At Mind Over Learning we have received many inquiries from parents of kids enrolled in French Immersion who are struggling with language learning skills. They ask for our thoughts on whether or not they should keep their child in French Immersion or transition to English.
It is a difficult decision to make because every student is unique and will struggle for different reasons. Although there is no straight answer, we can present a few factors or principles to aid the decision-making process.
Early Intervention in French Immersion for Struggling Readers
Typically in French Immersion, the primary focus of very early grades is developing students’ proficiency with oral French, both in output (speaking French) and in receptive processing (understanding spoken French).
That means reading challenges might not be identified until grade 2 or 3. By then, early intervention is not possible and the student has to work much harder or receive much more support to catch up with peers and feel successful in reading French or English.
Once a reading challenge is identified, parents may begin to seek additional help or remediation. They ask if a reading difficulty in French is because French is their second language.
That may be the case. We always suggest evaluating two aspects:
- Is the student struggling with phonological awareness in French?
- Did the student also struggle with early English text (knowing the alphabet, recognizing and naming letters, matching letters to sounds accurately, recognizing high-frequency words, etc.)?
Studies show that if there is a weakness in phonological knowledge or awareness in one language, it is a strong predictor that the individual will also experience difficulty in phonological learning in a second language, regardless of which one is learned first.
What is causing the struggle?
We would advise considering a move from French to English instruction if any of the following is true:
1. If reading difficulty is due to weak visual or auditory processing
This topic is a whole other article (or book)! At the very basic level, challenges with visual or auditory processing are the primary causes of dyslexia.
To learn to read, the brain has to learn and recognize letters and letter groups with increasing speed and accuracy (visual processing). If the brain is confused by what the eyes are seeing or delayed in recognition, reading will obviously be a major struggle.
Auditory processing is the brain’s ability to accurately decode or understand sounds and combinations of sounds. An auditory processing disorder means that new words sound foreign, and segmenting sounds in words is difficult, along with many other symptoms. It adversely affects learning to read, spell phonetically, and increase vocabulary.
Additionally, the brain must pair sounds correctly with visual representations of the sound. As an example, many of us know the sound a “k” makes. We see a “k” and our brain instantly recalls the correct sound. But if this is a struggle to learn and retain for your child, imagine what happens when vowel sounds are introduced. In English, the letter “i” makes three typical sounds. If you add French, the “i” makes completely different sounds. The “i” says long “e” every time in French but not in English. This constant level of mental energy required for processing even the most foundational building blocks of language learning quickly becomes overwhelming.
If you suspect that your child may be having trouble in processing and remembering letters, sounds, and sound groups, consider confirming or ruling out visual and auditory processing. If these are real barriers, we believe transitioning to English learning would remove that additional struggle of processing multiple languages and excessive phonetic concepts.
2. If processing speed is slow
Processing speed is difficult to accurately determine because of the sheer number of external factors that can affect processing at any given time. Think about how capable you are at a task when you are well rested, feeling healthy, not hungry, and have knowledge or experience with the task you are executing. Take away any of those positive aspects, and your ability increasingly drops. A tired mind moves slowly, a new concept is challenging to process, and hunger – well, we are familiar with our emotional or mental state when we are starving!
However, if observed over a significant length of time and in many situations, a child’s processing speed can be more easily determined. Speech delays, slow vocabulary building, consistent pauses before verbalizing letters, sounds or words can all be indicators of slower processing speed related to language.
This is a neurological function that is very difficult to remediate. Processing speed is typically best supported by focusing on mastery and automaticity of foundational knowledge and skills. Unfortunately, this cannot be done easily if the student is trying to process and learn many concepts simultaneously.
Excess learning should be minimized or removed if possible. It is best to think about the highest priority skill you want your child to learn and start to hyperfocus on it. That may mean removing the second language.
3. If working memory is weak
If there are also indicators that working memory is weak, everything stated about slow processing is applicable here. The working memory is the part of the brain that holds all the skills, knowledge and information you need to do a task. It uses all that information in the moment you are executing the task. If you are a new driver, for example, the working memory has to hold the rules of the road, the steps for heading into traffic, the muscle contraction required for smooth movement, etc. If the working memory is not holding it all, the task can be difficult or impossible.
A measurement of working memory is best determined through qualified testing by a psychologist (typically a psycho-educational assessment, also known as a psych-ed). It can be an expensive process, so we note that such testing is not necessary in order to make your decision. However, a psych-ed may be helpful to you, especially if your child is exhibiting multiple areas of weakness.
