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Bilingualism in Canada
Making the Right Education Choice for Your Child By Alina Kelly
When asked if the core French program was working, Azzalini says he believes the program provides a working knowledge and understanding of the constructs of the French language and that this is enough.
Wood disagrees. "Students have little opportunity to use French outside the classroom and the curriculum taught in core French often fails to address vocabulary that is relevant for children day to day," she says. "While a unit on superheroes may be fun, how often will a child use the words 'cape' or 'tights' once the unit is completed? Similarly, French units that introduce vocabulary about houses may be irrelevant to the majority of children in an inner city school where apartments are far more common."
Wood believes middle or late French immersion offers the best opportunity for the majority of children to acquire a second language. This enables a child's education to be grounded in the child's first language while allowing for screening to identify any potential learning challenges at an early age.
Is bilingualism fostered through French language education? Undoubtedly. Is French language education appropriate for every child? Possibly not. Fortunately, in Canada, there is choice.