Changes to French Immersion explained at school meeting

About 75 people attended a meeting at Dr. Losier Middle School to learn about changes to French Immersion that will take effect in September.

Representatives from Anglophone North School District presented information about changes to French Immersion that will take place this September.  The government is moving the entry point for French Immersion students back to grade 1 from grade 3 starting in September.  The grade 3  entry point has been in place for 6 years.

Using the link above, you can see the amount of French instruction students will get who are in French Immersion, and who are not in French Immersion.   Students in French Immersion in grades 1 to 3 will learn in French 90-100 percent of the time.  The amount of time student spend being instructed in French decreases as they get older, and is reduced to 25% of the time in grades 11 and 12.

Students not enrolled in French Immersion will receive intensive French training in grade 5 with 60% of instruction being in French in the first half of the year, and 10% in the second half.  Students receive a mandatory 10% of their school time in French until the end of grade 10, after which time it becomes optional.

Students will also be able to enroll in late immersion in grade 6.  Immersion programs will be offered when enough students enroll, and will continue no matter how many drop out.  Not all schools (Blackville, Sunny Corner, Napan, etc) will offer French Immersion, but the government is presently meeting to address this. Immersion is not available for children who are already bilingual.

Core English students are expected to reach intermediate level of French proficiency, while grade 1 and grade 3 immersion students are expected to reach advanced proficiency.  Late immersion students are expected to reach intermediate plus proficiency.  The presenter said 80-85 percent of students reached or were approaching the desired proficiency rates when they graduated.

The proficiency ratings go from A.1 (beginner) to C (superior).  These rating are recognized in France, and can be used to determine what positions a person may be qualified for.  The question was asked if there is a comparison between that rating system and the one used in New Brunswick to rate candidates for government jobs, but the presenter said she was unaware of how the two scales are compared.

The presenter also said immersion students will learn the same math skills in french as they would in English.  She said students who struggle in math would do so in either language, and the program was designed for students with parents who could not speak french and might not be able to help them with homework.  She also showed examples of English proficiency scores between core English students and french Immersion students.  The French Immersion students scored higher on English proficiency tests than core English students.  (Editorial:  this could be explained by classroom composition in French Immersion classes throughout the years, where immersion classrooms needed fewer if any teachers aids or help with disadvantaged students.)

Students already in immersion, that started when they were in grade 3 will continue in immersion.  Students who are already enrolled in school but are not yet in grade 3 are in limbo, and the government is also looking at ways to mitigate this.

The presenter said she took late immersion (grade 6) and also studied French in college for 6 years, and now works as a French Immersion teacher.  She said other students she graduated high school with who also were enrolled inthe lare immersion program went on to careers that didn't require them to keep up on their French, and have since lost much of their proficiency.  She said it was a "use it or lose it" type of skill.