Our world is becoming more and more multilingual. Many children are raised as bilingual. Bilingualism is a necessity, as a child's parents may not be fluent in the majority language spoken in the community. The child can therefore learn one language at home and another at school. In many cases, bilingualism is a choice and parents may want to expose their child to another language, even if they do not speak a second language themselves. French immersion programs across Canada are a path to becoming a bilingual person. This is an approach to learning a second language with a unique learning environment where French is used as the language of instruction for many or all subjects. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay According to statistics, the demand for French immersion programs across Canada has been extremely high in recent years. Schools are struggling to cope. The program is very popular among parents of French and non-French origin, but there is a lack of French teachers. Being bilingual is a great advantage for students in their engagement and personal and professional development. This opens the doors to their future well-being. This gives them a permanent ability to communicate with French speakers. It increases their appreciation of other languages ​​and cultures as well as their own and, more importantly, it increases employment opportunities in many careers where knowledge of another language is a real asset. Despite its popularity, critics question the quality of the program and its benefits. Many believe that immersion is not an effective form of bilingual education. This lacks relevance, according to some. According to some, parents take advantage of this. It is a way to get their children into “better” schools by hiding them under multiculturalism or bilingualism, thus avoiding the stigma of elitism. This weakens the rest of the school system by concentrating students with family support in one location and using additional resources. As a newcomer, bilingual, I would like to explore the different aspects of the implementation and “success” of French immersion programs in Canada. My research will evolve around a few questions, whether the program is achieving its stated goal or whether it is time to say goodbye to this trend. Despite issues of attrition, exclusion, and availability of specialized education, French immersion has multiple long-term benefits, such as improved cognitive skills, language acquisition, and employment rates. and higher economic benefits. While researching the topic, I came across different opinions present between the parties involved in the current debate. By gathering data and resources, I was able to narrow down to a few most common positions and points. Covering different aspects, I will focus on the long-term results of the French immersion program launched in the 1970s. Pierre Elliot Trudeau's vision of a bilingual Canada changed the face of Canadian education. Across Canada, French immersion programs began to spring up. While Trudeau's idea was to create bilingual generations, the parents' goal was to make their children more eligible for future jobs, promote French culture to their children, and create greater ease of living in the Quebec society. The study was consideredas a success, with parents in other provinces demanding that the program be implemented into their provincial curriculum. The federal government has added much-needed funding to the French immersion system. Many people say that the only reason Immersion came about was the initiative of then-Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. However, as with most new programs, there have been criticisms. Studies have been conducted to prove that immersion lacks balance. Most studies indicate that the experimental children had very little structure regarding the quality of the French they produced. The teaching concept of an immersion program was initially designed in Montreal in 1971. However, this immersion program was designed specifically for French students and was considered very elitist due to its cultural limitations (Rebuffot, Jacques 1993). Subsequently, there are similar programs today. opinions that support or oppose the program. School boards, parents, politicians and even teachers are discussing the benefits and overall values ​​of the immersion component and questioning whether the program has served its original purpose. Yet we must admit that the immersion experience can be unique and life-changing. French immersion, like any other program, is not perfect, but speaking a second language, even if not fluently, in a bilingual country like Canada is a great long-term advantage on several different levels. Above all, research shows that French immersion programs and early exposure to a second language produce more diverse learners. Students in French immersion programs tend to have a more diverse approach to learning and a greater appreciation of different cultures. In a multicultural country like Canada, we must embrace all aspects that contribute to training culturally and socially diverse generations of students. This is one of the main reasons why it is important to invest in French immersion and its resources. However, many question the credibility of the program due to the shortage of competent French teachers. Teachers have many different teaching styles. A good teacher will spark curiosity, interest and bring learning to life, regardless of the stream in which they teach. What is important is how we support teachers in the face of high expectations and a reality where they lack strategies and even resources. It is problematic that at a time when many school districts are reporting a shortage of FI teachers, FI enrollment is increasing. In addition, according to several studies, the general demand for teachers in Canada is expected to increase considerably in the years to come. Yes, many will agree that this is one of the major problems of the immersion program, just like that of correct language acquisition. , having an action plan to resolve this problem will have a long-term benefit. The data shows that there are different methods and strategies to address most program issues. For example, breaking down the barriers that prevent exchanges between teachers. It is still easier for a teacher from Quebec to do an exchange with a teacher in France than with a teacher in Ontario, and this is a major issue. The government can invest in opening universities across Canada with French as an official language, particularly in Ontario. Proposing alternative certification, a practice of granting emergency degrees to those who hold a bachelor's degree but do not have a degreeof teaching. These simple methods could offer a valuable solution to the problem of French teachers. At