A Critical Commentary

Early French Immersion (EFI) programs were introduced in Canada in 1965 for students from Anglophone families where neither one of their parents spoke or understood much French. Unlike other bilingual programs, the immersion approach introduces French for the instruction of academic subjects and promotes the use of French as the language medium for classroom interactions. The EFI option is usually offered from the onset of elementary school, in Kindergarten or Grade One, and provides equal instruction time in English and French after primarily exposing students to the target language of instruction. Middle French Immersion (MFI) and Late French Immersion (LFI) are geared for older children who did not begin EFI programs, and respectively begin in Middle School (Grades 4 or 5) and at the Intermediate Level (Grades 7 and 8). By the 1980s, optional French immersion programs were available across Canada to families wishing to provide their children access to bilingual instruction passing through English first and French as the second official language.