French Emersion
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:11 am
#32
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Upstate South Carolina
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:11 am
#33
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 40,070
From: Ontario
Re: French Emersion
Your choice, of course, but the benefit is only "marginal" if you assume the child will move on from Canada to a non-francophone country. Speaking French in Canada opens all manner of doors, rightly so, of course, it's an official language and learning it is something a diligent immigrant might be expected to do.
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:16 am
#34
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,448
From: Calgary
Re: French Emersion
Not the case here either I think.
Part of our reasoning in trying the kids in FI is that although I did French and German at school, in my case a few lessons a weeks was not enough for it to sink in. Same goes for my canadian educated better half, and shes an ESL teacher by trade, so knows a thing or two about both teaching languages and being immersed in an alien langage/ culture.
French fluency can certainly do no harm in the long term living in Canada, and the old style way of learning didnt work too well for me, not that I was particularly motivated back then.... Rather like emigrating, if you dont give it a go, then you will never know one way or the other...
Part of our reasoning in trying the kids in FI is that although I did French and German at school, in my case a few lessons a weeks was not enough for it to sink in. Same goes for my canadian educated better half, and shes an ESL teacher by trade, so knows a thing or two about both teaching languages and being immersed in an alien langage/ culture.
French fluency can certainly do no harm in the long term living in Canada, and the old style way of learning didnt work too well for me, not that I was particularly motivated back then.... Rather like emigrating, if you dont give it a go, then you will never know one way or the other...
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:17 am
#35
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From: Upstate South Carolina
Re: French Emersion
Last edited by iaink; Feb 12th 2010 at 2:23 am.
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:19 am
#36
Binned by Muderators
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 11,708
From: White Rock BC
Re: French Emersion
One of my clients is French - real French from Bordeaux. When he deals with the government he always ticks the box to communicate in English. He says he can't understand a word of Canadian French.
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:23 am
#37
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Upstate South Carolina
Re: French Emersion
Hell, even withing Canada the Ontario Francophones cant understand the New Brunswick Francophones...my francophone neighbours chat in English!
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:25 am
#38
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,448
From: Calgary
Re: French Emersion
Your choice, of course, but the benefit is only "marginal" if you assume the child will move on from Canada to a non-francophone country. Speaking French in Canada opens all manner of doors, rightly so, of course, it's an official language and learning it is something a diligent immigrant might be expected to do.
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:30 am
#39
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Upstate South Carolina
Re: French Emersion
The point I made was that it is perfectly possible to learn a foreign language without being in an immersion setting. Mrs jimf is fluent in two languages that way. My brother's French inlaws did the same - most of them also speak German as well as English. The benefit of FI is "marginal" if you can learn the language in a non immersion setting anyway.
.Either way its there as an option, and its working for us so far.
Its probably ironic that if my wife and I excelled in French at school and were fluent, our kids would quite likely be going to english school rather than FI... Im not sure its supposed to work that way!
Last edited by iaink; Feb 11th 2010 at 4:33 am.
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:35 am
#40
Slob
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 6,345
From: Ottineau
Re: French Emersion
Thats not uncommon, its a language that went its own way 300+ years ago. Its probably a bit like us trying to hold a conversation with Shakespeare!
Hell, even withing Canada the Ontario Francophones cant understand the New Brunswick Francophones...my francophone neighbours chat in English!
Hell, even withing Canada the Ontario Francophones cant understand the New Brunswick Francophones...my francophone neighbours chat in English!
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:43 am
#41
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 30,771
From: Upstate South Carolina
Re: French Emersion
Its like a conversation between an unreformed glaswegian and a scouser. Perhaps its different among more educated francophones?The shakesperian thing could be crap, that just how it was explained to me..
Last edited by iaink; Feb 11th 2010 at 4:47 am.
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:49 am
#42
Slob
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 6,345
From: Ottineau
Re: French Emersion
My stepson and his ex-girlfriend (both from QC) only ever spoke to each other in English. The Germans I knew in Oakville spoke to each other in English.
I suspect it's habit, not an inability to understand each other's French.
Feb 11th 2010 | 4:53 am
#43
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From: Upstate South Carolina
Feb 11th 2010 | 5:03 am
#44
Slob
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 6,345
From: Ottineau
Re: French Emersion
I still disagree. Yes, there are accents that are inpenetrable even to other francophones. I maintain that francophones, when they want to, can switch to standard French. I see (hear?) it happen on a very regular basis.
Feb 11th 2010 | 5:09 am
#45
slanderer of the innocent
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 6,695
From: Vancouver, BC
Re: French Emersion
When I was in Paris a Quebecois girl, who actually couldn't speak english, kept having the Parisiens speak english to her. Quebec french has a strong anglophone influence in pronounciation I think.