the same time, this opens another field of research: that of the evaluation and determination of methods of selection of future teachers. Educators have the ethical responsibility to guarantee the competence in French of teachers as well as the adequacy of their knowledge of FI teaching methodology. They should therefore adopt rigorous language testing methods with high validity and reliability rates. They should also offer professional development to teachers who may need it and take measures to provide better service to French immersion students. Without expecting perfection, it is imperative to maintain high standards to protect the quality of teaching in FI schools and the success of the program (Veilleux, I., & Bournot-Trites, M. 2005). For a long time, there has been a common belief that speaking and teaching children in two languages ​​can be confusing and negatively affect their language development. After numerous studies, these claims have long been disproven. Bilingualism has significant benefits for children's cognitive and social abilities, it stimulates creativity, and it also has significant benefits for older adults. Studies show that speaking more than one language can slow the brain aging process. Many studies support the idea that bilingual (and multilingual) students often demonstrate increased problem-solving skills, increased attention spans, and an increased ability to switch tasks. These types of skills have a greater impact on student achievement than any other area of ​​brain development. It seems that if you can give your child a boost in the area of ​​executive functions, you are setting them up for success. (Is French Immersion Right for Your Child? January 11, 2018)Specifically, bilinguals showed overall higher academic achievement, better scores on tests assessing their native language skills, and higher performance on language tests. non-verbal intelligence that required reorganization. visual forms. Dolean, DD (2015)One of the other benefits of bilingualism is that speaking a second language can also make learning another foreign language easier. Children exposed to more than one language from an early age acquire language more quickly and effectively than their monolingual peers. Studies have shown that learning a second language does not interfere with the individual's performance in the other language (Genesee, F. and Gándara, P. 1999). In fact, bilinguals have a better predisposition to learning other languages ​​than monolinguals. The benefits of French immersion and bilingualism in general should not be observed as an independent and stable structure, but rather should be examined in the context of processes and practices. When we talk about the “degree of bilingualism” of French immersion students, we must always keep in mind what their native language is, how many other languages ​​they speak before enrolling in the program, what their social background is and what are the demographics of the groups they interact with. with. There must be a distinction between bilingual and native speaker, we cannot have the same expectations of language proficiency for both groups of speakers. Being bilingual does not necessarily mean being French-speaking, where one will subsequently identify with French-speaking culture. It is also our perception of what it means to be able to speak French thataffects the way we perceive bilingualism in Canada today. Consequently, being bilingual implies an ability to communicate with native speakers at their proficiency level, to speak and to speak like them (Lamarre, P. and Rossell Paredes, J. (2003). In this sense, one should perhaps be conducting a study We are not doing justice to French immersion students if we continue the trend of measuring their skills and success against native French speakers. Many students want to learn French, but they may feel intimidated by the. expectations that they should have to speak like native speakers or at least acquire native-like proficiency. Despite the advantages, many support the benefit of learning a second language through. French immersion, stating that there is low language retention and a high dropout rate in higher grades. In some cases, this is because students choose other specialized programs that are not available. in immersion, and partly to other factors that require further study. In order to reduce the student dropout rate, specific measures should be taken such as: additional support for teachers, improving communication with parents and establishing comparative assessments of students' language skills. Some of the disappointments with immersion come from unrealistic expectations. It is crucial to understand that immersion is not intended to produce graduates who speak French with the same ease as native speakers. What immersion brings is generations of students with knowledge of more than one language that can be implemented to their advantage in their private and professional lives. Language proficiency is closely linked to intellectual and physical activity; if the language is not used frequently, it decreases significantly. This refers to the view that linguistic proficiency and growth are interconnected with the individual's background and social engagement. In the context of low language retention, this is also the problem of first language attrition. Initially attributed to less frequent use of the first language, the cause of first language attrition has more recently been explained as an adaptive strategy of the brain aimed at facilitating second language learning. However, this phenomenon was observed mainly among immigrants and national minorities immersed in a social environment where the second language was predominant. In order to obtain results representative of the rest of the population in French immersion schools, it is necessary to also conduct research among non-immigrants. Bilingual children also tend to have smaller vocabularies in both languages ​​than their monolingual peers; However, different studies show that they have the same, or even better, understanding of linguistic structure than monolinguals (Bialystok 2012). The conclusion therefore is that the experience of French school in conjunction with a native English-speaking environment produces patterns of language development typically found for fully bilingual children. Thus, these children become bilingual and bring with them the positive results of bilingualism. With continued exposure and teaching in the formal structure of French, their language skills will surely improve as well. Hermanto, N., Moreno, S. and Bialystok, E. (2012). Finally, for many, the biggest problem with French immersion programs is the issue of equity. French immersion is a form of "stealth choice", a wayfor parents to enroll their children in