Things the caring adults in my life did that helped me in French Immersion...

Compiled by my Grade 7 (Late French Immersion) class in November, 2009 with some editing by Mme Hollins. Amendments made by another batch of students and Mme Hollins in September, 2022.

Here are a few suggestions for how the caring adults can help students as they study in an additional language:

-Asked if I had homework and helped remind me to complete it. Now doing my homework has become a kind of habit

-Let me figure it out on my own and did not jump in with Google Translate to solve things instantly

-Gave lots and lots of encouragement, without which I would have dropped out

-Helped look things up, including definitions, verb conjugations, using bon patron online (grammar checker) when I got frustrated

-Wrote test dates on the family calendar

-Made sure homework looked neat & tidy

-Looked over work for spelling

-Helped type out assignments

(but NO GOOGLE TRANSLATE as that defeats the idea of studying a language...)

-Picked up homework from school if I was home sick

-Were there to listen when I felt down

-Let me phone/text a friend or an older FRIMM student to ask questions

-Quizzed the material with me, over and over and over

-Encouraged me to watch and listen to French programs

-Gave me all the time I needed for studying for tests

-Bookmarked Mme Hollins' homework site so that it was easy to look up what needed to get done

IF there was one thing I could tell FRIMM parents it would be:

-Encourage your children to study, and do not distract them with screens or other things while they are working

-Don’t get too upset with your kids. If things aren’t going well, go talk with the teacher. S/he’ll help!

-Focus on good study habits, not top marks

-Ask to see the planner and make sure assignments are being written down

-Think positively and provide lots of encouragement

-Never give up. Study hard, because it is hard at the end it’s all worth it

-Practice reading French with your son/daughter during free time

-Don’t get scared – remember to laugh at mistakes and have some fun learning

-Your kids are going to get frustrated and this is normal, so please let your kids make mistakes because we’re only starting out. How can a seed grow into a flower without time and basic needs?

One thing my parents did that did not help was:

-Turned on the TV as I was starting my homework

-Yelled and were really critical of my work

-Tried to pronounce words in French

-Asked me to do something other than my homework – sometimes I just need to take my time with it

-Pressured me for the right answer all the time. I have to make mistakes to learn

-Pushed me to speak French in front of people. I just get really shy and clam up...