Late Immersion

What is Late Immersion?

• Late Immersion is a French Immersion program beginning in grade 7.

Who should register?

• The program is designed for students who may or may not have had previous exposure to French.
• Because of their age, students are typically more involved in the decision, resulting in a more homogeneous group of motivated students.
• Academic strength is not a requirement but is often the case with students confident enough to tackle the challenge.
• The following attributes come in handy for Late Immersion students: strong study skills, a willingness to take risks, a thirst for challenges, a good sense of humour, a tolerance to change, strong English language skills, and maturity.

Which schools offer it?

• Schools with Second Language Program

How does it work?

• The initial period of the year focuses on French Language development.
• French proficiency progresses more rapidly than in Early Immersion. (Many skills such as reading, dictionary use, and summarizing have already been mastered in English.)
• Along with audio and visual materials, the teacher may make use of written material from the beginning.
• Students move from survival to functioning French rapidly in order to learn the concepts taught in the core subjects.

Popular concerns

Q: Will the students catch up to Early Immersion students?

• A: Both groups have their respective strengths:
• Early Immersion students may have more confidence in speaking and have less of an English accent.
• Late Immersion students may be more diligent and engaged in the language learning.
• Both groups can be combined into the same class after 2 or 3 years.

Q: Will my child get discouraged?

• A: Yes. Experienced teachers with Late Immersion see trends such as fatigue or stress at different points in the year. However, as the whole class is typically experiencing the same phenomena the teacher will watch for it and adjust for such periods.

Q: Will my child cover the same curricula as other children?

• A: Yes. Despite an initial investment in French language development at the beginning of grade 7, students in Late Immersion often take the same exams in the core subjects by grade 8. In fact grade 7 students do many of the same projects by the end of grade 7, providing there are some accommodations made in terms of use of dictionaries, etc.

Benefits

• Late Immersion is an excellent option for students who were not able to begin in K or grade 1.
• Students in Late Immersion experience junior high in a very self motivated group of classmates.
• Students develop excellent French Language skills in a short time
• Students qualify to continue their high school in the regular French Immersion stream.

Useful links

• Kindergarten in ECS
• Transportation
• Registration
• Canadian Parents for French
• Alberta Education