The NB Department of Education tasked PriceWaterhouseCooper with six questions in the Review of Policy 309. CPFNB was invited to reply to questions 1 and 6 only. Our answers are below.

Issue 1.1.G
Question: What are the perceived strengths of the current structure for each program element? The elements include entry point, time on task, teacher proficiency, and student critical mass.

(a) The Core French program gives students a minimum basic knowledge of the French language. This introduction begins in Grade one and is mandatory until the end of Grade ten. Unfortunately, Core French does not produce enough, capable bilingual students. We know that proficiency in French is related to time on task and this does not appear to be adequate in the Core French program. The basic level of French which Core French produces is not adequate to participate in a conversation with a native speaker. With increased exfracurricular activities for the Core French students, they would have more of an opportunity to develop bilingualism. These activities should include exchanges with Francophone communites/schools, summer camps, and cultural activities. It will be informative to note the proficiency scores of Core French students since the implementation of Policy 309 as compared to students before the Policy was implemented. Teachers are required to have an Advanced proficiency rating to teach Core French students. Some districts are adhering to this and some are not. Most assuredly the districts who are adhering to Policy will be producing students with a higher proficiency level than those districts who are not adhering.

(b) The early French immersion entry point is grade one. Early French immersion produces the best proficiency in French, while not detrimentally affecting the child’s English skills. In the early immersion classroom everything is done in French. It is a very gentle approach for young children. Parents report that children with learning challenges such as ADH]) and dyslexia adapt very well to the early immersion program. It is important to note that parents put their children in early immersion before these learning problems have been assessed or diagnosed. Often, by the time ADHID or dyslexia is diagnosed the child is already well on their way to becoming fluently bilingual, a chance they may not have had without early immersion. The early immersion program has a greater number of students with diverse soci-economic and intellectual backgrounds, therefore making bilingualism within the reach of all students, not just the gifted students. Students learn to read in grade one, so their learning process need not be interrupted. They learn to read in French and transfer those skills to English usually by the end of grade two without any formal instruction in reading. By grade three or four, students are beginning to read to learn and we do not believe that this would be the best entry point for an immersion program, as the learning process would need to be interrupted to start the learn to read process over again in French.

(c) We believe it is necessary in New Brunswick to have an entry point in Grade six at the beginning of middle school. Many of the elementary schools in rural areas are too small to offer an immersion program as well as a Core program. Most parents are reluctant to expose their elementary school children to a long bus ride to attend a larger school for early immersion. The best solution for these students in rural areas is to later enroll in an intermediate immersion program when they will as a matter of course be moving to a larger centre for their middle school years. The time on task is less than that for early immersion, therefore proficiency scores are not as high. That is why it is so important for the time on task requirements, stated in Policy 309, be adhered to. Often, the only exposure to French that students from predominantly anglophone communities have, is at school and in class. It is important that the students develop a natural tendency to speak French to their teachers and between themselves. This can only be achieved when there is sufficient time devoted to French instruction. It is imperative that the time on task for Core French and immersion programs be maintained at the same level as stated in Policy 309 and that the school districts continue to require schools to follow minimum requirements.

Demanding Superior proficiency in French for immersion teachers and Advanced proficiency for Core French teachers has helped to insure that the teachers teaching French are qualified to do so. With the attrition rate of teachers in the past several years, there is no justification for not having teachers in place who are at the required proficiency level as stated in Policy 309.

Issue 1.2G
What are the perceived weaknesses of the current program in each program element?

(a) The glaring weakness in the Core French program is the fact that it does not produce graduates who are able to function at a conversational level in the French language. School districts must closely monitor their schools to insure that they are following the time on task requirements as outlined in Policy 309. The Department of Education must closely monitor school districts to insure that they are hiring proficient French language teachers.

(b) Grade one entry point - Even though the Department of Education’s own test results show that students English skills do not suffer, but in fact are enhanced, some parents still worry that students English skills will suffer if they learn to read in French before they learn to read in English. School districts must hold information meetings in order to share research results pertaining to this myth. Resource and methods and remedial teachers are predominantly uni-lingual English teachers. This makes it very difficult for immersion students who are struggling to obtain extra help at school.
Schools who offer immersion programs should be required to have at least one bilingual Resource and Methods teacher on staff in order to better serve immersion students. At this point in time, the only option most schools can offer is to transfer to the English program. This is not acceptable.

(c) Grade 6 entry point - When students enter Grade 6 French immersion, they have been in school for six years. Some of the students who struggled in school during the first six years do not choose immersion believing that the extra burden of another
language would make school more difficult. When a student learns another language in Grade six, where the content of all their courses is more complicated, it demands a great effort from the students especially for the first few months of the program. Students at middle school age are not always open to taking on the extra work. Therefore, the intermediate immersion class is not as diversified as the early immersion class.

