French Immersion
Apr 29th 2017, 3:07 pm
#31
"In cruce vincam"
Joined: May 2010
Location: Mill Bay, Vancouver Island
Posts: 3,232
Re: French Immersion
There have been numerous studies on the academic benefits of learning a foreign language. As far as learning being "challenging enough" while I wonder whether learning is as challenging as it used to be, I cant see why learning a foreign language, and learning well should be considered too much for a young student.
European students normally learn besides English another language, and I don't see them being behind in math and science compared to North American students, in fact the contrary in experiences I have had some exposure to.
European students normally learn besides English another language, and I don't see them being behind in math and science compared to North American students, in fact the contrary in experiences I have had some exposure to.
Apr 30th 2017, 9:26 am
#32
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 10,006
Re: French Immersion
French Immersion doesn't mean learning a second language. I've never said learning a second language was in any way a bad thing. What I do question is whether transposing your entire education into what for some/many is a second language is automatically a good thing.
Apr 30th 2017, 12:25 pm
#33
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2009
Location: Dundas, Ontario
Posts: 176
Re: French Immersion
My grade 8 daughter and grade 5 son are in FI in the greater Hamilton area of Ontario. I have for the most part been happy with it. They don't know any different, they're doing pretty well and my average ability kids seem to be carried along by their peers, some of who are obviously very smart. I've certainly noticed their ability to spell in English definitely takes a hit around grade 5 but seems to catch up by the time they get to grade 8. (SK to grade 5 being very French focused and grade 6 - 8 being years when they suddenly study some subjects entirely in English).
There's certainly an element of social engineering in the FI group. They're definitely for the most part the children of more well to do parents, more educated parents and with parents who have had exposure to life beyond Canadian borders. We could have a long debate about the pros and cons of this but it is what it is.
Like all things education wise, definitely a matter of personal choice.
There's certainly an element of social engineering in the FI group. They're definitely for the most part the children of more well to do parents, more educated parents and with parents who have had exposure to life beyond Canadian borders. We could have a long debate about the pros and cons of this but it is what it is.
Like all things education wise, definitely a matter of personal choice.
Last edited by lifeisajourney; Apr 30th 2017 at 12:25 pm. Reason: typo
May 1st 2017, 2:10 pm
#34
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2008
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 285
Re: French Immersion
Our son is in Grade 2 French immersion in Toronto. He started in JK so it has always been a part of his school experience. Our experience in Toronto has been OK. Our son in very fluent in his speech and reading, writing and math are coming along just fine. We do find that we, as parents, are more involved with his school as we need to prop up the English side of his learning at home.
One of the issues in Toronto is that to continue in French for the higher grades then generally the kids are bused to a different school. Some, as we will face, are very far. Kids in his school here that wish to continue in grade five are bused out and this adds an hour to their day each way and removes them from there community of friends. I think that it is a method employed by TDSB to cut the numbers. I am sure that it is a different in places such as Ottawa.
Sad that the TDSB has a lot of antagonistic ideas in general (who are these people). To add further dynamic, our school has split classes this year. Our son is in a 2/3 split which really sucks for the kids. You would think that in the city we would not have our schooling like 'Little House on the Prairie'. Their is no mathematical reason why the classes are split it is just a TDSB move and it adds a great deal of difficulty for the students and staff. We have found that the teachers are pretty dedicated to the bilingual learning and they certainly try to do what they can in the framework of the TDSB model. Some students found it challenging and dropped before the got to SK. In terms of numbers, I think that it was around 2 or 3 students out of 45. His class is pretty mixed and for some the French is a third language.
I would suggest that you give it a try. More education and skills cannot be a bad thing right!
One of the issues in Toronto is that to continue in French for the higher grades then generally the kids are bused to a different school. Some, as we will face, are very far. Kids in his school here that wish to continue in grade five are bused out and this adds an hour to their day each way and removes them from there community of friends. I think that it is a method employed by TDSB to cut the numbers. I am sure that it is a different in places such as Ottawa.
Sad that the TDSB has a lot of antagonistic ideas in general (who are these people). To add further dynamic, our school has split classes this year. Our son is in a 2/3 split which really sucks for the kids. You would think that in the city we would not have our schooling like 'Little House on the Prairie'. Their is no mathematical reason why the classes are split it is just a TDSB move and it adds a great deal of difficulty for the students and staff. We have found that the teachers are pretty dedicated to the bilingual learning and they certainly try to do what they can in the framework of the TDSB model. Some students found it challenging and dropped before the got to SK. In terms of numbers, I think that it was around 2 or 3 students out of 45. His class is pretty mixed and for some the French is a third language.
I would suggest that you give it a try. More education and skills cannot be a bad thing right!
