Something wonderful has been happening across Canada.

A decision made thirty years ago by a small group of parents in Quebec has had a lasting influence on Canadian education and Canadian life.

On 8 September 1965, in St-Lambert, Quebec, a small group of English speaking parents took a leap of faith - faith in their children and in their children's education - and enrolled their children in the first French Immersion program in Canada. Kindergarten began entirely in French at Margaret Pendlebury School.

Children in that first French Immersion class got used to a bewildering variety of visitors, all intent on observation and evaluation and after a great deal of study and a report by McGill University researchers in 1969, the news spread. English speaking students could learn in French at school without losing their ability to communicate in English. Other parents heard this news and over the years enrolment grew. The parents urged the school boards and board after board in every province and territory began to offer French Immersion. Today, well over 300,000 children across Canada are enrolled in French Immersion programs this year alone. Most of the students are children of Anglophone, English speaking only parents. Theses parents enrol their children in French Immersion because they want their children to learn both French and English. They also want their children to learn about Canada's vibrant Francophone culture.

The growth of enrolments in French Immersion has been steady and interest is apparent all over Canada. Interestingly, outside of Ontario, the province at the far end of Canada, B.C., has the highest number of students in French Immersion; Alberta is close behind and it is most encouraging that the Premier of Alberta, Ralph Klein in a letter to one of our Directors included the opportunity to study in the French Immersion program as one of his "Alberta Advantages".

In the early years, supporting French Immersion could be an uphill battle - the merits of the program were still being debated, there was fear of the unknown. But there was a belief that parents should encourage their children to learn French and there was generous federal funding to help encourage Canadian children to become bilingual. After a great deal of homework, the parents went ahead.

Parents formed CPF in 1977

Parents are also the driving force behind a unique, nearly 20 year old organization, Canadian Parents for French (CPF). Begun in 1977 after 30 parents met in Ottawa, CPF has promoted with unflagging devotion and single mindedness the best possible opportunities for Canadian children to learn and use French. CPF hs been inextricably linked with French Immersion since the organization's inception. The raison d'etre has been simply to support and promote the best possible French second language learning opportunities for young Canadians. The mission of CPF states our purpose clearly:

• As the national network of volunteers, CPF provides educational opportunities for young Canadians to learn and use the French language;
• CPF believes in tolerance, understanding and mutual respect among Canadians;
• CPF recognizes and supports English and French as Canada's two official languages and believes that young Canadians should have opportunities to become bilingual in these languages;
• CPF's primary focus is to create and promote opportunities for young Canadians to learn and use French as a second language.
  

CPF has a three-tiered structure: a national office in Ottawa; branches (analogous to provinces/territories) and chapters (largely corresponding to school boards). The organization has grown and now has thousands of members in some 200 chapters in all provinces and territories in Canada and has been a strong, consistent voice in the support of the value of French second language learning and the positive effects that two languages have on upcoming generations of young Canadians who speak both English and French.

The members are overwhelmingly unilingual Anglophones who want their children to have an educational opportunity that they lacked - an opportunity to learn French. The organization has been the driving force behind the expansion of the French Immersion program and has also provided support and encouragement to other French second language (Core or Basic French) programs. Core French programs have improved as they have been influenced by the Immersion program and used a communicative approach. We are proud of the 2,000,000 young Canadians who are learning French through these programs.

CPF members active in class and community

Many of our chapters regularly send representatives to school board meetings, whether or not there is an item on the agenda that specifically relates to French Immersion. This is time consuming but it does give French Immersion a "local habitation and a name" and the school board members are aware that somebody really does care.

Because French Immersion is till subject to uninformed attacks, French Immersion parents usually go out of their way to keep up-to-date on the program - its strengths and weaknesses so that they can respond to criticism.

As with any program some extra effort is required: transportation may be the responsibility of the parent and registration may require a wait in line. Parents must be willing to accept the fact that they cannot comprehend everything that happens in the classroom. While the French teacher introduces French stories and poems, the parent has a marvelous chance to read English poems and stories to the child. This does not confuse; it enriches.

French language events and experiences are important

CPF chapters and branches excel in providing activities for the students. And a fascinating variety of activities they are! One needs to appreciate and use a language in order to command it. The French Immersion program teaches not only the language but also an understanding of Francophone culture. Cultural activities are essential to a good Immersion program and it is parents who play a major supporting role here. With limited resources and a tremendous investment of volunteer time and effort, school-based Carnavales, accompanied by Bonhomme, have sprouted throughout the West; Pere Noel now makes regular visits to elementary school students, and French language film festivals are offered in local theatres for a school audience.

For ten years CPF organized and sponsored le Festival national d'art oratoire, a national showcase of French public speaking which took place in Ottawa. Branch level Concours d'Art Oratoire drew their participants from the winners of local Concours. This is open to Francophone as well as French Immersion and French second language students and program is still very much a part of French education. Recently, CPF has begun a partnership with the "Encounters with Canada" program, a partnership which enables our students to spend a week at the Terry Fox Centre in Ottawa and learn more about Canada and themselves. CPF members often play a lead role in organizing exchanges or educational visits to Quebec. These take place at varying grades and give our students an opportunity to use their French in a meaningful, extended fashion.

