The future of French immersion in Ottawa will be decided this fall

Article content

As students head back to school, Ottawa’s largest school board will be contemplating sweeping changes to its elementary programs.

French immersion is one of a number of program areas under consideration in a review of elementary programs at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.

Almost everything is on the table. Among other changes, more special needs students could be integrated into local schools and some programs may be cut. It is also likely that, at the end of the exercise, more children will be going to neighbourhood schools.

Article content

Here’s why French immersion changes are on the table and what they might include.

Q: Why change the way French immersion is offered? 

A: French immersion has numerous benefits, including enhancing literacy skills in both languages and preparing young people for bilingual workplaces. But there has been increasing concern across Canada about inequities associated with the program because students are “streamed” into either French immersion or English at a young age with far-reaching consequences. It’s a human rights and equity issue.

Students who struggle often drop out of French immersion. According to October 2023 enrolment figures, 3,389 students had enrolled in Grade 1 early French immersion in the OCDSB, but there were only 2,202 in Grade 8.

“Students may be discouraged from enrolling in French Immersion, or be encouraged to withdraw, due to misconceptions that students who struggle to learn to read should not learn English and French at the same time,” said Right to Read, a 2022 Ontario Human Rights Commission report.

The current elementary program model was formulated during an era that prioritized program choice and in many ways focused on the needs of the highest-achieving students, OCDSB trustees heard last spring.

Article content

“Our system and our structures are placing them on pathways they can’t get out of without a tremendous amount of work against the system,” director of education Pino Buffone said. 

Some OCDSB elementary schools have 900-plus students, while others have less than 200, and those that don’t offer French immersion are the ones that often have lower enrolments. That’s causing inequities between schools and students. The board’s human rights and equity advisor, Carolyn Tanner, said English-only schools were “reinforcing inequities” between schools.  

An OCDSB report released in 2019 suggested that there were considerable socio-economic differences between students enrolled in English and French immersion programs, that newcomer students were less likely to enrol and that students in the English stream were less likely to take courses they needed to qualify for university admission.

At English-only elementary schools, a high proportion of students come from low-income families. The number of students learning English as a second language is also significantly higher in English-only schools. At nine of the 15 English-only schools, 25 to 50 per cent of students are learning English as a second language. At schools offering only French immersion, less than 10 per cent of students are learning English, according to the 2019 report.

Article content

But there are other layers to the issue, including the cost of transporting students outside their neighbourhoods, the shortage of qualified French immersion teachers and the fact some parents are already opting to send children to Ottawa’s two French school boards. School boards are fighting for market share, but resources are limited.

Q: How many students take French immersion at the OCDSB? 

A: Some OCDSB schools offer only French immersion, some offer only English with core French, and others offer both. According to enrolment figures in October 2023, there were 21,797 elementary students enrolled in early French immersion plus 1,863 students enrolled in middle French immersion, compared to 16,990 enrolled in the English program.

Q: How much French do students get in Ottawa schools? 

A: At the OCDSB, all kindergarten students receive 50 per cent bilingual instruction. In Grade 1, early French immersion students have 80 per cent of instruction in French and 20 per cent in English. Those figures level out over the years, with 60 per cent French in Grades 2 to 6 and 50-50 for Grades 7 and 8. Middle immersion starts in Grade 4 with 66 per cent French, dropping to 50-50 in Grades 7 and 8.

Article content

The Ottawa Catholic School Board offers 50-50 bilingual kindergarten for all students, followed by “extended French” for all students in Grades 1 to 3 with all students receiving 25 per cent French.

“At this young age, a child’s critical thinking skills are best developed in their home language,” the Catholic board says on its website. “Spending a quarter of the day in French allows students to continue their growth in the second language while ensuring they develop a strong foundation in the English language.” 

Q: What are the possible changes to OCDSB immersion programs?

A: Changes may range from tweaks to the existing system to radical structural changes, such as offering the same level of French to all students. Carolyn Tanner, the human rights and equity advisor, recommended standardizing programs offered at all schools.

The big question, if a universal system is under consideration, is how much French will be offered at which grade levels for optimum outcomes. In 2016, the OCDSB changed the way early French immersion was offered, moving to 50-50 in kindergarten classrooms for all students in 2016. That sparked an outcry from French immersion parents about lost instruction hours.

Article content

Nicole Thibault, CEO of Canadian Parents for French, says the OCDSB is trying to offer French immersion to more students in more places. The question is whether resources mean it would water down the amount of French offered to immersion students.

“I like a program that has 80 per cent French, 20 per cent English. If I knew students were getting 60-40, that’s not as intensive. I’m not saying I love this. We believe 80-20 is a great level of bilingualism. But, from an administrative perspective, you can see where they’re going. They want to offer the benefits to more students.”

There are three things to consider when learning a second language: the intensity and frequency of exposure to the second language and the duration of exposure.

“In an ideal language learning context, the learner is exposed to the language for a considerable part of the day, week, or term (intensity), every day if possible (frequency), and for an extended duration (weeks, months, or years),” Joseph Dicks, director of the Second Language Research Institute at the University of New Brunswick, wrote in a 2022 paper.

Article content

Q: New Brunswick decided to change the way it delivers French to anglophone students in 2022. Why and what happened? 

A: New Brunswick was reviewing its French programming for anglophone students for different reasons than the OCDSB.

New Brunswick is Canada’s only officially bilingual province, but less than half of the graduates in the anglophone school system could speak French at a conversational level. About 90 per cent of students who remained in immersion through Grade 12 achieved a conversational level of French in New Brunswick, but more than 60 per cent of anglophone students didn’t take immersion.

New Brunswick planned to introduce a new program in anglophone schools in the fall of 2023 that would involve all kindergarten and elementary students in anglophone schools learning math, English and reading in English, but spending half their days in “exploratory learning” in other subject areas in French.

That plan stirred controversy. Some parents argued that French instruction was being taken away from immersion students. Others felt a one-size-fits-all model didn’t address the needs of their children. After holding consultations where almost 13,000 people participated, New Brunswick’s education ministry announced in February 2023 that it was rescinding the plan. 

Article content

Q: What’s next for Ottawa?

A: It’s still unclear when changes — if there are any — would come into effect.

OCDSB staff spent the summer reviewing feedback from surveys and public sessions. A preliminary report is to be presented to trustees for discussion and feedback in September, with additional reports expected in October. Trustees are to be presented with recommendations in November.

Canadian Parents for French is monitoring the situation, Thibault said.

“I want to wait until we have a better sense of what’s going on. I believe they’re doing it with good intentions. The goal is not to take French away, but make it more equitable,” she said.

“If there’s no parental choice, we have an issue with that. We would react if it’s watered down. If it’s watered down too much, it’s not French immersion anymore.”

Article content