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Education Minister Kelly Lamrock wishes to thank all those who took time to submit comments.

Please note that we will only post submissions from people who have given us explicit consent to do so. We will not post the following:

Submissions received on-line that indicate "Not public" on the web form
Submissions sent direct by email, letter or fax which do not explicitly ask us to post their comments or which divulge personal information about third parties (in order to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act)
Submissions that contain statements considered to be defamatory, libelous, hateful, or of a commercial nature.
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Please also note that because each submission must be reviewed in the context of the above, there will normally be a time lag of between 2-3 days between receiving a submission and posting it on the website.

As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, July 25, 2008, the French Second Language consultation has concluded. Any comments received after that time will not be posted, but will be brought to the Minister's attention.

Improving French Second Language Programming Within a Quality Education System(pdf)

Comments appear in the language received.

Helping all kids to become bilingual along with excellent results in English, Math and Science along with exposure to Music, Art and Physical Education is simple: Educate the child in his/her first (regularly spoken) language and make French (or English) a core subject beginning in Kindergarten (core = required to pass the grade) through to Grade 12 as it is the case with subjects like Math and Science.

If students can become proficient in Math, English and Science having been taught these subjects since Kindergarten it only stands to reason this will also be true for French (or vice versa depending on the language spoken in the region).

The key is to begin in KINDERGARTEN. Bilingualism will be better achieved and received if the language is treated as a main (core) subject required for grading while all other subjects are taught in his/her first language.

This also encourages parental participation and assistance in the learning process.

Forcing students (especially against their parents' wishes) to be taught in a second language is counter-productive. If an Immersion program is to be used it should be optional allowing the freedom to choose. This also encourages parental particpation in the learning process.

I have nothing against my children learning a second language. I do; however, strongly object to my children being forced into an immersion program against my wishes and better judgement. Should this happen my husband and I will withdraw our parental support in this type of learning process as it is unconstitutional and unfair.

Please note, while it is admirable to achieve bilingualism it is even more important that New Brunswick's academic standing in Canada be improved and this will be achieved best if students are instructed in their first language.

As for giving kids more enrichment and physical activity opportunities this also has a simple answer: make the school day longer. Add an hour of instruction time to every day to incorporate them.

I sincerely hope you find these suggestions helpful.

Mr. Lamrock,

I am very much in support of your plans for education in the province of New Brunswick. It is unfortunate that these plans have been put on hold because of a few out spoken parents. There are many people who support your decisions; however, many have been named bigots, anti French etc when they share their view points. I believe there are more people who support this decision, but are afraid of speaking up for fear of being viewed in a negative way. This is not a French/English issue it is an educational issue and people need to stop thinking about their own self serving interests and start thinking about the educational benefits for all children. I have a few suggestions and items I would like to point out to you.
There is only one suggestion I have in regards to your proposed changes; I still think there should be a core French program between grades 1-4. I think that exposure to the language should still happen at a young age, and then add the intensive program on in grade 5 to give a more in depth coverage of French and to allow students an "intense" look at what it is really like to be in French. This will give parents and students a chance to make a better choice about the Late French Immersion program. I talk to many parents who take their children out of late French immersion because their child isn't enjoying the program or excelling in it as they anticipated. I think the Intensive French in Grade 5 is a great idea because many times parents want their children to go into LFI immersion because the perception is that it is for the "smarter" kids. Once kids have a chance to be in French for an extended period of time in grade 5 they can better voice their opinion on whether or not they think French is a program they want to be enrolled in on a more permanent basis.
Furthermore, the Early French Immersion program has become a HUGE status thing amoung parents. Many parents will not say "my child is in grade 1," instead they will say "my child is in grade 1 immersion," as if to say "my 5 year old has the intellectual capacity to manage mastering 2 languages." This hierarchy in education needs to stop.
My final point is that there are not enough qualified teachers to support the EFI program. Many times teachers will get hired for positions in French Immersion classrooms with little to no experience. They will be hired on the premise that they can speak French and not on the premise that they have good teaching techniques. Many bilingual teachers, whose mother tongue is English, will be hired simply because they can speak French and once they gain enough seniority they switch to English classrooms. This begins to create a vicious cycle because then more French teachers need to be hired and because of the high demand and few qualified candidates people are once again hired for their French speaking ability rather then their teaching abilities and on it goes. It takes a special person to teach children the fundamentals of education and I believe those people should be the best teachers there is, regardless of what language they speak.

