As
an immersion teacher and a strong believer in the French immersion program, I
was somewhat taken aback by a red necked acquaintances’ attempt at humour in a
small Alberta town. Knowing my support
of the program, here is what he had to say.
“You
know what the problem with French Immersion is?” he baited me.
“No,
what do you think the problem with French Immersion is?” I responded, wondering
what kind of punch line he had to follow up with.
“They
don’t hold them under long enough,” he replied with self-pleasing chuckle.
For
a moment, I pictured a student with a teacher pushing his head underwater
trying to drown him. I looked at him,
that image still in my head, and recognized that his attempt at humour could be
taken in a different light. After a moments’ hesitation, I figured out an
answer that must have blown him away.
“I
think you’re right! We don’t keep them
under long enough. If we were to have
better immersion programs, with rich opportunities to for students to develop
their language skills in a variety of social and academic situations, we would
have French immersion students that would be far more capable in their second
language.”
My
43 years as a language learner, 25 years as a language teacher and my work at
Faculté Saint-Jean with education students, many who are graduates of immersion
programs, has helped me to reflect on the nature of French Immersion and how it
is delivered to students. The haunting
image of a student with his head held underwater makes me ponder how to make
language learning all that it can be without traumatizing the student. Here is a metaphor that I believe applies
and deserves further discussion: French
Immersion is a lot like a swimming pool.
First
off, I need to deal with the image of the student whose head is being held
under water, because at times there is certainly not enough water in the pool
for this to happen. I have seen schools
and classrooms where the water is barely ankle deep. By this, I mean that the language learning environment is
relatively shallow: only a small percentage of the school day is spent using
the French language, teachers don’t believe students need to speak French
outside of the classroom and some don’t even think it is important in the
classroom. There is virtually no French
to be found anywhere other than a few pockets of the school, nary a bulletin
board in French and certainly not an administrator or support personnel in the
school who has even a rudimentary knowledge of the language. The students here are often quite
happy. After all, splashing around in
ankle deep water is fun and quite safe.
You don’t need to be a strong swimmer to survive in a wading pool. However, students also don’t need strong
language skills because survival in this shallow immersion pool is too
easy.
The
challenge for the teacher becomes to fill up the pool. At the very least, a teacher should be able
to expect students to converse only in French in the classroom, and at all time
with their teachers. Teachers can make
sure that there is a great selection of interesting French books in the library
and bring students into the library to make use of this valuable resource. Field trips to happenings in French can also
provide the students with new opportunities to explore language in different
contexts. A student exchange with a
francophone school, reading and then seeing a French play or even sharing a
students’ written work with younger students are all ways of adding a little
water into the pool. It would be really
great if administration was supportive of the program and helped create a truly
French environment in the school. Doing
some announcements in French, ensuring signage in two languages, or even having
a bilingual receptionist in the school who will speak to the students in French
when they bring their attendance slip to the office are all simple ways to add
yet a little more water into the pool.
After all the, more water there is in the pool, the more fun it can
be.
With
the water getting deeper, all of a sudden the student is going to need more
support to ensure that his head doesn’t slip under the water. If the school environment is closer to chest
deep, teachers need to make sure the student has the skills to ensure that he
can walk in the water, skills that will allow the student a few dog paddle
strokes to regain his balance should he slip and fall. Given the rich environment that the student
has, there is a genuine need for the student to develop his language
skills. The student will realize this
and will develop his swimming strokes to remain comfortable in the deeper
water. Teachers are the ones who help the student develop those skills that
allow him to continue feeling safe and secure in the deeper water.
Still
the water is far from deep enough to be truly dangerous. After all, in chest deep water, you can
always touch bottom. How can we fill
the pool even fuller? Parents have a
role to play here as well. If parents
value the French language learning, they need to provide opportunities for
their children to exploit their skills in new areas by adding a little water to
the pool themselves. Supportive parents
will take their children to French cultural events, be involved in CPF, take a holiday
in a French speaking country or province and encourage their child in every
attempt to use the language outside of the classroom with friends and
acquaintances. All of this brings the
level of water in the pool even higher.
Because
the water is now over their heads, a student is going to need to swim, and
again, teachers come to the rescue.
