resulted where one of the languages was perceived as 'inferior1. In such a
case, the child's intellectual growth and personal development were said to be
adversely affected. Even in the 'high-status' bilingual context of Canada,
however, the rate Ofattrition amongst pupils on French Immersion Programs
(FIP) in British Columbia has become a major cause for concern:
"The major reasons cited by parents, teachers, and principals in transferring
students from FIP are related to three major issues: academic difficulty, social
and emotional difficulties and the quality of teaching and programs."
(Obadia & Theriault, 1997: 508)
Canadian principals and teachers reported that even young children dropped
out of language learning programmes, that the highest drop-out rate occurred at
the elementary level in grade 7 and that it was higher in early immersion
programs than in late immersion programs. These high drop-out rates would
seem to place doubt on the belief that younger is necessarily better even in
immersion contexts. The language pupils are learning would seem to be of
major importance; would attrition rates be the same if children were studying
English? And what about children in British primary schools 'learning' a
language which might well be of little relevance? These important questions as
well as the special status of English will be discussed again in later chapters.
Quality and quantity of time spent learning as well as language status would
seem to be important in determining success. In a school context, amount of
learning time would have to be counterbalanced with the need for the most
117
More intriguing information
1. The Complexity Era in Economics2. Tax Increment Financing for Optimal Open Space Preservation: an Economic Inquiry
3. Improvements in medical care and technology and reductions in traffic-related fatalities in Great Britain
4. Agricultural Policy as a Social Engineering Tool
5. MULTIPLE COMPARISONS WITH THE BEST: BAYESIAN PRECISION MEASURES OF EFFICIENCY RANKINGS
6. The name is absent
7. Social Balance Theory
8. The Effects of Attendance on Academic Performance: Panel Data Evidence for Introductory Microeconomics
9. A Review of Kuhnian and Lakatosian “Explanations” in Economics
10. Fighting windmills? EU industrial interests and global climate negotiations