Canadian Bilingual Education

Implications for English LanguageLearning in China

Presentation by Dr. Ed Nicholson

Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

Les Francophones au Canada

Percentage of Students Enrolled in French Immersion Classes in Canada.

% enrolled in

French Immersion

Early Immersion as % of total F.I.

Students

Girls as % of Total F.I. Students

Newfoundland 7 57 64 P. E. I. 20 59 58 Nova Scotia 12 21 58 New Brunswick 32 39 61 Quebec 22 74 52 Ontario 6 57 64 Manitoba 6 90 60 Saskatchewan 3 87 65 Alberta 4 80 59 British Columbia 2 55 61

Province

Some Facts About French Immersion in Canada

Some Facts About French Immersion in Canada

French immersion programs were widely introduced into Canadian schools in the 1970s to encourage bilingualism across the country.

There are early (k-1) middle (3-5) and late (6+) immersion programs.

There are more girls than boys in F.I. in all provinces of Canada.

F.I. students perform significantly better than other students in English tests of reading (Allen, 2004)

French immersion students tend to have higher socio-economic status backgrounds

Source: Statistics Canada & CPF

French immersion programs were widely introduced into Canadian schools in the 1970s to encourage bilingualism across the country.

There are early (k-1) middle (3-5) and late (6+) immersion programs.

There are more girls than boys in F.I. in all provinces of Canada.

F.I. students perform significantly better than other students in English tests of reading (Allen, 2004)

French immersion students tend to have higher socio-economic status backgrounds

Source: Statistics Canada & CPF

86% of parents support FSL instruction 75% of English parents want their children to learn French 90% of French parents want their children to learn English The FI program in Canada is now 40 years old. Statistics Canada reports that in the 2002-03 school year,

nearly 2 million students took courses in French as a

second language: (French immersion 357,000 ; Core

French 1,570,000 students)

SOURCE:

Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers

What has been achieved in Canadian French Immersion?

From 1981 to 1996 bilingualism has increased by 100%

in four provinces and more than 50% in the remaining six. In Quebec- 34% of French speakers are bilingual In Quebec-from 37% of English speakers in 1971 increased to 63% in 1996 55% of Anglophones who live in provinces other than Quebec think it is important that their children learn French. 24% of high school graduates have working knowledge of second official language 97% of French-speaking Quebecers feel it is important that children in Quebec learn English.

What has been achieved in Canadian French Immersion?

What does the research say about French Immersion? “Immersion students do as well in English language

skills as students entirely educated in English Immersion students do as well in subject matter as

students who are educated in English Immersion students acquire a great deal of the

second language. Canadian immersion students easily out-perform students enrolled in traditional French classes (core French) and, after several years of immersion, approach native speakers of French on some measures.” Cummins, (1987)

What about the sociological effects of French immersion?

Social and psychological findings on French immersion (Edwards & Smyth, 1976; Lambert & Tucker, 1972) suggest French immersion students are satisfied with their programs, feel confident to speak French, and see less social distance between themselves and French Canadians.

They also tend to be far less “xenoglossophobic”

They have higher socioeconomic status, resulting in the program being challenged by some social

agencies as being ‘elitist’ (Olson & Burns, 1983)

Are their other benefits to bilingualism?Are their other benefits to bilingualism?

““ Sharing a common language has a large Sharing a common language has a large and significant effect on trade intensity. and significant effect on trade intensity. Two countries sharing a common Two countries sharing a common language are estimated to have two-way language are estimated to have two-way trade flows more than 1.7 times as large trade flows more than 1.7 times as large as those between two otherwise similar as those between two otherwise similar countries. countries. Helliwell (1999)Helliwell (1999)

o In a bilingual culture, languages cross-pollinate In a bilingual culture, languages cross-pollinate each other, with words, grammar, and each other, with words, grammar, and assumptions. This enriches each language and assumptions. This enriches each language and helps those living near both gain an appreciation helps those living near both gain an appreciation

of the others' cultureof the others' culture.. Sommer (2001) Sommer (2001)

““ Sharing a common language has a large Sharing a common language has a large and significant effect on trade intensity. and significant effect on trade intensity. Two countries sharing a common Two countries sharing a common language are estimated to have two-way language are estimated to have two-way trade flows more than 1.7 times as large trade flows more than 1.7 times as large as those between two otherwise similar as those between two otherwise similar countries. countries. Helliwell (1999)Helliwell (1999)

o In a bilingual culture, languages cross-pollinate In a bilingual culture, languages cross-pollinate each other, with words, grammar, and each other, with words, grammar, and assumptions. This enriches each language and assumptions. This enriches each language and helps those living near both gain an appreciation helps those living near both gain an appreciation

of the others' cultureof the others' culture.. Sommer (2001) Sommer (2001)

Two reasons why I support F.I.

