French-Language
School for My Children:
My Choice… My Right
This publication is directed primarily toward francophoneanglophone couples residing in minority francophone regions.
However, francophone couples living in francophone-minority
areas may also be interested in the information provided.
What languages and cultures do we want to transmit to
our children?
This is a question asked by many people just like you –
couples referred to also as francophone-anglophone,
interlinguistic or mixed.
These couples, made up of one francophone and one
anglophone partner, are a growing reality in Canada.
According to data from the 2001 census, 37% of couples in
Canada are francophone-anglophone, while 15% of couples
in New Brunswick are interlinguistic.
Like any parent, you want the best for your children, and you
want to make the right choices for them.
The presence of two languages and two cultures in your
household offers unique opportunities as well as certain
challenges.
• What languages and cultural identities do you want your children
to adopt?
• Do you want your children to give French and English equal
importance, becoming bilingual with a high level of skill in each
parent’s first language?
• What type of education is best for your child: French school, or
English school with immersion classes?
• What are your rights?
• Where do you start?
This document will assist you in finding answers to some of
your questions. Its purpose is to provide information to help
you make more informed choices about the languages and
cultures you want to transmit to your children and about the
education you want for them.
Public French-Language
Education in New Brunswick
How does the public education system work
in New Brunswick?
The New Brunswick Department of Education is responsible for
public education from Kindergarten through Grade 12.
The public education system in New Brunswick is divided into
two separate and equal education sectors, one for each of
the province’s two official languages, French and English.
Each linguistic sector in the school system is independent
and responsible for its own educational curricula and
assessment tools.
The mission of public education is built upon a collection of
values, including equity, equal opportunity and linguistic
duality.
The Right to Attend French-Language
School in New Brunswick
Who is allowed to attend French schools
in New Brunswick?
Under the New Brunswick Education Act, children have the
right to free school privileges in a French school district,
school or class if they speak French or, even in cases where
they do not have adequate skill in the language, if at least
one parent has rights pursuant to Section 23 of the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These parents are referred
to as eligible parents.
Eligible Parents
In Canadian provinces where francophones are a minority,
parents meeting at least one of the following three criteria are
classified as eligible:
• the first language learned and still understood by one of the
parents is French;
• one of the parents attended primary school in French in Canada;
• one of the parents’ children attended primary or secondary school
in French in Canada.
If you are an eligible parent, does your child
automatically have this right?
No. Children of eligible parents do not have this right and are
not eligible themselves if their first language as learned in
childhood and still understood as adults is not French, or if
they did not attend school in French at least at the
elementary level, or if one of their own children did not attend
primary school in French.
Should Children Learn One Language or Two?
The benefits of knowing two languages and two cultures
Extensive research has indicated that the brain has the
capacity to become highly competent in not just one but
rather two or even several languages.
As such, parents who choose to raise bilingual children want
their children to:
• have an excellent understanding of each parent’s first language;
• develop a strong sense of belonging and desire for involvement in
the francophone or Acadian community without compromising
their anglophone identity or English-language skills;
• learn to appreciate the wealth of different cultures;
• become highly skilled in French and English and retain these
skills throughout adulthood;
• have the option to attend college or university in French
or English;
• have access to the economic advantages associated with the
broader range of career choices available to people with excellent
skills in French and English;
• be better positioned to learn a third language.
Will my children find it confusing to learn two languages
at the same time?
Some parents worry that learning two languages
simultaneously might somehow be harmful for their children.
Again, research has indicated that there are no grounds to
support this belief and that children have the ability to learn
two languages very well at the same time.
That said, parents wanting to teach two languages at the
same time to their children are frequently advised to seek to
uphold the principle of “one parent, one language” from birth
whereby the francophone parent always speaks French and
the anglophone parent English. During their early years,
children may often use words from both languages in the
same sentence; however, the risk that this will become a
problem or handicap for them is minimal.
