Official Languages Committee on May 21st, 2013

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Welcome to the 81^st meeting of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. Today is Tuesday, May 21, 2013. Pursuant to Standing Order 108, today we are studying second official language immersion programs in Canada.

Joining us this afternoon are Ms. Sims from the Université de Saint-Boniface,

and then Mr. Young and Mr. Sokalski of the Winnipeg School Division.

Welcome to all three of you.

I understand that you want to take your 10 minutes each, combine them into one 20-minute presentation, and speak on behalf of your two respective organizations. Without further ado, you may begin with your opening 20-minute statement.

[Raymond Sokalski, Teacher, Kelvin High School, Winnipeg School Division]

Mr. Chair, honourable members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, thank you.

The three of us are educators from Manitoba and we are pleased to appear before this committee today to talk about our experiences, our best practices and our recommendations to the federal government regarding the teaching of French in a predominantly English-speaking environment.

My name is Raymond Sokalski and I have taught social science in the French immersion program, at the high school level, for 23 years. I have spent most of that time teaching at Kelvin High School, close to downtown Winnipeg.

I am proud to be accompanied by my two distinguished colleagues: Chris Young, who is a history teacher in the international baccalaureate program, at Kelvin High School, and Laura Sims, who is a professor in the Faculty of Education, Université de Saint-Boniface. We have known each other for a long time as educators, and we are also former students of the immersion program.

Our presentations will first highlight how the immersion programs we pursued when we were young had an impact on our entire lives. We feel we must warn you that the description of our individual paths may seem a bit detailed because we wanted to show that the immersion programs we participated in and the community organizations that we joined have been supported by the federal government for many years and should still continue to receive that support.

Let me tell you about my personal experience. I come from a family of immigrants. My parents were manual workers and they enrolled me in the first short immersion program established in Manitoba in 1975. My classmates came from various backgrounds: single-parent families, working class, wealthy families, and so on. The six years I spent in this program and the enriching experiences I gained in my courses left their mark on me for the rest of my life. Our Canadian history textbooks came from Quebec; they were published by the Parti Quebecois government, which was new at the time. We had the opportunity to benefit from the conferences held at the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface, the Génies en herbe competition, the public speaking competition, exchange trips and special guests, all funded by the federal government.

During my first year of university, I was a page here in the House of Commons. That was in 1981, when the Constitution Act was passed. Three years later, I went with a group of volunteers to Sri Lanka as part of the Canada World Youth program. Thanks to those two programs, I became friends with a number of young francophones. All my short-term jobs, whether with the Canada Day committee, in Manitoba, at Service Canada or in Asia, with Alliance Française, were the result of the language skills I had acquired in the immersion program. As a result of those experiences, I completed my Bachelor of Education degree at Université de Saint-Boniface. I was one of the fewer and fewer anglophones who went to the francophone campus.

I have so far had the privilege of teaching some 7,000 students. My wife and I have two children. Since the day they were born, 14 years ago, I have been speaking to them in French 80% of the time. It is their paternal language. As a result, our family has become one of the new species of bilingual anglophone families who live in western Canada.

All of this started with the immersion program, which began 40 years ago in four schools in Manitoba and which now includes thousands of students across the province. Those students are changing the demographics and our vision of this country.

[Chris Young, History Teacher, Kelvin High School, Winnipeg School Division]

Good afternoon.

Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.

Bilingualism and federal jobs have transformed my life. At the age of six, I was enrolled in the long immersion program. In grade 10, I entered the international baccalaureate program, which, unfortunately, was offered in English only. After high school, I had little opportunity to speak French and I felt that I was slowly losing my ability to speak the language.

A phone call changed everything. I was hired to work at the Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site. That is where I found my love for French again and I regained the confidence to speak it.

During those three years, I talked to hundreds of francophones, many of whom came from all corners of the globe. Not only did those conversations make me more open-minded, but they also inspired me to travel across Canada and around the world. After I received my first university degree, I wanted to have a French experience and I went to Paris, France, and elsewhere in Europe. I was often an informal ambassador when I talked in French about Canada and its complex history with the people in those countries.

As a student, I also had the great honour of living with 10 other Canadians and of working at the Vimy Ridge memorial centre. Thanks to various cultural exchanges, I developed a better appreciation of our country's diverse regional perspectives. At Vimy Ridge, perhaps because I lived with two Quebeckers—an anglophone and a francophone—I became fascinated with Quebec and its history. Later, still driven by this passion, I moved to Montreal to finish my master's degree. My thesis dealt with a riot against conscription in Quebec City during World War I. Being the first anglophone from western Canada to write about this topic, I am proud to have provided a unique perspective to the writing of history.