Quinn

Kael

Quinn Nicholson & Zhang Yi

Is knowledge of the Canadian immersion

experience useful to EFL in China?

Students want more English

EFL teachers often fail to suitably challenge L2 learners by over relying on the mother tongue and by aiming instruction at the “average” student in the classroom. Increasingly, at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, it is the students -even our non-English majors- who complain about “too much Chinese!” being used in English class by the teacher!Immersion programs may be one way to address the expectations of some students.

Krashen (1987) believes that we acquire language by using what we know coupled with new information, an idea he refers to as his

input hypothesis.

Language which contains only structures that we already know does not aid in acquisition. This is just i. Acquisition is a result of

“ i + 1” , or current knowledge plus input just a bit beyond that.  Therefore comprehensible input is a key concept in L2 acquisition.

Students want more challenge

Students want ‘every day’ English

Although it is true that many - if not most - EFL students continue to regard English as a stepping stone to a better job, it is equally true that these same students will be the first generation of Chinese in large numbers to travel widely, study overseas and work for multi-national corporations. (China Daily, 2003)

Communicative competence in English is therefore a skill which may be of life long benefit - not just a language you study to pass the CET examination and add to your C.V.

Teaching Formal and Informal English

++

==

*See, for example, the work of Bruner [1975] on analytic and communicative competence and Donaldson’s [1978] description of embedded and disembedded language.

Two kinds of language…

The acronyms BICS and CALP refer to a distinction introduced by Cummins (1979) between two language types - Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency. Other researchers have used different terms*, but the essential distinction refers to the extent to which the meaning is supported by contextual or interpersonal cues ( gestures, facial expressions, and intonation) or by linguistic cues that are independent of the communicative context.

Cummins (1979) uses a visual ‘iceberg’ metaphor to explain CUP  The two icebergs are separate above the surface.  That is, two languages are visibly different in outward conversation, but underneath the surface, the two icebergs are fused such that the two languages do not function separately.  Both languages operate through the same central processing system. Thus, skills, ideas and concepts students learn in their first language will be readily transferred to the second language.

Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP) Theory

B I C SSocial Language

* Meaningful social contexts often with face-to-face interaction

* Concrete * Context embedded* Nonverbal cues(tone of voice,

gestures, facial expressions)* Opportunity to clarify meaning* Familiar concepts/topics* 2-3 years to acquire

C A L PAcademic Language

• Listening, speaking, reading and writing in content areas

• Abstract• Context reduced• Few nonverbal cues (especially

if reading passages in texts)• Little or no opportunity to

clarify meaning• New ideas/concepts • 5-7+ years to acquire

Two “types” of English?

If we generalize this research to EFL teaching, If we generalize this research to EFL teaching, it is arguable that the provision of both it is arguable that the provision of both formalformal and and informalinformal language learning experiences in language learning experiences in the classroom will be beneficial for the student.the classroom will be beneficial for the student.

French Immersion succeeds because…

… if we further generalize this idea

to the immersion milieu, we see that the increased social

interaction in English in context

promotes the development of a

common underlying proficiency.

Why does F.I. work so well? Students have an opportunity to speak French for extended periods of time

(duration effect) Students use the target language constantly in a variety of social contexts.

(frequency effect)

The role of memory in F.I.

Although is it self-evident that memory is crucial to second language acquisition (Christianson,1992) the immersion environment is particularly supportive of three different types of memory:

Procedural - memory developed through repetitive actions

Semantic - memory used for remembering concepts and general knowledge.(rote memory)

Episodic - memory of an event (or story) that contains a strong emotional connection

Contextualizing language makes it easier to learn.