Other parents opt to teach their children one language at a
time. In minority francophone areas, these parents are
strongly advised to teach their children French from birth since
this is the threatened language. This approach is preferable as
it is easy for these children to learn English after they have
mastered French. In this environment, it is generally more
difficult to follow the alternate approach, or that of learning
English first and then French.
The Role of the Family in Promoting
Bilingualism
What should we do to prepare our children for French
school?
It is important for parents living in minority-francophone areas
to introduce their children to French in early childhood. This
includes providing children opportunities for fun and enriching
experiences in French. Every such experience helps children
to build a French cultural identity, enrich their knowledge of
the French language and develop a feeling of belonging to
the francophone community without compromising their
anglophone identity or English-language skills.
Both parents, francophone and anglophone, play an
important role in their children’s bilingual development since
both parents serve as models for their children.
The following is a list of activities that you can use to prepare
your children to attend school in French:
• Speak to your children in French from the time of birth;
• Play games with them in French;
• Read books to your children in French from the time of birth;
• Listen to French language radio with them;
• Watch French television and movies with them;
• Listen to French music with them;
• Participate with them in French language activities in
the community;
• Use a francophone daycare or babysitting
service;
• Choose French language
preschool education services.
What should we do to ensure that our children grow up
bilingual in a minority francophone environment?
In minority francophone environments, the risk is always high
that children will learn and live in the language of the majority
at the expense of the minority language.
Research has demonstrated that francophone-anglophone
couples living in communities in which francophones constitute a
minority and who want their children to be bilingual need to place
greater emphasis on their community’s minority language, or, in
the case at hand, French.
The three different environments in which children are exposed
to language experiences can complement one another to
support an approach targeting the learning of two languages
and fostering a sense of belonging to two cultures:
• school;
• family;
• social and institutional settings
These life environments can all play complementary roles in
developing bilingualism in your children. Let’s explore just how.
The Role of French Schools in Promoting
Bilingualism
Why should we choose a French school for our children?
In environments where English is dominant, French language
schools play a deciding role in the development and
maintenance of your children’s French skills and, as a result,
in their achieving a high level of bilingualism.
The French language and culture form an integral part of
students’ school experience in relation to both classroom and
extracurricular activities.
The purpose of French language schools is not only to meet
students’ academic needs but also to guide students in
exploring and developing their francophone heritage.
One of the primary objectives of French schools is to develop,
maintain and enhance the linguistic competencies and culture
associated with the French language.
It is to be noted that the capabilities developed in courses in
English as a second language are also very high in French
schools in minority francophone areas. However, the linguistic
level of courses in French as a second language offered in
English schools is not as high as that of French courses
offered in French schools.
Do immersion programs in English schools give the
same results as attending a French school?
No. Immersion programs are not planned, nor do they have
the capacity, to give the same results as French schools in
fostering bilingualism in minority francophone environments.
Immersion programs teach French as a second language
in English language schools.
These programs are directed toward the children of
anglophone couples who speak English and come from an
anglophone culture.
Although French is taught in the classroom, it is taught as a
second language. English remains the language of
communication outside of the class and throughout the
education system.
Anglophone parents who register their children in
French immersion programs generally except them
to develop solid fundamental skills in French as a
second language. Immersion programs are
designed for the children of anglophone couples
who want their children to learn French. These
parents are not seeking to foster their children’s
sense of belonging or desire for involvement in
the Francophone and Acadian community. In
terms of culture, these parents seek at most that
their children develop a spirit of openness toward
the francophone community.
If our children attend a French school, will they learn
English well enough? Will they know English enough to
work in English or attend college or university in
English?
The response to these questions is a resounding yes.
Research indicates that even if they speak French with the
francophone parent and attend French school, the children of
francophone-anglophone parents living in minority
francophone areas develop English skills that are equal to
those of children of anglophone parents who attend English
schools. This is made possible through the contribution of the
anglophone parent, the high level of the English courses in
French schools and the highly English-dominated social and
institutional living environments.
The anglophone parent should:
• encourage the children to use French at home and outside
of the home;
• be present when the francophone parent does French language
activities with the children.
