The pros and cons of the province's French immersion plan
Doug Willms, director of the Canadian Research Institute for Social Policy at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, lists the pros and cons of the provincial government's new plan for French immersion. The government is replacing early French immersion in September with an intensive French program that will begin in Grade 5:
Pros
* It is a universal program for all children to learn French - a first.
* Avoids early streaming which, as a whole, yields worse results.
* Children are still going to have an opportunity to learn French along with the ability to arrive in Grade 12 competitive in math and science and with strong English skills.
* Opens up the opportunity for schools to have a bilingual culture because there won't be that streaming from the get-go; right now the program is classroom immersion because students don't speak French in the hallways.
* Opportunity for children to develop a strong base in their first language early on.
Cons
* Have to make sure that the streaming at the middle school level isn't intensified.
* Need good-quality programs on the post-intensive French side - in math, science or language arts so that it is not simply immersion versus core.
AS JOSEPH DICKS SEES IT
Joseph Dicks, director of the Second Language Research Institute of Canada and member of the faculty of education at the University of New Brunswick, lists the pros and cons of the provincial government's new plan for French immersion:
Pros
* Intensive French will provide a big boost to core French.
* The requirement that French be compulsory until Grade 12.
Cons
* Elimination of all French second-language programs at the elementary level.
* Students will not have reached an advanced level of oral proficiency at graduation.
* Removal of the possibility of rich bilingual experiences for children at the elementary level.
* Intensive French shows promise at Grade 5 but is a basic level of proficiency and is untested in the long term.
* Fallout for teachers and university faculties of education.
* Early French immersion won't be there to blame for the problems that exist in the educational system.
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If I want to know more about local organically grown vegetables, who am I going to ask? The farmer or the 16 year old kid working at Sobeys? The farmer will tell me everything there is to know because farming is his life, while the 16 year old produce guy just knows what he's been told.
When you want to know the bottom line, you ask an expert.
And hey, he's good friends with Lamrock! oh wait, so is Croll!
Funny...
If you then turn the page and read the "French Facts" put on by the province, it reads "students will be better able to reach oral proficiency" through this new program.
How are students "better able to reach oral proficiency" when the standards have been lowered???
I suggest the province consult a real expert like Joseph Dicks, and get their "facts" straight.