Teachers work with the student to help him let go of the side of the
pool, support him as he learns new strokes to get around in the deep end. Some students are always more reluctant to
let go of the security of the side of the pool, while others are jumping off
the high diving board in no time. Some
of this comes from the way we teach students.
If we focus on the student’s linguistic shortcomings he will not easily
find his way around in the deep water.
He will be unwilling to take risks because he doesn’t have the
confidence to stay afloat in the deep water.
However if we smile and show the student how much fun it is to feel the
water around them, they will be much more inclined to let go of the side and
experience the sensation of floating on their own. In essence, a caring and nurturing environment is essential for
students at all levels to encourage their use of the language.
Another
important factor is the students themselves.
Unfortunately, some students cling to the side of the pool, complaining
to the lifeguard that the water is too deep.
Because their focus is on the lifeguard outside of the pool, they are
unaware of those who are swimming around, developing their language skills
through trial and error. Unfortunately,
the parents and teachers who are acting as lifeguards sometimes listen to the
complaints about the deep water and rescue students into English language
programs, denying children the chance to learn how to swim properly. Others students swim eagerly, watch how the
better swimmers do things and use their observation to improve their own
strokes. There are students who see
someone make a lovely dive off the high diving board and take the time to ask
how to replicate such an impressive maneuver.
These students are actively involved in their language learning. The deep-water environment provides them
with ample opportunity to practice and develop their swimming skills. As you can see, how a student perceives the
pool plays an important role in their language learning and appreciation of the
immersion experience.
When
we look at the university level, some of the immersion students who find
themselves at Faculté Saint-Jean struggle.
Many have never had to swim in a pool full of water, as their immersion
background has been knee-deep at best.
So Faculté Saint-Jean is busy throwing life jackets out to those who
suddenly find the deep water rather intimidating. In their 13-year immersion
reality, the water has never been deep enough for them to develop the language
skills needed to survive in the deep end.
Many clutch on to the side not daring to venture out into this scary
pool. Some grab on to whatever floats
to keep their head above water: CCOÉ, helpful professors and friends. Others are so scared of being surrounded
with water that they are busily trying to pump some water out of the pool,
speaking English when possible in hopes of recreating that familiar ankle-deep
water they grew up with in their immersion school. Remember, the wading pool is
not scary or intimidating, but rather fun and very safe.
There
are other students who arrive at Faculté Saint-Jean from immersion backgrounds
and take an entirely different approach.
They certainly look for lifejackets to hang onto, but they don’t
permanently attach themselves to these buoys.
They hold on for a while, see a floating log and swim a few strokes
over. Every opportunity to stay afloat
is seen as an opportunity to better learn the language. Eventually, they are swimming around with a
great deal of confidence, still holding onto to a life raft from time to time,
but hardly dependant on these islands of refuge.
The
next question becomes “Why do students take such contrasting approaches to the
deep water?” I am not sure. I feel fortunate to have been one of the
students who was willing to dog paddle around the deep end until my teachers
helped me to develop my swimming strokes.
Today, I feel quite comfortable in the deep water, in fact, I enjoy
swimming around, even though I am not a future Olympian. It is rewarding for me today to be
supporting others swimmers in the deep water, watching as they hang on to my
hand for a while and swim on to other little islands of support. I also feel a little insulted when I cross
the paths of those students busily pumping water out of the pool, denying
others the chance to enjoy the deep water.
What
are you doing to make immersion successful?
As a parent, teacher or school administrator, are you busy pumping as
much water into the pool as possible?
As a teacher, are you instructing students in their strokes, supporting
them when the need is there, yet encouraging the students to let go of the edge
once and a while and really feel the water around them? As a student are you clutching to the side
of the pool, too scared to venture forth into the deep end? Worse yet, are you busy trying to pump water
out of the pool, choosing to communicate in English rather than struggle to get
your message across in French? Or do
you see people jumping off the high diving board, watch as others race through
the water using breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle and say to yourself, “One
day, I am going to swim like them!”?
In the deep water, with teachers who encourage and teach, an active
language learner can learn to swim very well.
If someone is trying to hold his or her head down in the deep end, a
truly successful immersion student doesn’t panic. His swimming skills will be so strong that he can breathe even
with his head under the surface of the water!
That is the true magic of immersion.