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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The Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger (AEFE) runs or funds 470 schools worldwide, with French as the primary language of instruction in most schools.
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
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 Grade 5 or Grade 6, 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 Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, the University of Alberta Faculté Saint-Jean in Edmonton, the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick, 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, York University's Glendon College in Toronto and HEC Montréal in Montreal. French Immersion schools in these cities tend to hire teachers trained at these institutions, due to the training having taken place in French.
The program earns support from most Canadians, largely because it promotes bilingualism. Statistics show that students in French immersion tend to outperform non-immersion students in reading while their English-language capabilities are not harmed [1].
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.
French-immersion programs are offered in all ten Canadian provinces. French popularity differs by province and region. Currently, enrollment in French immersion is highest in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and lowest in Saskatchewan. Western Canada, which is predominantly Anglophone, is experiencing high population growth, but this has not caused a substantial increase in the number or proportion of French immersion students.
For example in Alberta, the rate of enrolment in French immersion programs has not increased since 1991, when the rate was, and remains, 5.6% of eligible students. British Columbia has seen an increase in enrolment from 5.4% in 1990-1991 to 7% currently.[3][4] The table below shows the current rates of enrolment in French immersion programs. For Canada as a whole, enrolment has increased from 2.1% to 7.6%, for all provinces and territories except Quebec.
| Province/Territory | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 300,464 | 7.6% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,222 | 9.7% |
| Prince Edward Island | 4,108 | 19.2% |
| Nova Scotia | 14,625 | 10.6% |
| New Brunswick | 21,285 | 19.0% |
| Ontario | 154,577 | 7.3% |
| Manitoba | 17,871 | 9.9% |
| Saskatchewan | 8,858 | 5.4% |
| Alberta | 31,317 | 5.6% |
| British Columbia | 39,509 | 7.0% |
| Yukon | 462 | 8.8% |
| Northwest Territories & Nunavut | 630 | 6.8% |
Walker Road Primary School, Aberdeen, Scotland started an early partial immersion programme in 2000.[6] Also, Judgemeadow Community College, Evington, in Leicester, 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.
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.
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.