Securing a spot in French immersion may not be bloodsport — at least, not yet — but the annual registration battle among parents certainly has shades of The Hunger Games (not to mention similar odds of success).
Shaunpal Jandu, a spokesman for Canadian Parents for French, talked with Postmedia’s Misty Harris about nationwide enrolment — up 28 per cent since 1991 in public schools outside Quebec alone — problems with demand outpacing supply, and the lengths to which people are going to win their children spots in the program.
Q. What’s the overall picture of French immersion in Canada?
A. The program was introduced, more or less, in ’75 and has grown to the point where 8.7 per cent of children are now enrolled in French immersion, according to the latest census. Most provinces are showing an increase. And if they’re not showing an increase, they’re stabilizing their numbers in terms of enrolment.
Q. How far will parents go to secure their kid’s placement?
A. Parents are lining up in front of schools to register their children like they’re waiting for tickets to a rock concert. Those are extreme cases, of course, but we see it from B.C. to Ontario.
Q. Statistics Canada reports that enrolment in French immersion in public schools outside Quebec grew from 267,000 to 341,000 between 1991 and 2011. Does this represent an all-time high?
A. Absolutely, and we’re currently in the process of gathering numbers for 2011-2012. There are slight dips here and there, but you’re looking at tenths of percentages. Nationally, the program is still going up. We went up about a half per cent from 2010 to 2011.
Q. Why the continued demand?
A. A lot of parents believe this will lead to employment success (for their kids) both in Canada and abroad. After English, French is the most-learned second language in the world; it’s the official language of 33 countries; and it’s the only language other than English to be spoken on five continents.
Q. Anything else behind the popularity?
A. There are also cognitive benefits. Learning a second language helps with memory and brain development. A lot of (French immersion) parents get scared because they see their children not performing as well in their first years of school. But by Grade 3, these kids are often outpacing their English language counterparts in English, in French — obviously — and seeing their math skills go up.
Q. What’s the biggest roadblock facing French immersion in Canada right now?
A. Accessibility. A lot of schools, unfortunately, have to implement capping situations and lotteries because there’s a huge supply and demand issue: there are just not enough teachers to meet the demand. Busing is also an issue. In B.C., for example, busing is only guaranteed for local schools — and local schools may not have French immersion.