French Immersion

École Beau Meadow School offers French Immersion with the objective of providing full mastery of the English language, functional fluency in French, as well as an understanding and appreciation of the French culture. Students begin their immersion experience in Kindergarten or Grade 1.

English Language Arts is taught beginning in Grade Three. Evidence shows that the more exposure to the second language , the higher the levels of second language proficiency. Students in French Immersion programs demonstrate similar progress in catching up with non-immersion students’ English language skills following the introduction of English Language Arts to the curriculum in Grade 3.

French immersion students are required to learn the same curriculum as students registered in the English program. The only difference is that French is the language of instruction for a significant part of the day; that is, several or all subjects, except English Language Arts, are taught in French. In addition, they take French Language Arts. This program is designed for students whose first language is not French.

Benefits:

According to Alberta Education, after completing the BGSD’s Early French Immersion program, your child will:

be functionally fluent in French;
be able to live, work and pursue post-secondary studies in French, English, or both languages;
be part of and have an understanding and appreciation of Francophone culture;
be proficient in English;
be able to appreciate other languages, cultures and communities in Canada and around the world.

According to Alberta Education’s French Immersion Kindergarten in Alberta: A Handbook For Parents, recent studies show that learning another language can not only have a positive impact on your child’s first language, but also that it actually enhances learning in all areas. Current research has shown that exposure to a second language can:

enhance the complexity of a person’s first-language syntax;
enhance their language-use skills (using narrative strategies, reading and writing in the first language, learning vocabulary);
enhance non-linguistic skills in areas such as divergent thinking, metalinguistics, attitudes toward others and mathematics.

After learning more than one language, your child will also have a greater ability to learn additional languages.