what they think is a "better" school than their local school without appearing elitist, abandoning the public system, or spending extra money (CAMPBELL, A. (February 10, 2013) Based on the academic literature, as well as public and academic discourses that I have viewed, a significant audience supports the claim that this is an elitist program that excludes certain groups of students, e.g. students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, English language learners, students with disabilities and behavioral problems, and male students are less represented in the program and do not reflect the school population. It is often called an elitist program that filters out children with behavioral problems. Critics argue that there is a lack of support for gifted learners and those with learning disabilities. In many cases, school boards have only a few or no specialized French teachers. The fact is that when a child in immersion has a learning or behavior problem, the first response of some schools is to pressure parents to remove their child from immersion, that the problem of learning has or does not have anything to do with the language of instruction. However, some studies show that children with learning problems succeed as well in immersion as in the English sector. Likewise, many schools and school boards actively discourage immigrant parents from enrolling their children in immersion, even though studies show that immigrant students – who often speak a third language at home – adapt easily to immersion. . Some immersion programs, however, have a high percentage of children of immigrants, because their parents recognize the value of being able to speak the country's two official languages. Therefore, the question that arises from this point is not in opposition to the French immersion program, instead, it challenges our perception and expectations of the program. Have we become judges and decided on a verdict rather than trying to identify flaws and work to improve them. The fact is that every year, the enrollment rate in French immersion schools increases. As indicated by Statistics Canada, registrations in French immersion programs totaled 409,893 in 2014-2015, an increase of 4.5% compared to 2013-2014, when 392,430 students were registered. Increases in enrollment in these programs were observed in virtually all provinces and territories. Nearly 2 million students (1,957,713) were enrolled in regular (basic) second language programs in public elementary and secondary schools in Canada in 2014-2015, down slightly (-0.7%) from compared to 2013-2014 (Survey of Elementary and Secondary Education in Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2014/2015 Government Canada). Therefore, instead of criticizing the program which was designed for the long-term benefit of new generations, we should focus on improving it, educating teachers, providing more support and resources to French immersion schools and teachers, rethinking our expectations and goals before enrolling our children, and finally giving the child the choice if he wants to be part of it or not to avoid regrets and subsequent deceptions. Once we have identified the barriers that prevent students with learning disabilities from receiving appropriate instruction, we can then address these issues with the goal of moving toward greater inclusion ofstudents with learning disabilities. In fact, we believe that FI's survival depends on its ability to show how it can include a wide range of learner needs; a language program cannot continue to thrive if it does not challenge itself to do better (Mady, C. and Arnett, K. 2009). It is this challenge that must be further studied and addressed in order to ensure appropriate growth and success. of the French immersion program. Indeed, there are problems with French immersion, but reality shows that the benefits outweigh them. Looking at the socio-economic circumstances, we can easily say that being bilingual today means having an economic advantage. Research shows that many choose French because it is one of Canada's official languages ​​and because mastery of both languages ​​will allow them to be competitive in the bilingual market. It is a well-known fact that those who speak two or more languages ​​have better job opportunities and, therefore, more economic advantages. According to Statistics Canada and the 2006 census, the employment rates of bilingual Canadians who are proficient in French and English are higher than the employment rates of Canadians who speak only one of the official languages. This is important and is one of the main reasons why parents choose to enroll their children in French immersion programs. Another notable statistic from the 2006 census is that Canadians who achieve bilingual status have a higher average income than those who speak only English or French. This is true not only in Quebec, but in a total of six provinces. Opportunities for employment, travel and social life are increased for those who speak more than one language. When I first started teaching, competition for jobs was fierce and it was very difficult to get a place on the school board - unless the applying teacher spoke French. French teachers are always in demand and those who were bilingual had a much easier time finding teaching jobs. Many careers require multilingual skills. Additionally, Canadian census data suggests that bilingual Canadians have a higher average income than us single-language speakers (Chawla, E. (2015). French immersion education is beneficial in several different ways It allows one to acquire cultural knowledge, linguistics, and social wealth and dominance in Canadian society and elsewhere and on the need to become competitive in the bilingual job market Faced with reality, it is undeniable that when. students graduate from college or university, there are no guarantees of job opportunities and competition is tough. The future requires preparing children and equipping them with all the tools available to help them succeed and differentiate themselves. from the rest of the competition in the market Students with learning disabilities should also have the chance to enrich their abilities and express themselves through French immersion programs, even if they stumble in one aspect. , learning French can be their way to grow and succeed further in life, personally and professionally. failing to do the right thing paralyzes most parents who know the pressure put on them by knowing that there are benefits to being bilingual - the job opportunities are legion and the financial rewards are undeniable. A recent report from the Fraser Institute indicates that the difference between public and private sector pay levels is 10.6%. (McConnell, K. 2016). Language can be considered as a set of resources.."