École Brentwood French immersion program a first

Adelle Ellis
Times Reporter

 

École Brentwood Elementary School is the first school in Strathmore to offer a fully integrated French immersion program.
The first year of the program took place during the 2016-2017 year when a combined class was created with five kindergarten students and 20 Grade 1 students.
Next year, a new teacher will be hired to teach the Grade 1 students who will be moving into Grade 2. The school is currently accepting students to start French immersion in kindergarten or Grade 1.
“I’ve gotten mostly positive feedback from parents. (The kids) love it and they’re catching on really quickly,” said Claire Berenger, kindergarten and Grade 2 French immersion teacher. “It’s amazing how they respond to the vocabulary. Their vocabulary and writing is coming along well and they love singing songs (in French).”
The program is a fully integrated French immersion program in which students learn completely in French. English is not used except on the off chance there is an emergency, to make sure students understand the situation.
Berenger talks in French 100 per cent of the time to her students, and she encourages students to talk to each other in French if they know the words. This is so students can get a good basis of understanding all the vocabulary orally. In the recent semester, they also worked on writing in French.
Berenger teaches the students strategies of how to read and write in French, and when the students go home, their parents do the work to teach them how to read and write in English. The learning strategies are the same so learning English at home is fairly simple.
Once the students reach Grade 3, English language will be incorporated into the classroom.
“I’m very shocked at how fast they catch on to everything. Now they can follow up to four or five directions in French and they understand most of it,” said Berenger. “It’s really rewarding in that sense. Parents tell me they are singing [in French] at home or are counting at home.”
Since there was no existing French immersion schooling option in Strathmore before École Brentwood offered the program, Christina Hoover, principal at Brentwood Elementary, felt it was important to create the program for families who wanted a French immersion option.
Erin Friesen, École Brentwood associate principal, was also enrolled in a French immersion program throughout her school years, so she understands how the program works and also about the long-term benefits to students.
“There are lots of long-term benefits that we know occur from any second language instruction. In terms of brain development, the ability to grow the synapses between the right and left hemisphere of your brain increases with French instruction,” said Friesen. “Your ability to learn additional languages past that and your ability to understand a different culture and understanding different perspectives are widened with second language instruction.”