Students will often exhibit a combination of slow processing speed and weak working memory. If they are weak in one area, they often struggle with the other.
Education Principles and Beliefs
At Mind Over Learning we have discovered that the following educational principles have been consistently true and effective.
1. A student does not have to struggle in order to learn.
A theory I encountered in my formal education in pedagogy centered around the idea that struggling in learning was good. There was a fairly prevalent belief that new neurological pathways were best formed if the individual had to work hard or struggle to make them.
My experience in the field, and Mind Over Learning’s collective research and experience with students of all
learning abilities, has proven the opposite. Teaching can be explicit and obvious. Add practice, linking, and depth of the concept (high-quality processing), and the memory system holds much more effectively. Then build from those mastered skills into higher complex tasks and concepts in a systematic, sequential and multi-sensory
approach. Suddenly, learning is like magic.
The challenge for many struggling students is that many of the above components are missing in their classroom education. That is largely because they are not “catching” everything. So, there are holes in their learning and they are no longer building or extending their abilities and knowledge. If the student truly struggles with language learning as a whole, the above formula is critical.
2. Learning must feel successful.
Continual struggle and feelings of inadequacy have the most detrimental impact on motivation. If a student puts in effort and does not get a result that matches the effort, that effort will continue to decrease over time.
Learning experiences or environments attached to feelings of failure or constant challenge will have other various side effects on your child:
- Loss of confidence
- Development of behaviours in academic settings
- Avoidance
- Shut-downs
- Meltdowns
- Low self-esteem
- Loss of joy in reading or any kind of learning
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Decreased willingness to engage or try
- Development of negative learning habits
If your child is showing any early signs of these symptoms, act now. Through hundreds of conversations with parents making these kinds of decisions for their child, one common thread has emerged. Parents who acted early to ensure a positive learning experience never regretted it. Parents who waited it out, trying to push their kids through those struggles, expressed that they did regret it (and often made those changes eventually after all).
3. Ideally, learning should be at least kind of fun.
If nothing else, learning should be doable, as indicated above. It is optimal if your child can also have connection, feel supported, and pursue some areas of interest while learning.
Most students who struggle begin to lose those positive benefits for many reasons. Think of the side effects listed in the last section. Once the student is communicating to parents and teachers through negative behaviours, we can assume the fun has been sucked out of their experience.
Consider the Future
In B.C.’s French Immersion schools, all classes are taught in French. Even when English is introduced in Grade 4, English class is the only one taught in English. Struggling readers who are attempting to be bilingual will likely struggle more in every class. They may be translating everything or fighting to continually build French vocabulary (math words, science words, etc.) and the difficulty will carry on.
Furthermore, if you are thinking of the long-term future, these kids will either be going into post-secondary education or the workforce. Most of these opportunities in B.C. are English speaking and require English reading and writing. Keep in mind that in French Immersion, English terminology around math and science has been limited. English composition has had a delayed start, and students’ exposure and experience in English writing (syntax, grammar, sentence structure, etc.) is much more limited than in English schools. Yet, their correspondence in the workforce will likely be in English. Report and essay writing in college or university will also likely be in English unless the student pursues their post-secondary education in a French college or university.
Your child may be at a disadvantage if reading, spelling, writing or comprehension is a global struggle for him or her – much more at a disadvantage if a French Immersion education prevented them from maximizing their English reading or writing capabilities.
Trust Yourself
At Mind Over Learning, we have always recognized and advocated that parents are the experts on their children. No one else has a feel for your child’s true abilities and challenges like you do. So, although I have presented reasons for switching to English, in the end you can trust yourself in your decision.
Moving to English is not always the right or best decision. We have worked alongside parents by supporting their children in learning to read, spell and write in English while they continue in their French Immersion education. Some parents choose to stay because of strong social connections, emotional well-being, smaller class sizes, or high quality teachers.
What matters is your level of confidence in your choice. What matters is that you can give yourself permission to explore options for your child that remove the struggle and compounding negative experiences. You can do this many ways. Our hope is that this article makes you feel more equipped in your understanding of your child, and as a result, helps you pursue the best avenue for your child’s continued learning.
If you are interested in how we support French Immersion students, call us, or contact us through our website. We would be thrilled to offer you a consultation at no charge and with no obligation.
Author: Becky Furney
President and Senior Consultant at Mind Over Learning