D7

By Madeleine Dubé
MLA, Edmundston-Saint-Basile

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

8 Comment(s)

Our province, New Brunswick, has the unique characteristic of being the only officially bilingual province in Canada. Approximately two thirds of the population declares English to be the primary language spoken at home, while roughly one third declares French to be.

New Brunswick has a long history of success with respect to bilingualism. In 1969, the first Official Languages Act was passed in the provincial legislature. Years later, the rights of the province's two linguistic groups were enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In 2002, the Official Languages Act was renewed and improved to further protect the rights of English-speakers and French-speakers in our province.

The new act also included the creation of the Commissioner of Official Languages, the requirement of bilingual services in health care, and a mechanism that requires an automatic revision of the legislation.

Bilingualism is also an important business tool for New Brunswick. When a business chooses its location, they look at the available labour force. Having a bilingual labour force is one more tool to allow New Brunswick to compete and thrive in today's global economy.

When it comes to teaching a second language in our public schools, the approach varies. The French system had a mandatory Core program (now a combination of programs called Universal K-2 and English Prime) for all students in which they learned the fundamentals of English grammar and vocabulary.

Before the changes proposed by the Liberal government, the English system had three components in its French Second Language programming. The now extinct Core French program was mandatory in all schools from Grade 1 to Grade 12. Parents and students could also choose the Early French Immersion Program, which runs from Grade 1 to Grade 12, as well as the Late French Immersion Program that runs from Grade 6 to Grade 12.

The first proposal from Minister Lamrock would have forced students to wait until Grade 6 to start French immersion. Many parents and students were opposed to this idea. I, and a number of leading language experts, believe that allowing immersion to take place at an earlier stage is the best way to learn a second language. The minister's initial proposal would have wasted the first five years in school.

According to the minister, the government's argument to abolish French immersion was to eliminate the streaming effect, which allegedly sees stronger students shift into immersion programs while the other students remain in the old Core program, creating class composition challenges.

In June, following months of public outcry, a Court of Queen's Bench Judge quashed the minister's first proposal and ordered more extensive consultations with parents and stakeholders. Earlier this month, the minister altered his proposal to replace the current Early French Immersion program to start in Grade 3 by 2010.

I recognize this approach is an improvement over what was initially proposed. However, I don't believe this new model will do any better than the one currently in place.

Increasing exposure to a second language at an earlier stage, not reducing it, is the best approach.

Furthermore, the so-called streaming effect that the minister wanted to eliminate still remains. He is simply delaying it. His decision to come back and change his mind clearly shows that it has nothing to do with addressing the streaming effect, but instead cutting back on classroom resources.

With respect to the Core program, I support the government's decision to implement intensive French as a part of it beginning in Grade 5. In fact, it was our party that initiated this program when we were in power.

However, I do have some concerns with the pre-intensive phase with respect to Grades 1 through 4. Under the previous format, students opting for the Core program were entitled to a minimal exposure to French as early as Grade 1. With the minister's plan, this minimal exposure has been eliminated.

The former Core program students will have to wait until Grade 5 to truly be exposed to the language. The French modules that will be offered from Grade 1 are not sufficient.

I am concerned that the real motivation for the Liberal government to gradually roll out French immersion in Grades 1 and 2 has more to do with cost-saving measures than anything else. If we need to allocate more classroom resources to guarantee solid second language programming for students, that's what we need to do.

A government should not cover up cost-cutting and pretend it has something to do with education when our children's futures are at stake.

n Madeleine Dubé is the Education Critic for the Official Opposition and the MLA for Edmundston-Saint-Basile. She was a former Minister of Education with the PC Lord government.