The anglophone parent’s encouragement and support of
French language activities is essential.
How can we support our children after they have started
a French school?
No school can assume the entire responsibility of transmitting
the French language and culture to a child or developing a
child’s francophone identity.
Parents are consequently called upon to play a key role in the
education of their school-aged children. Parents act as
primary partners of the school. Cooperation among school
staff, parents, students and the community is vital and
contributes in large part to the success of education for
children.
• Display positive attitudes toward the French
school.
• Participate in school life.
• Support your children with their
schoolwork and homework by
providing them access to French
language resource materials such
as books, magazines and software.
Depending on their ability to
understand, speak and write French,
anglophone parents can also support
their children’s French language
education in different ways.
Anglophone parents who
do not speak French,
meanwhile, can help
their children with
math or English as a
second language,
among other
possibilities.
The Role of the Social and Institutional
Environments in Promoting Bilingualism
Children living in minority francophone areas are, by definition,
frequently exposed to the English language, whether through
various English language community institutions or the presence
of anglophone media, advertising and public information. These
help to develop children’s skills in English.
The francophone family and educational environments serve to
counterbalance the strong presence of English in the social and
institutional environments.
If you want your children to become bilingual, you must be vigilant
by ensuring that children maintain significant contact with French
language electronic and printed media, including magazines,
newspapers, radio, television and Internet.
By highlighting the vitality of the francophone minority in the
community in a visible and tangible manner, you can promote
your children’s awareness of this vitality and assist them in
embracing their francophone cultural and linguistic heritage.
A Choice for the Future
As a parent and first educator, you play a crucial role in the
development of your children’s bilingual skills even before
they reach the age to attend school.
To ensure that your children grow up bilingual in a minority
francophone setting, you need to make specific choices for
them beginning in early childhood.
French schools are essential partners in this mission.
French-language school is not only
a choice – it is your right.
Other Organizations
For additional
information
Department of Education
P.O. Box 6000, Place 2000
Fredericton, N.B.
E3B 5H1
Phone: 506.453.3678
Fax: 506.453.3325
www.gnb.ca/0000/index-e.asp
Comités de parents du
Nouveau-Brunswick Inc.
421 Acadie Avenue
Dieppe, N.B.
E1A 1H4
Phone: 506.859.8107
toll-free: 1 888 369.9955
Fax: 506.859.7191
[email protected]
www.comparents.com
School District 01
425 Champlain Street
Dieppe, N.B.
E1A 1P2
Conseils d’éducation
de district
P.O. Box 6000, Place 2000
Fredericton, N.B.
E3B 5H1
Phone: 506.856.3333
Fax: 506.856.3524
Phone: 506.856.2170
Fax: 506.856.2932
School District 03
532 Madawaska Road
Grand Falls, N.B.
E3Y 1A3
Schools and
Community Centres
Phone: 506.473.7360
Fax: 506.473.6437
School District 05
21 King Street
Campbellton, N.B.
E3N 1C5
Phone: 506.789.2255
Fax: 506.789.2269
School District 09
3376 Principale Street
P.O. Box 3688, Station Main
Tracadie-Sheila, N.B.
E1X 1G5
Phone: 506.394.3400
Fax: 506.394.3455
School District 11
10 Commerciale Street, Suite 2
Richibucto, N.B.
E4W 3X6
Phone: 506.523.7655
Fax: 506.523.7659
506.859.8107
[email protected]
Carrefour Beausoleil
300 Beaverbrook Road
Miramichi, N.B.
E1V 1A1
Phone: 506.627.4117
Fax: 506.627.4592
Centre scolaire
Samuel-de-Champlain
67 Ragged Point Road
Saint John, N.B.
E2K 5C3
Phone: 506.685.4613
Fax: 506.643.6205
Centre communautaire
Sainte-Anne
715 Priestman Street
Fredericton, N.B.
E3B 5W7
Phone: 506.453.2731
Fax: 506.453.3958