Benefits of French Immersion
Research confirms the benefits from French Immersion education are many. Immersion education expands the intellect; strengthens English literacy skills; develops enhanced feelings of self-esteem and pride in having acquired an additional language; encourages the joy of lifelong learning; allow students to compete internationally; provides students with more choices for advanced education and career options; and broadens students' cultural lives through access to literature, art, music and theatre in another language.
In an Edmonton Journal article, research by Bialystok found that bilingual children build up their "executive" brain functions more quickly, "and adults who are bilingual lose them more slowly." She claims that being bilingual helps to keep you from losing your mental edge as you age.
Why Learn a Second Language?
Knowing a second language can certainly increase your child's personal pleasures such as the enjoyment of literature, art, music, theater, travel and personal relationships. Another benefit of learning a second language is that it helps to increase your child's understanding of and respect for other people and other cultures.
It enables your child to become more aware of his country and fellow Canadians. For the future, having a second language will give your child access to a larger pool of information and to more educational and career opportunities. A second language will also give your child a competitive edge in the job market anywhere in Canada and in many other countries.
A 10-year-old student from Calgary expressed having a second language as a two for one deal..."Knowing both languages means twice as much of everything,.... The two for one deal means you can have twice as many friends, twice as many job opportunities and twice as many experiences. And all that adds up to more fun for me!"
Looking for other ways to support French at home?
Well, one of the ways is by listening to French audio and video materials. The following are performers who have produced audio or video materials especially for French Immersion students as well as doing school and community performances; Carmen Campagne, Jacques Duchesneau, Alex Mahé, Jacques Chauvin, Matt Maxwell, Suzanne Pinel(Marie-Soleil), Charlotte Diamond, Gérald Laroche and Gilbert Parent.
The Canadian Parents for French also has a web site with a French Internet Address list. This list has some great sites to search.