Frequently Asked Questions:

Could learning a second language negatively impact my child's academic performance in other subjects?

Research has shown that ¨FI programs enable students to develop high levels of proficiency in both French and English, at no cost to their academic success. Cognitive research associates bilingualism with heightened mental flexibility and creative thinking skills, enhanced metalinguistic awareness, and greater communicative sensitivity. Because cognitive benefits are contingent on a bilingual learner's proficiency in both languages, it may be that FI programs, which promote heightened proficiency in both French and English, foster in their students an underlying cognitive advantage. ¨ 

-Lazaruk, W. (2007). Linguistic, academic, and cognitive benefits of French immersion. Canadian Modern Language Review, 63(5), 605-627. 

Will my child, who is struggling academically or has learning disabilities, be at a disadvantage in a French Immersion program?

In particular, research by Genesee and by Bruck, with respect to both low ability and learning disabled students, indicates that such students are not at differentially greater risk in immersion than similar students in all-English programs. To the contrary, at-risk students with academic and language learning challenges can acquire substantial communicative competence in French while maintaining parity in their academic and language development with similarly challenged students in all-English programs. Studies that have examined at-risk and poor readers in immersion report that there are significant crosslinguistic correlations between the predictors of reading ability; in other words, students who are good readers in English are likely to be good readers in French, and poor readers in English are likely to be poor readers in French. The reading studies provide no evidence to support the argument that students at-risk for reading difficulty are likely to be at differentially greater risk in immersion.  

-Genesee, F. (2006). The suitability of French immersion for students who are at risk: A review of research evidence. Report prepared for Canadian Parents for French.

Will learning French have a negative impact on my child's English skills?

The research suggests that learning French does not have a negative impact on English skills. In fact, studies have shown that children in French immersion programs perform comparably to their peers in English-only programs in areas like English phonological awareness, word reading, and reading comprehension. While native English speakers may have a slight advantage in English vocabulary, English learners in immersion programs demonstrate significant growth in this area. 

-Au‐Yeung, K., Hipfner‐Boucher, K., Chen, X., Pasquarella, A., D'Angelo, N., & Hélène Deacon, S. (2015). Development of English and French language and literacy skills in EL1 and EL French immersion students in the early grades. Reading Research Quarterly, 50(2), 233-254.