am The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 17, 1998 - Ho Congratulations to Crystal Williams Amanda Allan Cari Brown Colin Davies Hayley Gordon = Keane Stewart - Tait Kendra Eys Paxton King Shyla Young Sorraya Manj| French Immersion Works! French immersion works. Immersion takes advantage of a child’s ability to learn languages easily. It builds on children’s openness to new situations and experiences. Best of all, Immersion does this without interfering with or harming the development of skills in the first language. Answers to Questions most - Commonly asked about French Immersion 1. WHAT IS FRENCH IMMERSION? French Immersion is a ‘program where stud- ents receive all or most of the classroom _ Instruction in French. This program is designed specifically for children whose first language is not French and enable-these - children to become fluently bilingual as is possible in predomi- nantly English speak~- ing communities. 2. WHAT IS EARLY IMMERSION? Early Immersion begins in kindergarten This program is. designed (year one primary) or grade 1 (primary 2) with 100% of the instruction in French. English instruction is then introduced, usual- ly in grades 3 or 4. By grade 6, approximately 30-40% of teaching time is in French with the rest being in English. 3, WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR FRENCH IMMERSION? Any child normally ell- gible for English kin- dergarten or grade 1 is eligible for French Immersion. Prior knowledge of French is not a requirement. Second language learning is not dependent on a high IQ level. It is not a program for “bright” children only. - 4, wae TEACHES FRENCH IMMERSION? Certified teachers who are bilingual fluent in French, are hired by the local school district. 5. DOES IT MATTER IF NO ONF AT HOME SPEAKS FRENCH? No. This program was designed for children of non-French speak- ing families. Teachers are aware of this when they send home notic- es or assign home- work, Reporting is in English. 6. WILL A CHILD'S ENGLISH SUFFER IN IMMERSION? Because English is not taught until grades 3 or 4, children will lag behind their English counterparts for atime, but once English is introduced, Immersion children usually catch up quickly, By the end of grades 5 or 6, Immersion children often perform better when tested than their counterparts In English programs, 7. WILL MY CHILD LEARN THE SAME THINGS AS STUDENTS IN ENGLISH? Yes. The French Immersion program follows the English curriculum as closely as possible. 8. 1S THERE BUSSING FOR IMMERSION STUDENTS? Immersion students at the present time may utilize the existing ‘school bus services as well as the public bus service. However, transportation is not guaranteed for Immersion programs. As you have chosen to ‘put your child in a pro- gram outside of your school area, the responsibility for transportation lies with the parents. 9. WHAT IF WE ARE TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER DISTRICT OR PROVINCE? . Frénch'immersion is available in most urban centres of . Canada, CPF has lists of programs through- out the country. Children transferring out of Immersion very early before English language arts have been introduced may experience a brief lag. Consultation with the new teacher and some work at home usually overcome this problem very quickly, = Knowing A Second Language Can: « increase your child’s personat pleasures such as the enjoyment of literature, art, music, theatre, travel relationships; «increase your child's understanding of and respect for other peoples and other cultures; « help your child to understand more about himself, his country and his fellow Canadians; « give your child access to a larger pool of information and to more educational and career opportunities; = give your child a competitive edge in the job market anywhere in Canada and in many other countries. and personal The Process Of Learning A Second Language Can Also: * develop your child's listening and learn- ing skills as well as self-discipline that are useful throughout life; * increase cognitive abilities, crealing a mare flexible thinker; * anhance his knowledge of his first lan- guage and improve his ability to communi- cate in it (your child will be able to contrast and compare the two languages, and will take his own less for granted); * make learning a third or fourth language much easier. “The jearning of a second language is in itself an excellent pursuit, not least because it develops an appreciation of the act of communicating with others, the sub- tleties that must be expressed in words, the importance of listening" says Professor André Obadia of Simon Fraser University. Randall Litchfield of Canadian Business Magazine has explained it this way: “In business, having a second language is like having a second soul. A real asset for Canada has praven ta be the ability of so many of its people to empathize with peo- ple of other lands through language. The demands of a globally competitive business environment are such that a modern edu- cation cannot be complete without signifi- cant language training.” Heather Szpecht, a 10 year-old Calgary student, put it this way: “Knowing both lan- guages means twice as much of every- thing, just like a two for one deall... The two for one deal means you can hava twice as many friends, twice as many job opportuni- ties, and twice as many experiences. And that all adds up to more fun for me! Hench French is the natural second language for many Canadians because it is so widely used and accessible throughout the country. With French we have the advantage of texts, references and library books and prepared for the Francophone market in this country; large numbers of French-speaking teachers; access to role models and activities in Francophone communities as well access to the French media; and sufficient Interest in the language to support viable programs. It is far more difficult - and in many com- munities impossible - to offer this sort of intensive instruction in any other lan- guage. In addition, a knowledge of Canada’s two official languages helps children to better understand the history, develapment and politics of their own country. French is spoken by about 120 million people world wide. It is an official lan- guage in about thirty countries and com- monly used in another twelve, French is also an official language of the European Community, the United Nations, and the International Olympic Committee. According to John Hewson of the Department of Linguistics at Memorial University in Newfoundiand,"French and English are...the main languages of diptomacy on the global scale. All embassies of all nations on earth use either English or French, or both, as languages of communications.” French is a relatively easy second fan- guage for English speakers to learn because of the clase historical relation- ship between the two languages. Their alphabets and sentence structures are very similar. In addition, many English words come from French or from Latin, a common root of both languages. if you have any questions about the FRENCH IMMERSION program call: Kiti K’'Shan Primary School 635-3115 Karen Westby 635-0135 Or Kim Gellatly 635-4005 sQpee . Bi LiNgue) Y) rs ve Parle Fran eae