Yesterday, I talked to a young father about the New Brunswick Appeal Court’s decision on Early French Immersion consultation and more recently about the New Brunswick Ombudsman’s Report and conclusion that Kelly Lamrock’s (New Brunswick’s Minister of Education) decision to proceed with removal of Early French Immersion in New Brunswick’s needs a year-long delay and further consultation.

The young father’s point of view was not legal or political. He has three children, the eldest in Grade I early immersion.

He says that the logic and experience of learning, supports the notion that the younger a child is exposed to a second language, the more likely that child is able and willing to learn a second language. He’s upset with Kelly Lamrock.

The Court Decision and the Ombudsman’s Report deal primarily with process and not the substance of second language learning. That reflects the fact that argument and debate, as relate to the Minister’s decision to scrap ‘Early French Immersion” (EFI) was ignored, denied and side-tracked in favour of Ministerial objective.

With all due respect, the Minister’s position against EFI appears to be that early immersion contributes to New Brunswick’s low rate of (functional) literacy and further that continuation of the EFI program would encourage the process of streaming whereby children unable to adapt to a second language learning environment are moved out of the mainstream learning milieu.

Research into French immersion programs in Canada is somewhat limited but there is a body of scientific research that indicates that the earlier the exposure to a second language, the better the linguistic outcomes. Delayed introduction of second language instruction is statistically associated with lower outcomes in language proficiency.

Early immersion (and middle immersion starting in Grade 3) is perceived to be the best known way to teach a second language.

Early exposure to other languages has been shown to facilitate growth in vocabulary in all languages. Oral vocabulary is among the most powerful predictors of long-term academic success and is intrinsically linked to linguistic intelligence, problem solving, and creative thinking.

French Immersion programs are often seen as elitist and the cause of streaming in the school system. In my opinion, streaming should not be the criteria for judging the legitimacy or value of early immersion programs.

Research has demonstrated that students who transfer out of French Immersion programs due to academic difficulty actually fare less well than students who remain in the program. The benefits of immersion programs have been empirically shown to extend to children of all abilities, even those with selective language impairments.

Minister Lamrock suggests that the streaming associated with French immersion justifies its demise. Evidence suggests that French immersion need not result in streaming at all. The benefits of French immersion have been shown to persist even when academic ability and socio-economic status are controlled in research.

Further, a later onset of second language instruction may actually cause greater academic hardship to lower-functioning students and prove to exacerbate streaming.

The importance of decisions that have great impact on the school system necessitates that there be careful consideration of the evidence and consultation with appropriate experts. The consequences are just too great to do otherwise.

The lack of support for students experiencing difficulty is a valid concern. Scrapping the early immersion program could lead to a reduction in learning standards.

There may not be a critical period for the acquisition of a second language, but there is certainly a sensitive period in development, marked by increased plasticity in the brain when language learning is most successful; this period surely occurs before the onset of puberty and/or the start of Grade Five as the Minister proposes.

More importantly, immersion programs and second language learning have been associated with improved outcomes in reading and writing (in both languages), mathematics and creative thinking. I have observed such outcomes first hand in my family and suggest that cross language interactivity accounts for gains in memory, flexibility in thinking, reasoning and attention control.

Early exposure to other languages has been shown to facilitate growth in vocabulary in all languages. Oral vocabulary is among the most powerful predictors of long-term academic success and is intrinsically linked to linguistic intelligence, problem solving, and creative thinking.

French Immersion programs are seen by some as elitist and the cause of streaming in New Brunswick’s school system. New Brunswick’s Minister of Education appears to be striving for lower (common denominator) achievement. Streaming should not be associated with immersion programs or elitism. Early immersion in New Brunswick’s second language should be viewed as an opportunity to enhance the outcomes of our education system. That is the practical.

There is also the reality. We can fight for the ordinary or we can fight for excellence.

You make the choice!

W.E. (Bill) Belliveau is a Shediac resident and Moncton business consultant. He can be contacted at bill.bellstrategic@nb.aibn.com Atlantic Insight is a published Blog inventory of opinion articles published weekly in New Brunswick's print media as written by W.E. (Bill) Belliveau, who is a resident of Shediac, New Brunswick, and small business owner, operating his Moncton-based marketing consultancy, Bell Strategic. He can be reached by e-mail at mailto:bill.bellstrategic@nb.aibn.com