Language — Bilingual Programs. Three-Year Evaluation of a Large Scale Early Grade French Immersion Program

In Canada the establishment of French “immersion” programs has been a significant innovation. In these programs English-speaking children begin their schooling entirely in French, with English introduced into the curriculum only once a base in French has been achieved, characteristically in the second or third year of schooling. The impetus for the spread of these programs has been the increasing Canadian emphasis on bilingualism. The success of the French immersion program, started in 1965 in St. Lambert on the outskirts of Montreal, also has played an important part in the adoption of similar programs elsewhere. In the St. Lambert program, Englishspeaking pupils receive their schooling completely in French through kindergarten and grade 1, with English introduced in limited amounts in grade 2 and gradually increased in successive grades until approximately half the curriculum is taught in English and half in French. The St. Lambert program has been carefully evaluated throughout i t s duration. Generally speaking, the results have been positive. Students in the bilingual program attain a high level of proficiency in French language skills while maintaining their native English language skills a t a par with their peers in the regular English program. Furthermore, when tested in English on subject materials taught to them in French (e.g., mathematics), they do as well as their English-educated peers. t . A number of programs similar to the one in St. Lambert have been started elsewhere, and in fact by September 1974, early grade immersion programs were in operation in nine of Canada’s ten provinces. Two Canadian cities where the implementation of such programs has been widespread are Montreal and Ottawa. In both cities, the need for bilingual skills is particularly acute. In’ Montreal, as in most of Frenchspeaking Canada, knowledge of French is becoming a skill necessary to qualify for many employment opportunities. The same is true in Ottawa. And since Canada has stated officially its bilingual policy, educators and politicians are challenged to make Ottawa a model bilingual city because of i t s status as the national capital. This study presents the results of the evaluation of the first three years of the French immersion program in operation in the public school system in Ottawa. The French imrnersion program was initiated there in September 1970. At that time ten kindergarten immersion classes were started. Each succeeding year the program was advanced one grade level to accommodate graduating students, so that by September 1972 immersion classes were operat ive in kindergarten, grade 1 and grade 2 the three grade levels considered in this study. A t the kindergarten level, the teacher addresses her pupils only in French, although the children continue using English in their spontaneous speech throughout most of the year. The teacher does, however, encourage the children to use more and more French as the year progresses. In grade 1, French continues to be the only language of instruction. This means that the children first learn to read and write in French, their second language. They increasingly use French whenever they speak to the teacher and frequently converse among themselves in French. By the end of grade 1, French i s clearly established as the language of the classroom. In grade 2, the program continues to be all in French except for one hour per day of English language arts taught by an Englishspeaking teacher. A gradual increase in the amount of English instruction is planned for succeeding grades until a relative balance is established between English and French. The Ottawa board of education entered into an agreement with an independent research unit, the Bilingual Education Project of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, to have yearly evaluations of the French immersion program carried out. The evaluations focused on two basic questions: 1) Does instruction of the prescribed curriculum through the medium of a second language (French) have any harmful effects on native language (English) skills, on achievement in