The developing concern of Canadian Parents for French about the lack of opportunities for anglophone students fluent in French to pursue bilingual higher education, the organization's role in focusing attention on the issue, and the evolution of organizational policy through conferences, surveys, and reports are discussed. (Author/MSE)

The Franco-Ontarian curriculum was greatly strengthened in Ontario's elementary and secondary schools in the 1960s. However, these gains are now threatened by declining enrollment, assimilation in the home, economic pressures, population displacement, lack of accessible French institutions of higher education, and exogamy. Responses to a…

Examines the French Immersion program in Northern Ontario, Canada, against the correspondence theory of Bowles and Gintis. Suggests that schools both reproduce class stratified society and promote social inequality. Explores the English-speaking middle-class motivations and actions in controlling French Immersion programs to benefit their…

Responding to O. Weininger's concern about Early French Immersion (EFI) programs, the author declares that evaluations from all over Canada have shown that EFI students achieve high levels of French proficiency at no apparent academic cost. Other objections to Weininger's conclusions are also raised. (PP)

In response to O. Weininger's article, programs in various countries are cited in defense of the efficacy of early language immersion. The importance of flexibility is stressed, as is need to examine bilingual immersion in the light of educational, social, linguistic, and "political" goals, as well as psychological theory. (PP)

The importance of fully exploring the values and limitations of early language immersion programs is reiterated. The need to take children's class advantages into account in judging the effectiveness of such programs is emphasized. (PP)

Two major questions are discussed concerning early language immersion: (1) Is it necessarily the best way to acquire a second language permanently and naturally? and (2) Does it provide a genuinely enriching experience for a young child? The author urges caution in interpreting research and consideration of other paths to biculturalism. (PP)