Edmonton Catholic Schools continued its series of virtual parent evenings with a discussion of the benefits of bilingualism.

Current Monsignor William Irwin Principal and former French immersion teacher, Lynnette Anderson, was joined by special guest Dr. Johanne Paradis, Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Adjunct Professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Alberta.

The Benefits of Bilingualism 

During the conversation, Dr. Paradis highlighted the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, which she noted to include:

• increased focus and attention
• more creative and flexible thinking
• greater ability to see differing perspectives

What Does Language Learning Look Like in our Schools?

This flexibility in thinking translates into our schools in classrooms in a variety of ways. But what does this look like? As Lynnette stated: “It is a lot of exposure to vocabulary, there’s lots of repetition and play. There’s authentic learning experiences so students can learn the language through these experiences.” 

“There’s a lot of speaking and listening at the very beginning. Our Kindergarten teachers are very animated, they use a lot of gestures a lot of songs a lot of play and it slowly evolves. And students are given an opportunity to take risks.” 

How Can Parents Support Language Learning?
 Parent engagement is very important as language learning continues outside the classroom.  A key misconception is that parents need to know the language to support the student’s language learning. Lynnette noted several strategies for parents to support students from home that include:

• reading together in the language and asking questions – this can include the child reading in the language and the parent asking questions in English
• asking questions about new words that were learned and encouraging them to take risk in their language learning
• accessing digital tools and resources from places like Edmonton Public Libraries
• allowing them to experience the target language and culture through community events
• communicating regularly with your teachers

Learn More about Bilingualism at Edmonton Catholic Schools

Dr. Paradis concluded the evening by stating: “I believe that bilingualism is one of the best gifts we can give our children.” She continued, “Bilingualism has so many benefits for children and there are really no costs to developing and supporting bilingualism in children. And above all I feel that why it’s so important to do so is because that knowledge of other language and cultures creates better global citizens and that’s something we need right now.”

Edmonton Catholic Schools offers a wide variety of language and culture, bilingual, and immersion programs for students from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Please click here to learn more about the seven language programs, or contact your child’s school to find out if any of these programs would be the right fit for your child.

You can view this and other virtual parent evenings as well as other parent resources on our ECSD YouTube channel here.