ITEM 1.3G
What are the three major ways that the immersion program positively affect the Core program?

Living in a community where students observe so many of their peers embracing and using a second language for communication benefits everyone. Immersion has in many ways changed the way people understand the world that surrounds them. Immersion has broken down barriers between anglophone and francophone youth. Before immersion, the bilingual people in New Brunswick were mainly of French ancestry. Since immersion, bilingualism is not the sole domain of the French ancestry citizens. Core French program students are more aware and appreciative of the French fact in New Brunswick and are more likely to understand the richness and benefits of diversity and linguistic duality. Core French students are more inclined to understand the importance of studying French in their Core French classes and are more liable to see first hand that learning French is not impossible.

ITEM 1.4G
What are the three major ways that the immersion programs negatively affect the Core program?

The immersion programs have become a scapegoat by English teachers in order to rationalize mediocrity in their classrooms. Poor leadership in immersion schools has allowed English teachers to place the blame for the ills of society and the schools on French immersion. The “they have all the good students” syndrome has become a self-fulfilling prophesy. In schools where less than 25% of students are enrolled in immersion, teachers have been permitted to use the adage “they have all the better students”. It is time to evaluate the immersion programs with the purpose of finding out why they are so successful and to make the necessary changes to the Core program in order to improve results.

ITEM l.12G
What adjustments, if any, in the program goal statement would better reflect the
expectations of your group as a stakeholder or interest group?
Core goal: to achieve degree of proficiency corresponding to: Intermediate Level
Early immersion goal: to achieve degree of proficiency corresponding to: Advanced Level
Intermediate immersion goal: to achieve degree of proficiency corresponding to: Intermediate Plus Level
(Reference Policy 309)

The goals are reasonable and attainable for all programs. We must keep in mind that reaching a goal in any program is equivalent to making a very high mark, 90% to 100%. However, the Evaluation Branch at the Department of Education chooses to report only the percentage of students reaching the goal of the program in their annual report card. This is not how all other subjects are reported. All other subjects, in addition to reporting how many students excelled in the program, report on the percentage of students who achieved an acceptable level.
In the last few years, many extracurricular activities in French, for students in middle school and high school have virtually disappeared. In many districts, students do not participate in trips to Quebec or Acadian areas of the province and there are no French immersion exchanges or French camps offered. Proficiency for students could be greatly improved if these extracurricular activities had not been discontinued or cancelled.
It is difficult to rate the success of programs by proficiency scores, as many districts are still not adhering to time on task requirements in all grades. Adherence to time on task in French is crucial to improving proficiency scores.

ITEM 6.1.G
What are the perceived positive aspects for the Core program and what evidence exists concerning the actual extent of these perceptions?

It is important to have a choice of programs. Not all parents want their children educated in a language other than their mother tongue. The Core program serves these parents and children. The Core program has more resources than the immersion programs. The per capita personnel working with the Core program students is much higher. Most school principals and administrators were educated in the Core program and are unilingual, therefore they have more understanding of this program and for whatever the reasons, they support it more. Even with these positive conditions, the Core program students as a group score lower than French immersion students on provincial evaluations in Math, Science and English. Why does this happen? The Core program should be thoroughly studied to enable a quality program to be delivered to the students. Established outcomes and goals should be set for the Core program. Administrators need to be in control of how the curriculum is delivered in the Core classes. Parents need to be more implicated in the education of their children. Students need to be more involved in their learning.

ITEM 62.G
What are the perceived positive aspects for the immersion programs and what evidence exists concerning the actual extent of these perceptions?

Immersion is the best method to produce bilingual students at graduation. Every year students reaching the Intermediate Plus or higher proficiency is clear evidence of this. The fact that 54% of our immersion teachers are anglophone, who have completed immersion programs, is also evidence that immersion is succeeding. Immersion programs time on task requirements are high and if adhered to provide the greatest exposure time to French instruction. This is absolutely necessary to achieve bilingualism. The early immersion program is the least distressing approach to bilingualism for students. The development of second language skills is synchronized with the intellectual development of the student. Immersion programs starting at grade four or six place more pressure on the student because of the requirement to deal with complicated concepts for which they do not have satisfactory linguistic skills.

 ITEM 6.3.G
What are the perceived negative aspects for the Core program and what evidence exists concerning the actual extent of these perceptions?