Summer camps are organized by all CPF branches. These are particularly popular because they provide an opportunity for children to use their French language skills during the summer. Options range from day camps, through residential camps to family camps where the entire family comes to camp. The children's activities are always conducted in French and the parents have a chance to learn more French if they want to do so.

CPF piloted the "Rendez-Vous" program: weekend-long youth conferences which are open to French first and second language students. Many branches have been able to continue this program and have found that it is a wonderful chance to make friends, while using language skills. All thses activities contribute to understanding of French language and an appreciation of culture. Activities such as these take French outside the classroom and give Immersion students the opportunity to use their language skills with Francophone students.

CPF has launched several public awareness campaigns, designed to inform the general public of the values of learning a second language and, particularly, the importance of French. The theme of our current campaign is "Learning English and French opens doors to tomorrow" and our campaign graphic, "Proud of Two Languages/Nos deux langues, notre fierte" has been seen everywhere French Immersion students are. We also have created an upbeat video, "Proud of Two Languages", in which Immersion graduates talk about their experiences and about why they value their French language skills.

French Immersion works

French Immersion works. Immersion takes advantage of a child's ability to learn languages easily. It builds on children's openness to new situations and experiences. Immersion teaches children to use French to communicate. Best of all, Immersion does this without interfering with or harming the development of skills in the first language. Canada has been responsible for the creation of the influential educational model of Immersion: a model which has been used in Australia, Finland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain and U.S. Immersion classes are still visited by those who observe the students and emulate the methodology. Canada is a world leader in Immersion and our resources and methodology have travelled around the world. Canada now has more French-English bilingual citizens than ever before. Most bilingual French-English Canadians are between the ages of 18 and 25. This is, in large part, a credit to the openness and accomplishment of this first generation of French Immersion students and to the foresight of their parents.

Optional Program

French Immersion is an optional program that must be chosen by the parents and is offered at the discretion of individual school boards. Concurrently, children have several options depending on the programs offered in their school. Early Immersion is the most widespread Immersion program. As a general rule, children in Early Immersion learn entirely in French from Kindergarten through Grade 2; English is then introduced in Grade 3 and the program continues through Grade 7 in roughly a 80% French/20% English configuration; with English language arts taught in English. At the secondary level, the percentage of French classes gradually drops to 50% in Grades 8 - 10 and then to as little as 25% in Grades 11 and 12. There are many variations of the program across Canada and the courses and time on task varies depending on the availability of teachers and resources.

Along with the establishment of Early Immersion, schools offered another innovation: the Late Immersion program. Students generally enter Late Immersion in Grade 6 and spend the school year studying entirely in French. In Grade 7, Late Immersion students receive some English instruction. At the secondary level, they receive the same percentage of English-French instruction as the Early Immersion students. Another program, Middle Immersion, starts in Grade 4, with students taught entirely in French. English is reintroduced in Grade 5. Again, these are typical programs only.

The objective of the French Immersion program is functional bilingualism. By graduation from secondary school, a French Immersion graduate should be able to communicate in both French and English. With effort and work, total fluency in French, in addition to English, is possible.

Educational change does not come easily. Structures are monolithic and institutions do not alter long standing arrangements quickly. Because programs are optional, parents must keep an eye on local school decision makers and try to ensure that the needs of French Immersion, indeed those of all French second language programs, are not ignored. With growth of the program and its great success, many parents and teachers forget that a single decision of a school board could jeopardize years of achievement ( and yes, it has happened.) Education is irrevocably mixed up with politics in the minds of some and the political movement designed to break up Canada has not made the task easier for CPF or for other supporters of learning the French language.

French Immersion benefits most children

Can any child learn through the Immersion program? With rare exceptions, the answer is a resounding yes. In the early days, the children tended to come from relatively high socio-economic and academic backgrounds. As the program has grown, the classes have become less homogenous and the early charges of elitism have dissipated. Immersion has always been open to everyone. There are no entrance requirements, much less entrance exams.

There are many benefits to an individual who has graduated from the French Immersion program. No one can question the advantage of knowing two languages, of being able to communicate with members of another language group, of being able to appreciate and take part in another culture. These intangible benefits to the individual also make our society better.

Whenever we talk of benefits today, we must talk about economic benefits. There are benefits to our economy from the ever-increasing number of young Canadians who are learning two languages at the same time. French Immersion students learn more than the mechanics of the language. They learn how to learn another language. These skills can be applied to learning other languages.

These young men and women become open to new ideas. They are comfortable being introduced to a new culture, a different way of doing things, a uniqueness in approaching learning and a willingness to try new situations. This flexibility and appreciation of others can only help a nation such as Canada, which relies so heavily on international trade for its economic prosperity.

We have now reached the point at which some of the original Immersion students are now parents themselves. By enrolling their own children in Immersion programs, they confirm their belief in French Immersion.

In Canada, it is clear that the logical second language is French so all Canadians can talk to each other. The most difficult language to learn is the second; other languages come more easily. As the mother of two children who have been through the program, I know that French Immersion provides a wonderful chance to allow a child to increase skills and therefore to prepare for the future. Thanks to the efforts begun thirty years ago, it is a gift with life-long benefits that we can give our children -- the ability to speak English and French.

And we will continue to do so.