West Island anglophones deserve intensive French immersion
Language figures from the 2016 census were released by Statistics Canada last week, sparking reflection, debate and analysis — some more on the spot than others.
As is usually the case when statistics seem to indicate Montreal is becoming slightly more bilingual or that slightly fewer Quebecers are speaking French at home, reactions are overhyped and alarmist concerns are raised.
West Island municipalities remain the home to Quebec’s linguistic minority (English), outnumbering the provincial majority (French). It should come as no surprise that more than 70 per cent of the population in Baie-d’Urfé, Beaconsfield, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Kirkland and Pointe-Claire list English as the first official language. Dorval and Senneville have just over 60 per cent of their residents listing English as their first official language spoken.
Even in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, a municipality that doesn’t have official bilingual status under Quebec’s language charter, the “official language minority” hovers at 60 per cent, according to the 2016 census.
The “official language minority” includes all individuals with English as the first official spoken language as well as half of those who speak both English and French.
So basically, West Island cities buck the language norms in Quebec, with English being the more common language spoken or listed as a mother tongue.
With this in mind, it remains vastly important that school-age West Islanders are given a strong bilingual education within the public or private school system to succeed anywhere in this province speaking French.
The Lester B. Pearson School Board has evolved its French immersion programs over the past 20 years. Some elementary schools offer a 50/50 bilingual program (half English, half French), some offer early immersion (about an 80/20 French-to-English split) from kindergarten to Grade 2 (dropping to 50/50 for Grades 3 to 6).
An increasing number of Pearson schools have now opted for the Français Plus program. Children are taught 90 per cent in French in kindergarten, reflecting the importance of immersing children in French in their early years. That ratio shifts to 80 per cent of instruction in French from Grades 1 to 4, and then 45 per cent in French in Grades 5 and 6.
The Pearson schools that offer 80/20 French-to-English immersion should be the new standard to help English-speaking kids clear the language hurdle they will face if they choose to stay in Quebec.
The expectations of anglophone parents in the West Island are growing.
It’s important for West Island anglophone students to feel comfortable speaking the majority language and it’s important that our English school system reflect that ideal.
It seems clear that a Français Plus program should become the standard, rather than an exceptional offering, and should extend more into high school. John Rennie High School in Pointe-Claire, for example, already offers Academic Plus, a program that includes enriched French as an option.