Core French appears to work better at the elementary school level than at the middle school and high school levels. Some of this could be due to parents attitudes to the French language or to bilingualism. When children hear negative comments at home, they tend to absorb these comments and unaware of it may use them to form their own opinions. This appears to create a lack of motivation in older students to learn French and this poor attitude sometimes discourages their teachers. Sometimes teachers who are hired to teach Core French do not themselves have a positive attitude which translates to their students. There is a lack of respect for the Core French program among English teachers. Parents and students have heard high school English teachers refer to the Core French program as a “bird course”. This is further perpetuated by the fact that students in grades nine and ten are not required to pass their Core French courses if they have attained a 60% average. Teachers are sometimes hired to teach Core French without meeting the proficiency level required by Policy 309, which translates into a poorer Core French program.

ITEM 6.4.G
What are the perceived negative aspects for the immersion programs and what evidence exists concerning the actual extent of these perceptions?

One of the misconceptions about immersion programs is that French immersion is for above average students only. Some people are saying only “better” students can cope with the curriculum in French immersion. But, research shows that below-average, average and above average students can all achieve the same levels of proficiency in French. In fact, children who are average or even below average can achieve a proficiency level as high as - or higher - than the above average learners. Another misconception about immersion is it is only for the “have” families with money and education. This may have in true in the beginning, but as we take a look at immersion classes today, we find a mix of children from all economic and academic backgrounds. There are behavior problems in French immersion classes too. A study done by Holobow, Chartrand and Lambert tells us that there are “no statistically significant differences” in test scores of children from varying socioeconomic backgrounds.
A third misconception is middle and late immersion programs produce the same benefits of early immersion. We know early immersion is the most successful and beneficial immersion program. It produces the best proficiency in the language and best attitude toward learning the language. Early immersion helps develop positive attitudes toward francophone culture, reduces perceived social distance and encourages spontaneous contact with francophones. There is also a lower drop-out rate in early immersion programs.

ITEM 6.5.G
What are the perceived Core program classroom conditions created by the immersion program? What evidence to you have to support your position?

The fact that the immersion programs have been so successful has created some envy and animosity from English teachers and administrators. Some English language teachers are unhappy about losing students and jobs to bilingual immersion teachers. Principals often view immersion programs as creating more work for them. Immersion parents tend to volunteer more for school activities, attend more school related functions and interact more with school personnel. Because they have made the immersion choice for their children, sometimes with a great deal of negative input from family and friends, they tend to remain involved in their children’s education to further reassure themselves they have made the right choice. Teachers and principals sometimes view this careful monitoring by parents as bothersome.
The practice of transferring struggling immersion students to the English program is not acceptable and is putting a further burden on a program which is already having problems and not working so well School districts must insure that each school has at least one bilingual Methods and Resource or remedial teacher.
 

ITEM 6.6.G
What are the perceived immersion program classroom conditions created by the immersion program? What evidence do you have to support your position?

Because Policy 309 has set goals and expectations, immersion teachers are very clear about what is required of them and they partner with parents to achieve these goals. Because many schools do not offer bilingual Methods and Resource teachers or remedial teachers, immersion teachers offer these services at lunchtime and after school. They are the people dealing with students learning difficulties as they do not have the luxury of sending students off to the Methods and Resource teacher. Although, this causes extra work for immersion teachers, they know it is necessary for their students to succeed. Many immersion teachers ask parents to help them with children who are struggling by giving them extra work at home and checking their progress daily or weekly. Because of the lack of support staff for immersion teachers, immersion parents tend to communicate more often with homeroom teachers.
The immersion classroom is a buzz of activity and is a place of constant interaction. Students must express themselves orally and in writing. Group and cooperative learning activities foster interaction and contribute to the development of second language communication skills. This motivates students to stay involved in classroom activities and alleviates repetition and boredom.

ITEM 6.7.G
To what extent does streaming occur resulting in the best students entering the immersion programs?

Early immersion is the best program to eliminate streaming because it attracts a wider participation of children from various socio-economic backgrounds. The later the immersion program starts, the more selective the program becomes. The nature of the curriculum in Grade one provides children with time to acquire ample French language skills before facing the challenge of conquering difffcult academic content. The intermediate immersion program tends to attract students who are motivated to work very hard to overcome the language barrier and master the complex curriculum content being presented in French.
If adequate bilingual Methods and Resource and remedial teachers are hired in schools that offer the immersion programs, the immersion programs can provide an excellent means of reducing socio-economic division. More students could participate in immersion and have access to the remedial help they need and deserve. Our schools are in existence to serve the needs of students and parents. In an officially bilingual province many parents want their children to learn our two languages. With 22,100 students enrolled in the immersion programs for the school year 1999-2000, it is obvious that our education system must find a way to cope with the challenge that the immersion programs present.