Concerns of French immersion parents in supporting their children's learning at home

This research project sought to identify the concerns of anglophone, French Immersion parents of elementary school children in Northern British Columbia with respect to their perceived needs in supporting their children's academic learning. A qualitative, focus group approach was used in order to provide depth of information. Six parents of Early French Immersion students attended. This parent sample indicated interest in learning French themselves, particularly basic vocabulary, grammatical constructs of the language, and elements of pronunciation. Services desired from teachers or tutors included tapes of stories, vocabulary and dictee words for student use at home as well as help with French homework. The parents were adamant about the importance of regular contact with the teacher and made suggestions regarding access to informal discussion times. Bilingual planners and more regular use of the student planners for relaying information were recommended. These parents also desired more contact with Frenchspeaking individuals for their children outside of the classroom. 11