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Immersion in Canada

Immersion in Canada. By: Lisa Keiderling, Janine Pütz Course: English in the United States and Canada Tutor: Prof. Dr. Hickey SS 06. Overview. Introduction Definition of Immersion History of Immersion Education Suitability Pros and Cons of Immersion Public support for Immersion

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Immersion in Canada

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  1. Immersion in Canada By: Lisa Keiderling, Janine Pütz Course: English in the United States and Canada Tutor: Prof. Dr. Hickey SS 06

  2. Overview • Introduction • Definition of Immersion • History of Immersion Education • Suitability • Pros and Cons of Immersion • Public support for Immersion • Conclusion

  3. Introduction • Certain services and communications have to be available in English and French • Official Languages Act in 1969 • Official languages in Canada are English and French • Nunavut and Northwest Territories have additional official languages (e.g. indigenous tongues)

  4. Language Distribution

  5. Current linguistic situation in Canada • 30 million citizens of Canada • 67% native English speakers • 26% native French speakers • 7% native speakers of neither English nor French • English 17,352,315 • French 6,703,325 • Chinese 853,745 • Italian 469,485 • German 438,080 • Punjabi 271,220

  6. Definition of Immersion • Uses the second language as the teaching and learning language • Second language is also used in other classes like mathematics, history, and geography

  7. Goals of Immersion • Native-like listening, speaking, reading and writing skills of a second language • To acquire same language skills in the native language as in regular schools • To gain understanding and appreciation of the other culture

  8. Total/Partial Immersion • Total Immersion: • Students are taught 100% in the foreign language during the first grades • Partial Immersion: • Students are taught half of the day in the foreign language, the other half in their mother tongue (alternating)

  9. Early Immersion • Starts at an early age, usually Kindergarten or Grade One • Students come from families with English as a First Language • Often employs total immersion • Students are taught 100% of their classes for the first 3 or 4 grades in French • Pensum taught in French gradually decreases • Students can take part in non-immersion classes in Junior and Senior High School

  10. Middle Immersion • Starts in grade 3 or 4 • Instruction language is the foreign language for about two grades • After two grades native language is introduced • Use of native language increases gradually • In grade 5 or 6 Middle Immersion students blend with Early Immersion students

  11. Late Immersion (I) • Begins around entering Junior High School (grade 6 or 7) • Is not as intensive as Early/Middle Immersion and deemed as not as effective. • Completely fulfills the qualifications for the acquirement of a bilingual status at the end of the program concerning reading and writing

  12. Late Immersion (II) • Differs from Early Immersion in intensity, because the students take only about 75% of their classes in French • Classes such as Family Studies/ Technology Education, and Physical Education, which are taught in English are usually the courses that make up the other 25% • Often slight deficiencies in speaking French

  13. History of Immersion Education • Impulse of Anglophone parents in Montreal • Theory by Wilder Penfield • “Experimental immersion kindergarten” in 1965 in St Lambert • Success was immense

  14. Suitability • In order to evaluate the effectiveness of immersion for all students, special needs students have been examined • Problems of those students were: • low level of academic ability • low level of native language ability • low socio-economic background • They usually show better results than comparable at-risk students, who have received conventional L2 education

  15. Supports bilingualism Helps the students in becoming more eligible for future jobs Helps to promote French culture and makes it easier for English-speaking students to live in French-speaking communities The idea of bilingualism is good, but it does not necessarily work with immersion Pros and Cons of Immersion

  16. Results of immersion students in standardized and non-standardized English language proficiency tests taken in higher classes were equal or even better than those of the control groups Fluency and sophisticated literary creativity cannot be tested in those standardized tests Pros and Cons of Immersion

  17. Results of immersion students in standardized and non-standardized English language proficiency tests taken in higher classes were equal or even better than those of the control groups Experience with immersion graduates showed more incidents of false starts, hesitation pauses, ‘uhs’, and even some definitely non-English use of words Hammerly: This spoken English is a problem → necessity to address in research Pros and Cons of Immersion

  18. Reading and listening comprehension in French tested with early and late immersion students in grade eight are on native-like level (early total immersion) or only slightly worse (early partial immersion) Results of late immersion students were significantly lower Tests for reading and listening comprehension skills are multiple choice tests and do not explore all the linguistic nuances to which native French speakers are sensitive Pros and Cons of Immersion

  19. Public support for Immersion • Federal bilingualism policies are unnecessary and excessive government regulation • In Quebec French-nationalists resent the bilingualism policies • Support for bilingualism appears to be strongest in the area known as the Bilingual belt • Groups such as the Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada, and books such as Bilingual Today, French Tomorrow, have advocated the end of official bilingualism

  20. Conclusion • Highly recommended by many persons of public life • Nevertheless criticized by high-donated scientists • Immersion is a good idea which not always works as intended

  21. References • Hammerly, Hector. An Integrated Theory of Language Teaching and its Practical Consequences. Blaine: Second Language Publications: 1985 • Hammerly, Hector. French Immersion: Myths and Reality. Calgary:Detselig Enterprises Limited: 1989 • Hammerly, Hector. Fluency and Accuracy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters LTD, 1991 • Swain, Merrill and Sharon Lapkin. Evaluation Bilingual Education: A Canadian Case Study. Clevedon: Short Run Press LTD, 1985. • http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~z06gkd/Immersion.htmhttp://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.hesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilingualism_in_Canada

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