I have a question for the Minister regarding "streaming". Over and over it has been reiterated that "streaming" due to struggling students leaving the EFI program due to the lack of resources is the root of low test results in the Core program. The Minister says that if we alleviate it (streaming), then test scores will improve. If that is the case, then why within the Francophone school system (where there is no cases of streaming) recent test results show that they are also scoring poorly?

I would like a response to this question, and feel that other concerned parents also would like to understand the constant mention of streaming and why is has been portrayed so negatively. The Minister has eluded that he would like to have a full debate this time around, so I feel it's very important that he explain this discrepancy regarding streaming to parents.

I believe that the decision to change French Second Language in public schools in New Brunswick is a bold yet necessary decision. This decision is based on potential benefits for the entire educational system. Many people are upset by this decision not because they feel it is detrimental to education, but because it is detrimental to their individual child. I am currently a teacher in the province and it is obvious that Early French Immersion is a way of streamlining the most academically capable students into 1 system and it is leaving the English sector with the largest class sizes and the most challenging students. I believe that children at a young age need to focus on mastering their mother tongue and when they are ready they can take on the challenge of learning a new language. It would be very easy for me to say this is a ridiculous decision because I am grade 5 teacher who is being bumped out of my school as a result of the Intensive French Program, but I not because I do have faith that the long term results of this program will be beneficial. I truly hope the planned changes move forward and I support Mr. Lamrock's decision 100%.

As a parent of two daughters who are enrolled in the Early French Immersion program and have been very successful, I think that the elimination of the program is a grave mistake.

Rather, I think that the program should be strengthened.

Below are two suggestions for improvement.

1. Increase the amount of French language materials available to Immersion students. At present, most school libraries have inadequate numbers of French language materials on their shelves. For example, French novels for young people.

2. For those students who are experiencing difficulties, hire resource teachers who will help them to succeed. Not only will this measure cut down on the drop-out rate from the program, it will also help to increase the overall level of proficiency in the course.

Thank-you for your attention.

Early Intensive French Program..instead of EFI have EIF.

I am a product of the EFI program. As a December baby, I got my start in french immersion when I was 5 years old. Before that, I went to a private sitter, no daycare or kindergarten. I carried on with my FSL training in University and have been taking FSL training through my work and am still very comfortable speaking and joking in french. I quite enjoy the language and now my own children are on the brink of entering the school system in a year.

Over the last several months I have listened to many of the arguments for and against on what is obviously a passionate issue and it is clear that not everybody speaks from the same experience(s). I am as biased having successfully completed the EFI program as someone who has taken the core program.

It seems clear to me that one way or the other, all children are going to enter an intensive french program. My solution would be to put all children through this IFP early, at grade one or two. This would enable those that wish to continue with French Immersion more formidable years in which to learn the language and for those that struggle or do not want it, they will have more time to catch up on lost ground. The alternative is to push through grade five academics in a foreign language, thus, not learning much in what should be a year full of learning. By grade five, there are a lot of pressures and changes going on with many children, many will undoubtedly already have attitudes about french and be subjected to peer pressure. For sure there will be some candidates for french immersion that will not enroll soley due to external pressures. That is wrong. This would be better dealt with at an early age.

I submit that this structure be closely examined in an effort to appease the masses and let cooler minds prevail in this hot debate.

I am also wondering how this is not

Please provide links to the data quoted in the paper. People need to see where these numbers are coming from in order to discuss them properly.