“More languages means more lights in your house”

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Davis ◽  
Susan Ballinger ◽  
Mela Sarkar
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Refugee Resettlement ◽  
Immersion Programs ◽  
Diverse Student ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
Statistics Canada

Abstract French immersion programs throughout Canada have historically consisted of predominantly Anglophone populations pursuing bilingualism in the country’s two official languages, English and French. Nevertheless, recent developments in immigration and refugee resettlement have contributed to increasingly diverse student backgrounds nationwide (Statistics Canada, 2014). Researchers have explored the motivation for Allophone families to pursue FSL in Canada (Dagenais & Berron, 2001; Dagenais & Jacquet, 2000; Mady, 2010); the language proficiency of Allophone learners in FSL programs (Bérubé & Marinova-Todd, 2012; Carr, 2007; Mady, 2015); and the perspectives of FSL educators with respect to such learners (Mady, 2016; Mady & Masson, 2018; Roy, 2015). The present study draws from interview data to explore and compare the experiences and perspectives of seven Allophone parents and 43 FI educators in Saskatchewan. In the present article, we examine the perspectives of FI educators, the experiences of Allophone families, and the implications for immersion programs worldwide.

LANGUAGE APTITUDE AND SECOND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY IN CLASSROOM LEARNERS OF DIFFERENT STARTING AGES

1997 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Harley ◽  
Doug Hart
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Language Aptitude ◽  
Second Language Proficiency ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Immersion Programs ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Analytical Dimension

This empirical study investigates the relationship between language aptitude components and second language (L2) outcomes among learners whose intensive L2 exposure began at different ages. The learners in this study are 65 11th-grade students in continuing early and late French immersion programs. Evidence is found to support the main hypothesis that in late immersion starting in adolescence there will be a positive relationship between L2 outcomes and an analytical dimension of language aptitude, whereas in early immersion beginning in grade 1 a positive relationship will hold between L2 outcomes and memory ability. A further hypothesis that early immersion students will have higher language aptitude as a result of their early L2 exposure is not supported by the findings.

scholarly journals The Suitability of French Immersion for Allophone Students in Saskatchewan: Exploring Diverse Perspectives on Language Learning and Inclusion

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Davis ◽  
Susan Ballinger ◽  
Mela Sarkar
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Second Language Education ◽  
Immersion Programs ◽  
Additive Bilingualism

French immersion programs in Saskatchewan have traditionally served to further the goals of additive bilingualism between Canada’s two official languages, French and English. Whereas these programs have historically consisted of predominantly Anglophone populations, recent trends in immigration have contributed to the increasingly diverse linguistic backgrounds of students throughout the province. The motivation, family support, and high academic achievement of allophone students learning French as an additional language have been documented extensively in Canada (Dagenais & Jacquet, 2000; Mady, 2013, 2014, 2015). Nevertheless, allophone students often do not benefit from the same access to second language education programs as their Anglophone and Francophone peers; indeed, such learners are sometimes excluded from French immersion programs on the basis of their lack of English language proficiency (Roy, 2015). Through Likert-scale surveys and semi-structured interviews, this mixed-methods research explored the perceived suitability of French immersion for allophone students by examining the perspectives of parents and educators in several schools in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This study will share the triangulated findings of the research, discuss the suitability of French immersion programs for allophone students, and provide recommendations for the future of such programs in Saskatchewan.

Canadian Parents for French

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Gibson ◽  
Sylvie Roy
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Immersion Programs ◽  
Official Languages

This article describes the efforts undertaken by a grassroots, non-profit association established to promote French-second-language learning in Canada, and how those efforts have contributed to the advancement of Canada’s official languages policy. After identifying the historical context in which the immersion approach to second language instruction was developed, we use a historical institutionalism theory with an archival research method to examine texts produced by Canadian Parents for French over the past 38 years to see how the organization has contributed to the growth of English-French bilingualism within Canada. We then note the continuing challenges to universal access to French immersion programs which the association has identified. This article demonstrates that stakeholders can play an important role in the successful implementation of a policy and offers examples that may be relevant for international audiences seeking to promote language learning.

The development of orthographic processing skills in children in early French immersion programs

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Commissaire ◽  
Adrian Pasquarella ◽  
Becky Xi Chen ◽  
S. Hélène Deacon
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Orthographic Processing ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Underlying Factor ◽  
Correct Spelling ◽  
Immersion Programs ◽  
Language Variables

Children learning to read in two languages are faced with orthographic features from both languages, either unique to a language or similar across languages. In the present study, we examined how children develop orthographic processing skills over time (from grade 1 to grade 2) with a sample of Canadian children attending a French immersion program and we investigated the underlying factor structure of orthographic skills across English and French. Two orthographic processing tasks were administered in both languages: lexical orthographic processing (e.g. choose the correct spelling from people–peeple) and sub-lexical orthographic processing (e.g. which is the more word-like vaid–vayd?), which included both language-specific and language-shared orthographic regularities. Children’s performances in sub-lexical tasks increased with grade but were comparable across languages. Further, evidence for a one factor model including all measures suggested that there is a common underlying orthographic processing skill that cuts across measurement and language variables. Keywords: orthographic processing; reading; French immersion; bilinguals; second language learners

scholarly journals The curious case of legal translation

Literator ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Cornelius
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Constitutional Development ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Legal Competence ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
Legislative Language

This article explores the nature and scope of legal translation which is an under-researched area in South Africa. In this article the author predicts that the demand for competent legal translators will increase in the future, evidenced by a recent call by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development(DoJ&CD), inviting applications for ten positions for “legislative language practitioners”. However, legal translation differs substantially from general translation in the sense that legal translation is subject to heavy restrictions at all levels and legal considerations are of paramount importance in a country such as South Africa, which provides for eleven official languages. Legal translation involves different legal languages, different legal systems and different cultural systems that require specialised knowledge and skills of the translator. The aim of this article is to investigate the core competencies and skills the legal translator must have; to consider the balance between legal competence and translation or linguistic competence; and to propose a discourse-analytical method of source text analysis, developed by Bhatia as a simplification strategy, as this may be a powerful tool in the training of legal translators in South Africa. Recent developments in South Africa relating to the Department of Arts and Culture’s obligation to translate legislation into all official languages, have important consequences for legal translation in general and the training of legal translators in particular.

Gifted and Nongifted Students’ Reasons for Leaving French-Immersion Programs

1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan R. Karovitch ◽  
Bruce M. Shore ◽  
Marcia A. B. Delcourt
Keyword(s):  
French Immersion ◽  
Immersion Programs

‘Sins’ in Paul

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Gathercole
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Divine Will ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Pauline Studies

A familiar feature in Pauline scholarship is the view that Sin as a power, and the concomitant forces of the flesh and death, are the dominant elements in Paul's account of the human plight. The present article seeks not to deny the significance of these elements, but to argue that equally important are ‘sins’ or individual infractions of the divine will. It is argued here that recent developments in Pauline studies have, in combination, led to an unwarranted downplaying of sins plural. In a number of key passages, Paul includes such acts of transgression in his account of the human plight.

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