October 24, 2011

If it seems to many parents here that New Brunswick's French Immersion program is overhauled every time the government changes, well, that's because it's true. But if constant change is frustrating to some, it also demonstrates an important problem in Canada's only officially bilingual province.

The fact is, many students are coming out of the program with their bilingual skills at a disappointingly low level and we need to do better.

Last time up, the government of the day tried to 'fix it' by scrapping early French immersion in favour of intensive French in Grade 5. It pleased some who wanted better early English skills and an end to the 'ghetto-izing' of children with special learning needs into the core English program, but outraged those who felt early immersion opened the way later on to better job opportunities.

An attempt at public consultation accomplished nothing and everybody walked away unhappy with an immersion program starting in Grade 3 and the Grade 5 intensive French option for everyone else.

Since then a new government has come on with sharper skills at engaging the public. As he promised during the election, Premier Alward is now launching a review of the entry points for the French immersion program.

A task force will look at the issue and report back to the minister of education and early childhood development early in the new year.

According to task-force co-chair Elvy Robichaud - a solid choice as a former (and also much beleaguered) minister of education under then-premier Bernard Lord - the task is straightforward; the examination of a choice between Grade 1 and 3 as the best entry point.

That's a good start for parents who are interested in their children doing well in the French language; most believe that the younger you start, the better you'll learn.

There may be adjustments and improvements to be found along the way; certainly this government already has a proven track record for finding out what people want and then delivering on it. Though we have stopped and started many times on this file, this once again is a good start. If the parents' wishes and the best practices available in Canada (or the U.S. for that matter with Spanish immersion programs) are followed, perhaps this time we'll have success.

Source: Times & Transcript