I am not an opponent of French Immersion. Bilingual education has many benefits. Yet many hard-working students and parents regret enrolling. Every parent wants to make an informed decision, and that means being aware of both the benefits and the drawbacks. The following list is not meant to discourage or discredit the program, only to draw attention to a few concerns and help students avoid stumbling blocks discovered by others.
I asked a group of writers aged 16 to 25 about their experience with French Immersion. First, a wave of loud sighs, sarcastic coughs and eye rolls drenched the room. Then a grade ten student broke the moaning, “You end up with no English and no French, especially if your parents don’t speak English to you”. “Yeah, they don’t teach you French grammar or spelling, so we can read, but no one can talk or spell,” explained a student who now attends the coveted MACs program. “My marks dropped after transferring into regular high school,” added another. “I went to Glendon, a bilingual university,” said a young French teacher, “My classmates who took calculus in French, learned half of what the English course offers. French textbooks are deliberately made easier.” My own experience has left me with a list of concerns. In my line of work, tutoring and teaching English, my job is to fix the gaps left by French Immersion, and I am very busy. So what are some matters to consider?
1 Teacher language proficiency: Imagine meeting your child’s teacher and being stupefied by his heavy accent, minor but frequent grammar mistakes and a vocabulary of an average high school student. Would you be happy? Unless your own French is good enough to evaluate the teacher’s, you don’t know how good the language of instruction really is. The teacher grew up speaking French? Many of us grew up with parents who spoke Ukrainian, Polish, Italian or Yiddish. Most of us don’t know the language well enough to teach it.
I personally know quite a few terrific French Immersion teachers who have to fix grammar mistakes made by other French Immersion teachers on handouts distributed to students. They also share stories about teachers in Toronto schools being demoted from French, when parents discover that the teacher’s French is awful. Yes, it takes years to discover, and even more years to replace the teacher, because one complaint is not enough.
A good teacher is hard to find. A good teacher who speaks French, even harder. French Immersion schools, at times, overlook the lack of other skills when decent French is on the resume. One of my friends is devastated that after working in FI for years, she is losing her fluency because no one at work speaks French outside the classroom. “Even the teachers who grew up with French parents, speak English to each other. Their French is limited.” Students also feel deprived when lessons on grammar and spelling are avoided by the teachers. Managing confusion seems to be the top acquired skill.
2. Modified materials: Materials designed for French Immersion are not written in authentic French and cover less. They are not the same books given to French kids in Quebec or France. They are a watered down especially for French Immersion. They may also put your child behind right at the beginning. For example, “when kids in the English stream are learning that cats are nocturnal, kids in the French stream are learning to say “cat”.” As a result, your child is never exposed to reading materials with age appropriate level of difficulty or natural language. For example an average grade 6 student should be able to read an article intended for the general population or listen to the news and have no trouble understanding the content. What they get in FI is articles modified to a much easier level. I regularly assess students who have not been exposed to texts written in natural language at all. They have been hidden from the world like little Rapunzel in paper castles made of sheets upon sheets of especially designed texts which are very different from real French or English. By grade 6 there is a worrying gap between what these students are reading and learning compared to native speakers of French or English. And if what I am told about subjects being designed to be easier in higher grades is true, I am scared to imagine how wide the gap becomes by university. Because of this gap, some of my students remain in French Immersion through high school in fear of failing English and other subjects in regular classes. This, in turn, limits them to French language university programs such as Glendon College. But what if it wasn’t your child’s dream to become a French teacher or a government clerk?
3. Language mastery sufferers a great deal, especially when English is not the language spoken at home. Parents think that English will get straightened out on its own, because we live in Canada, but it doesn’t. They end up in my office with a smart and ambitious 16-year-old too proud to admit that his English mark is at a solid 64%; and his dreams of entering a business or health science program are wrapping themselves into a plastic bag, heading for the curb. They blame French Immersion, and I am skeptical at first. Then, after a few lessons with the student, I agree. The child is not to blame.
Many parents probably speak more than one language, most people do these days. But imagine speaking only second languages, those you learn from textbooks or pick up by ear here and there, without ever having a first. French Immersion inhibits the development of true language mastery. True language mastery means you can conduct a full spectrum of linguistic functions without ever stopping to think about grammar or word choice. You can lead a business presentation; read complex research unrelated to your job; prattle with a baby; relax with a classical novel; joke with your friends; then write a poem about you childhood, all in one language you call your own. Most of my clients from French Immersion and a third language spoken at home don’t know the pleasure of having such mastery of any language. This is why my students complain that they end up with no English and no French.
The French they learn is limited to modified textbooks; the English they learn is limited to casual conversation with peers, TV and book summaries on Sparknotes. They end up with three somewhat functional, but limited and often grammatically incorrect languages, (I know, I read their essays). One language for modified textbooks, one language for friends and TV, and one language for household topics. What about business presentations, essays for supplementary university applications, novels for pleasure, and that poem? With many of my clients there is a gap in all of these; there is no language they know well enough to fill the gap.
4. They become non-readers. Most of my clients who were put into French Immersion don’t like to read. Some admit, to great embarrassment of their parents, that they have never read a book. I am not talking about lazy, unmotivated students, but good kids with aspirations and strong work ethic. Texts offered in French are simplified to the level of a child learning a second language. They are easy to read, but boring, because mentally, the child is ready for more complex, exciting texts and authentic language. When more mature texts are offered in English, they are too difficult to read for a child whose experience reading English is limited. The student is unable to enjoy the text, discouraged by too many new and difficult words, and this text too becomes boring. More often than not, the child simply decides that reading, as an activity, is boring, and tries to avoid it whenever possible.
5. Limited post secondary opportunities: I recently went to a meeting with a university counselor, and one comment she made struck me right in the heart. “University English in high school is not the same as university English in university.” She was, of course, talking about reading comprehension of complex texts, writing and presentation skills. The fact is that by the end of high school, FI students know that their skills are behind. Fearing that regular university programs will be too overwhelming, students choose to continue with French, and attend French university programs. In Ontario that really limits their choices. Stories of FI graduates becoming FI teachers are often shared in praise of the program. Unfortunately, the stories from my clients are often quite the opposite. Some of them settle for the French program not because it was their dream, but because they don’t feel ready for the challenge of anything else.
Globe and Mail columnist, Margaret Wente writes “Half of French-immersion students bail out by Grade 8. By the time they graduate high school, only 10 per cent achieve proficiency in French (which is not the same as fluency).” Which explains the shock my friend felt while vacationing in France with her daughter. After ten years in French Immersion the girl could not even order breakfast. Of course there are those who work very hard and succeed in acquiring fluency in two or more languages. Hats off to these dedicated students and their terrific parents. I can’t comment on the exceptional kids. I never see them. Surprise? No. First of all the exceptional kids don’t come to me for help. If they do come, it’s for advanced writing. Second, FI schools are very concerned about their ratings, and most kids who are less than exceptional are weeded out by grade 3. The ones who remain are offered easier materials in higher grades, at least according to the teachers and students I talk to. Unrealistic expectations for the level of French and the necessity of it in Canadian job market is often the reason parents choose French Immersion. Another is the false belief that FI schools teach other subjects better than regular public schools. Ego parenting and competition among mothers are horrible reasons to factor into the decision, but they often are. And there is a degree of distrust for the public school system, but French Immersion schools are public schools.
Whatever decision you make, do stay mindful of the pitfalls, and make an effort to correct your course along the way to avoid any bumps.