from others too!