This video clip titled “Parents Take on Bilingual Education” is just a short clip to the hundreds viewers can watch about the debate on students learning through bilingual education. Although this clip is based on the United States it can be used as an example here in Canada as well. In the United States, Spanish is considered the second most spoken language. Most Spanish speaking individuals believe that not only should Spanish be taught as a course throughout school but it should also be offered as a bilingual education system. Here in Canada most schools now have the option of teaching students just in English and taking a class in French or teaching French immersion right from the beginning. There is great debate in both countries about whether students being taught a new language will lag students behind in their own language but if you look at the review I did on Finland you will notice that is not the case. In Finland by the age of thirteen students have already learned three to four languages. Elementary years are the best time children are the most open to learning anything especially a new language.
As an individual who was not able to take French immersion I can see how my fellow students have better opportunities in the job field if they are bilingual. Especially coming from a country that is supposed to have two official languages I think it is necessary that all students have French immersion. In the United States “English Language Learners account for 1/10th of those enrolled in public schools nationwide”. Individuals who do not know the English language are finding it hard to integrate into English schools since their teachers are not able to help them learn the material and learn English at the same time…it is understandable why there would be high dropout rates for minority students. I believe the government in Canada is making great improvements with regards to integrating immersion into classrooms but there can always be room for improvement. I think the United States government needs to use its money for early childhood education to incorporate immersion into the school systems. No matter what people say about the negative aspects of integrating immersion I believe the positives greatly outweigh the cons. I know when I have children that I will enrol them into French immersion. Not only will they learn something new but hopefully they will be able to help me learn more French as well. This clip made me think of Simons and Masschelein’s main argument is education is all about learning and how learning brings people experience. In terms of learning “we” as a people are less about “how, at a particular moment in history, “we” have come to understand who and what we are and do in terms of learning”(Simons and Masschelein, 2008, p. 392).
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-5446.2008.00296.x/abstract;jsessionid=4B1841DCC6BAE6E2FCE8AB083C048158.d02t03?userIsAuthenticated=false&deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=
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