English Language Arts for French Immersion Students a bridging Document Grades 3 to 5 2016

Purpose of the Bridging Document

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  establishes the links between the ELA and FI curricula;
  
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  provides guidelines for an efficient use of the ELA curriculum with French Immersion students, and offers suggestions for adaptation when necessary;
  
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  provides background information and instructional strategies to facilitate the integration of FI and ELA; and,
  
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  lists transfers and interferences with possible instructional corrections.
  

Teaching English Language Arts in a French Immersion Context

English Language Arts are allocated 560 minutes per week in an elementary English school. The time allocated to language arts for grades 3 to 5 in a French Immersion school is 750 minutes. The 750 minute allocation must be divided between ELA and Français en immersion in a manner that meets the needs of students and the demands of the programs. Further information is available in the Student Registrar’s Handbook for School Administrators.

It is recommended that with French Immersion students, the ELA curriculum be introduced in Grade 3. Delaying the start of ELA instruction ensures that students are not confused by having to learn to read and write simultaneously in two languages. Research shows that French Immersion students who experience an initial lag in some areas of ELA catch up with their counterparts who attend an English program after one to two years of formal ELA instruction (Bournot-Trites, M. and Tellowitz, U.,2002). However, this initial lag does require that teachers adjust the ELA program to the needs of such students.

By the time students reach Grade 3, their level of confidence and competence in their second language is well established. This is considered an appropriate time for introducing formal ELA instruction and for furthering the development of literacy in both languages simultaneously. On the one hand, this process occurs quite naturally because many aspects of language learning are transferable between the French and the English language. On the other hand, some concepts learned from the study of French do not transfer to English and may interfere with what is being learned. Teachers of both language arts programs must then be aware of areas of transfer and interference which have implications on language arts instruction to French Immersion students.

In order to address these various aspects, it is important that teachers become familiar with both the ELA and FI programs and obtain background information to capitalize on the particular strengths of bilingual students while meeting their unique needs.