Our brain constantly monitors Our brain constantly monitors the environment for additional the environment for additional clues to help it understand what clues to help it understand what is happening around it. The is happening around it. The more separate but associated more separate but associated referent points it can establish, referent points it can establish, the faster it will learn and recall.the faster it will learn and recall.

In the French immersion class, In the French immersion class, the student is enclosed in an the student is enclosed in an environment containing a environment containing a multitude of thesemultitude of these referents.referents.

F.I students make many “connections”

F.I students make many “connections”

In recent years, there has been a move away from teaching (Nation, 2001) and testing (Gyllstad, 2003) vocabulary discretely. Instead the emphasis has been on embedded language where vocabulary is presented in context.

In recent years, there has been a move away from teaching (Nation, 2001) and testing (Gyllstad, 2003) vocabulary discretely. Instead the emphasis has been on embedded language where vocabulary is presented in context.

The practice effectThis dissection of the left hemisphere reveals the arcuate fasciculus, which interconnects Wernicke's area (an area involved in the interpretation of spoken language) with Broca's area (the "motor speech" area of the brain).

"Knowledge needs to be pulled into the brain by the student, not pushed into it by the teacher. Knowledge is not to be forced on anyone. The brain has to be receptive, malleable, and most important, hungry for that knowledge."

Sister Agnes Patricia in "The Man Who Listens to Horses”

MRI Composite

scan

For more information…

Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers

Canadian Parents for French

http://www.french-future.org

http://www.caslt.org

http://www.cpf.ca/

For current research on French immersion in Canada

http://www.utpjournals.com/jour.ihtml?lp=cmlrsplash.html

Thank you for listening! You can contact me at:kaixin@mac.com

References

Allen, M. (2004).Reading achievement of students in French Immersion programs.". Educational Quarterly Review, 9 (4), p 25-30

Canadian Association of Parents for French (2004) The state of French language education in Canada. Available at http://www.cpf.ca/english/Resources/FSL2004/2004%20Index.htm

Christianson, S.A. (1992) Handbook of emotion and memory: current research and theory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Cummins, J. (1979) Cognitive/academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum age question and some other matters.  Working Papers on Bilingualism, 19, 121-129.

Cummins, J. (1984). Bilingualism and special education: Issues in assessment and pedagogy. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters. 

Cummins, J. (1987). Immersion programs: Current issues and future directions. In L.L. Stewin & S.J. McCann (Eds.) Contemporary educational issues: The Canadian mosaic.Toronto: Copp Clark.

Cummins, J. (1995). Canadian French immersion programs: a comparison with Swedish immersion programs in Finland. In M. Buss & C. Lauren (Eds.) Language immersion: Teaching and second language acquisition. (pp. 7-20). Vaasa: University of Vaasa Research Papers.

Cummins, J. (1996). Negotiating identities: Education for empowerment in a diverse society. Los Angeles: California Association for Bilingual Education

ReferencesEdwards, H.P., & Smythe, F. (1976). Evaluation of second language programs and some alternatives for teaching French as a second language in grades five to eight. Toronto: Ontario Education.

Guttman, M.A.J. (1983). There’s more to French immersion than social class. Interchange, 41(1), 17–22.

Gyllstad, H. (ed.)(2003) The department of English in Lund: Working papers in linguistics Vol. 3. Lund University

Helliwell, J.F (1999), Language and trade in Albert Breton, (ed.) Exploring the Economics of Language, Canadian Heritage Lapkin, S., & Swain, M. (1984). Research update. Language and Society, 12(1), 48–54.McGaugh, James L. (2000) Memory--a century of consolidation Science, 287, p.248-251 Nation, I.S.P. 2001. Learning vocabulary in another language.Cambridge University Press.

Safty, A. (1988). French immersion and the making of a bilingual society. Canadian Journal of Education, 13, 243–262.

Safty, A. (1990). L’efficacite. In A. Safty (Ed.), Pour un enseignement dynamique et efficace (p.237–284). Montreal: l’Universite du Quebec.

Singh, R. (1986). Immersion: Problems and principles. Canadian Modern Language Review, 42, 559–569. Swain, M. & Lapkin, S. (1990). Additive bilingualism and French immersion education: The roles of language proficiency and literacy. In A. Reynolds (Ed.), Bilingualism, multiculturalism, and second language learning: NY: Erlbaum.