Hello everyone, Emily-the-Expat-Teacher here again with some thoughts on if you do decide to enroll your child in an immersion program.

Should you make that decision here is the best possible way to ensure their success:

Realize that you are also enrolling in an immersion program.

Without exception every student I have taught that has taken to English like a dog to a bone has had someone at home with whom they can practice English with. These people encourage, support and above all make having that other language relevant in a non-school setting. You don’t have to be fluent, just be willing to learn along with your child! The best way to learn something is to teach it so if you allow your child to teach you one piece of vocabulary a day that they have learned you are empowering your child to love and understand their own education. Not to mention the added bonus that you may indeed find yourself learning more than you expected!

Here are some tips.

1)Encourage bilingual play. Toys like farm animals or “Mr. Face” (which can be made from felt) are wonderful practice tools for animal names, locations, parts of the face, emotions, expressions, everything! Play with your child in English and also your child’s alternate language

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2)Have “Foreign Language Dinner” one night a week where everyone tries to talk about their day in the language you’re all learning. You can start off simply, say “My day was bon” and by the end of the school year you’ll surprise yourself with how much you and your family can communicate in another language. If you truly want to go all out you could even attempt to cook a meal inspired by the language being studied. (A different French recipe for each “French-Speaking Dinner”)

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/ingredient/julia_child/

Here is a link to a few recipes from Julia Child, famous for bringing French Cuisine to North America…or if you want you can always just make Poutine. Certain to be a hit with the kids!

3)If possible enroll your child in multilingual activities, ESPECIALLY over the summer. Summer Brain Drain is a real thing but if your child plays soccer in a French league then the language will remain relevant and stay in their minds, making the transition back to school a bit easier. If there are no activities available then download a children’s show in the language to watch over the summer or watch their favourite movie (that they’ve seen so many times they’ve MEMORIZED the English dialogue) in the foreign language.

4)Above all, have FUN! Don’t stress your child out by forcing them to use the language at play time if they don’t want to and don’t make your child sit through a foreign film because it’s educational. You want your child to have positive associations with their other language and luckily for children, learning language comes naturally, so always encourage rather than force.

As an educator I would highly recommend every child to explore another language, as a Canadian I feel a responsibility to encourage French or a First Nations’ language but any and all languages are beautiful, useful and will enrich the lives of your whole family.