French Immersion Ideologies in Canada

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

In French Immersion Ideologies in Canada, Sylvie Roy gives voice to people who have experiences with French immersion programs in Alberta, Canada. Using a sociolinguistics for change approach, she interprets questions related to language ideologies, as well as reasons people learn French as an additional language and why some students are asked to learn English first. She also reflects on what it means to become or to be bilingual or multilingual in a globalized world. Roy discusses teachers and learners linguistic and cultural practices and examines transculturality for the future. By questioning concepts that recur in participants narratives, this book explores how power is reproduced, who is marginalized in the process, and what can be done to deconstruct ideologies about learning and teaching French in Canada and in the world. Roy demonstrates complex issues related to the French language and their consequences for learners, parents, teachers, and administrators.

Reviews

"French Immersion has been studied from different angles since its inception fifty years ago as the original Canadian bilingual education model, but never had it been untangled so intimately from the inner perspectives of the primary stakeholders, i.e. students, parents, teachers, and program administrators, focusing on their conception of language, language learning, competency, bilingualism and multilingualism. Fifteen years of research in and around immersion programs lay the groundwork for Sylvie Roy to formulate all the right why questions and to provide insightful answers." -- Normand Labrie, University of Toronto
"This book is essential reading for all who seek to understand how language ideologies frame perspectives and experiences with language immersion education and bi/multilingualism. In a highly readable style, Roy synthesizes over 15 years of analysis of compelling ethnographic accounts involving French immersion students, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders. Thought-provoking questions situated in sociolinguistics for change theory invite readers to reflect on current practices and examine deep-rooted ideologies to improve immersion education and allow it to thrive well into the future." -- Diane J. Tedick, University of Minnesota

Author Bio

Sylvie Roy is professor in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.