Possible Factors Influencing Student Performance in French Immersion

The ACIE Newsletter, May 2004, Vol. 7, No. 3

Reprinted with the permission of the Vancouver School Board


HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT

This document arose out of district wide concerns for students who are experiencing difficulties in French Immersion. This profile was therefore developed to facilitate discussion among the classroom teacher(s), learning assistance teacher(s), and other School-Based Team members. In addition, the profile could be used when working with parents during educational planning for their children.

Indicate factors pertinent to individual students and add comments when appropriate

  DOMAINS   POSSIBLE
  SUCCESS FACTORS
  POSSIBLE
  RISK FACTORS

    SOCIAL
    DEVELOPMENT
    USUALLY THE CHILD:

  • Appears to be a risk taker
  • Appears to get along with peers
  • Appears to have positive self-esteem
  • Appears to be confident
    USUALLY THE CHILD:

  • Does not appear to be a risk taker
  • Appears to be immature and / or exhibit inappropriate social behavior
  • Appears to have low self-esteem
  • Appears to lack confidence
    SCHOOL
    BEHAVIOR
  • Appears to be receptive to learning French
  • Attends school regularly (the significance being that the classroom provides the major French language learning environment)
  • Has well established work habits:
    __ stays on task
    __ completes assignments
    __ listens well
    __ participates actively
    __ is organized
  • Appears to have a positive attitude toward school
  • Rarely or never attempts to communicate in French
  • Is frustrated by difficulty communicating in French
  • Does not attend school regularly
  • Does not have well established work habits:
    __ has difficulty staying on task
    __ has difficulty completing assignments
    __ has weak listening skills
    __ displays lack of involvement
    __ is disorganized
    FAMILY*
    THE FAMILY
    (i.e. primary care givers):

  • *Appears to be comfortable with choice of French immersion schooling
  • Notes from parent interview(s):
    THE FAMILY
    (i.e. primary care givers):

  • *Appears to have strong reservations about French immersion schooling
  • Notes from parent interview(s):
    FIRST
    LANGUAGE
    ACQUISITION
    USUALLY THE CHILD:

  • Appears to have a well established first language in terms of understanding, oral expression, and vocabulary
  • *Communicates well verbally
  • *Appears to have at least average verbal reasoning skills (i.e., can describe, make inferences, associate ideas, categorize, etc.)
    USUALLY THE CHILD:

  • Does not appear to have a well established first language in terms of understanding, oral expression, and vocabulary
  • Appears to have experienced significant developmental delays in the first language:
    __ semantic and / or syntactic development
    __ receptive and / or expressive language skills

  • *Does not communicate well verbally
  • *Appears to have weak verbal reasoning skills
  • Has articulation and / or phonological difficulties in conjunction with other possible risk factors
    LEARNER
    CHARACTERISTICS
  • Appears to have adequate auditory processing skills:
    __ discrimination
    __ memory
    __ sequencing
  • Appears to participate readily in new learning situations
  • Appears to readily retain information presented both visually and auditorily.
  • Appears to have auditory processing difficulties:
    __ discrimination
    __ memory
    __ sequencing
  • Appears to be hesitant when presented with new learning situations
  • Appears to have difficulty retaining information presented visually and / or auditorily
  • Has family history of learning difficulty in reading, writing, spelling, and / or math
    ACADEMIC
    PROGRESS
  • Is making adequate progress in French immersion according to Ministry guidelines
  • Is developing receptive and / or expressive language skills in French
  • Has made some transfer of reading and writing skills at the late primary / early intermediate level without formal instruction
  • Is acquiring reading skills according to Ministry guidelines
  • Is acquiring written language skills according to Ministry guidelines
  • Is developing visual-motor integration and fine motor skills
  • Is acquiring math concepts, computation and / or problem solving skills according to Ministry guidelines.
  • Is making slower progress in French immersion based on Ministry guidelines
  • Has difficulty with receptive and / or expressive language skills in French
  • Appears to be experiencing undue stress and frustration related to curriculum demands of the French immersion program
  • Has difficulty handling the dual language curricula and work load at the intermediate level
  • Is having difficulty acquiring reading skills based on Ministry guidelines
    __ sight vocabulary
    __ decoding (sound-symbol association)
    __ comprehension
  • Is having difficulty acquiring written language skills:
    __ organizing thoughts on paper
    __ sequencing
    __ mechanics (i.e., punctuation, capitalization)
    __ spelling
    __ grammar
  • Is having difficulty with visual-motor integration and / or acquiring fine motor skills
  • Is having difficulty acquiring math concepts, computation and / or problem-solving skills based on Ministry guidelines
  • Makes persistent reversals in reading and writing despite remediation
*This information must come from objective data and / or interviews from parents


Note: Bold text lists possible success and risk factors which appear to particularly important in French Immersion.
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