EVALUATION STUDY OF THE GRADE 3 EARLY AND GRADE 7 EARLY AND LATE FRENCH IMMERSION PROGRAMS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. Stan Shapson and Elaine Day, June, 1984. Summarized here by Mary Kay Fox. Years of research from all across Canada have proven con- clusively that French Immersion works. Students learn the same subject content as their counter- parts in the English stream, but have the advantage of acquir- ing a second language. Shapson and Day’s latest B.C. French Study examines the strengths and weaknesses of B.C. French Im- mersion students’ second lan- guage skills, and compares such skills to native French-speaking children in Montreal and stu- dents in similar programs across Canada. Programs for grade 3 early immersion “El.” and grade 7 early and late immersion “L.1.”” were chosen for evaluation. Eight out of the twelve districts with grade 3 E.!. agreed to par- ticipate. All of those taking part were given a written French Language Arts test and a sub- group of 5 students from each class tested was given a speak- ing test designed by the research team. Only the 3 districts with both grade 7 early and late im- mersion programs participated, and the students were adminis- tered a French Language Arts test, a French Comprehension test, a Student Opinions Ques- tionnaire and a Student Ques- tionnaire. The grade 3 Language Arts test (which was developed for grade 3 French speaking chil- dren in Montreal} measured achievement in such skills as spel- ling, vocabulary, grammar and logical sequencing. An oral test, using story retelling and discus- sion, measured organization, pro- nunciation and fluency in com- parison with a control group of native French-speaking students. In the French Language Arts test the grade 3 students’ results were low-average when com- pared to the norms for native French-speaking children, but were comparable to those achieved by other F.l. groups across Canada. The students had particular difficulty with the Vocabulary sub-test, but per- formed at good levels on sub- tests measuring their technical (e.g. spelling), grammatical, and manipulative skills (e.g. sentence completion}. The study suggests that more attention must be Return membership form to: ‘Canadian Parents for French, 309 Cooper Street, Suite 400B, Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0G5 PLEASE PRINT NAME SURNAME FIRST NAME(S) — both parents if you wish STREET CITY PROVINCE POSTAL CODE TELEPHONE SCHOOL SCHOOL JURISDICTION (Boara, Division, etc.) NAME OF LOCAL CPF CHAPTER ! enclose D) $10 — 1 year membership O $25 — 3 years’ membership Os donation. ' Of request a receipt for my donation for income tax purposes. 1 new membership 0 renewai Address shown is 1 new OC same as before. Annual membership period — one year from date of membership processing. Half of the Membership fee goes to your provincial organization. es ee es ee ee se es ee ee ee eee ee ee ee es ee ee ee ee es ee eee ee ee given to expanding students’ vocabulary. The results of the French- speaking test suggest that the grade 3 students have good com- municative skills in French. They could organize and retell a story on a par with native French- speaking children, but they re- ceived lower ratings than the Francophone children on the Pronunciation and Fiuency meas- ures. The immersion students also made more errors in their oral grammar. This finding was consistent with other research studies which also suggest that errors tend to persist in the speech of immersion students. Shapson and Day strongly recommend that methods be developed to improve oral grammar at all grade levels. The grade 7 students received the same French Language Arts test as that used by native French- speaking students in Montreal, and a second test which mea- sured comprehension of French in communicative situations. The Student Opinion Questionnaire assessed attitudes towards French and English-speaking Canadi- ans and towards bilingualism. The Student Questionnaire assessed their feelings towards the French Language, their satis- faction with the program and their perception of their knowl- edge of the language. An oral test is currently being developed for the grade 7 students, and should be ready in the spring. In the French Language Arts test, the grade 7 students ach- ieved results which were low- average when compared with Francophone students, but com- pared favorably with students in similar French Immersion pro- grams across Canada. The grade 7 El. students’ comprehension was noticeably superior to that of grade 7 LJ. students. Both groups were particularly posi- tive in their attitudes toward bil- ingualism and their motivation to learn French. The majority (77%0 of both groups indicated that they would like to continue in a French Immersion program. The E.i. students had more confi- dence in their skills and abili- ties in French than did the Lt. students. This study has supplied school districts with provincial norms, and based on these norms, the districts can now monitor on their own the progress of their immersion students. Further- more, the results from this study ought to be used to develop curriculum and to further improve the immersion programs in B.C. French Immersion has reached the point where researchers are no longer questioning whether it works, or whether the stud- ents’ English Language skills suf- fer. They are supplying concrete guides and suggestions on how these programs can be enhan- ced. It is now up to teachers, administrators and curriculum development committees to act on their suggestions. 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