FREDERICTON — New Brunswick – Canada's only officially bilingual province – -is scrapping early French immersion in its anglophone school system in favour of an intensive French program for all students as of Grade 5.
The move follows a controversial report that concluded that 91 per cent of the roughly 1,500 New Brunswick kids who started early immersion in 1995 dropped out of the program by the time they reached high school.
The decision drew quick opposition from the New Brunswick president of Canadian Parents for French, who said the move flies in the face of research that “earlier is better” when it comes to learning a second language.
Walter Lee said Premier Shawn Graham will always be remembered for cancelling early immersion.
Opposition education critic Madeleine Dubé said the government should have invested more resources in early immersion.
Education Minister Kelly Lamrock, however, said other studies have shown that students who begin second-language training later achieve better results.
The Liberal government wants 70 per cent of students to be bilingual by 2012, but at the moment, only a fraction of graduating students are proficient in French.
Under the changes, which take effect this fall, all Grade 5 students will receive intensive French education, and then have the choice to enter French immersion in Grade 6.
Mr. Lamrock said the change will give all students equal access to seven years of second-language training.
Any students currently enrolled in early immersion will be allowed to continue.
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