All those opportunities, which shaped me as a young man, allowed me to develop as a student, as a Canadian and as a citizen of the world.

[Dr. Laura Sims, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Université de Saint-Boniface]

Hello. It's an honour to be here with you today. My name is Laura Sims, and for me, education is hope.

In this context—this might seem crazy, but please indulge me—I think it's worthwhile to remind ourselves of the larger importance of what we do as educators and as elected representatives in a pluralistic society. For the next minute or so, I invite you to reflect upon the following question: In Canada, what is the beauty of creating bilingual citizens?

Feel free to write down your ideas. I'll give you about 30 seconds. Think about it. In Canada, what is the beauty of creating bilingual citizens? You still have another 10 seconds to think through your ideas.

Thank you very much. Hopefully we'll later be able to explore this question in more detail.

With this in mind, my presentation will be in both languages. I consider being bilingual a way of showing respect to both linguistic communities.

Prior to appearing before you today, I asked myself the following question: how has immersion changed my life?

I can honestly say that learning French and having access to all sorts of authentic immersion activities gave me an opportunity to have a much richer life in terms of experiences, adventures, friendships and educational and professional opportunities than I would have had otherwise. I think of immersion as encompassing all the formal and informal educational experiences offered in Canada and elsewhere.

Like Raymond, I started in the immersion program when I was 12. Later, I was able to discover Quebec and Acadian culture through the Summer Language Bursary Program. That allowed me to better recognize our cultural diversity and the issues facing our communities. The learning of French as a second language opened my eyes to the value and usefulness of learning other languages and it gave me the linguistic foundation to learn them more easily. As a result, I was able to learn Spanish as well.

By speaking three languages fluently, I was able to easily travel around the world—in Africa, Europe, Asia, Canada and Latin America—and make new friends everywhere I went. I was able to study in Latin America and conduct my master's and PhD research in Spanish. This skill also allowed me to develop professionally, because I was a teacher for ten years in the French immersion program in Winnipeg and in the English immersion program in the Dominican Republic. I was then able to manage a project developed by the Canadian International Development Agency in Central America and Canada.

In my current work at Université de Saint-Boniface, I am absolutely delighted to be able to teach in French and to do my research in the three languages. Working at the Université de Saint-Boniface, the only francophone university in western Canada, has directly and authentically allowed me to better understand my community, particularly the contributions of the Franco-Manitoban community.

[Raymond Sokalski]

I am now going to talk about our best practices.

As a teacher, in the classroom, I see that we obtain the best results when we provide students with authentic experiences, either in or outside the classroom. In my classes, the students and I decide together what the best ways are to express ourselves with more confidence in our second language. At first, it is important to work hard with the students so that they understand the importance of speaking French with each other. They gain the confidence through exposure to authentic situations.

At Kelvin High School, two years ago, our immersion team launched a series of oral evaluations for all the students, both individually and in small groups. We use an interdisciplinary approach.

For instance, a natural science teacher works with a social science teacher to meet individually with students for 20 minutes and ask them questions about an article they chose. That is how we try to make our interviews with the students authentic. We give them an opportunity to interact intensely in their second language and to receive words of encouragement, as well as suggestions to improve their oral skills.

Role-playing games are also part of authentic activities. For instance, we recreated the negotiations that led to the signing of Treaty 5 with the Cree at Norway House. We also simulated parliamentary debates on Senate reform. I swear I wrote that a few weeks ago. In addition, the students are becoming more familiar with francophone artists by coming up with their own interpretation of the social issues raised by the Cowboys Fringants or Congolese rappers.

When I prepare my lessons, I see there is a need to dig deeper to find authentic, pan-Canadian educational resources for second language learners. In my view, that is where the federal government could play a role. I think we need more documentaries that tell Canada's full history, in both languages.

One example is the television series 8^e feu, which was recently produced by CBC/Radio-Canada. It is an outstanding series. In many cases, this is the first time my students have had an opportunity to listen to French-speaking aboriginal peoples talk about current issues in connection to Canadian history. In addition, the series offers a national vision from coast to coast to coast.

I am afraid this series is the exception to the rule. For instance, if you try to find the trial of Louis Riel in the Radio-Canada archives, you will search in vain. It is surprising, given that Riel's vision was that of a province promoting the two linguistic communities, as well as the aboriginal communities, in western Canada. Yet the popularity of the series Canada: A People's History was remarkable. So the examples of lack of resources are many. We could talk about that during the question and answer period afterwards.

The same goes for textbooks, quizzes and other educational resources. Learners and educators need more resources that are the result of collaboration between artists and writers, producers and documentary filmmakers or historians and political scientists from both linguistic communities. We must tell our stories more and make them resonate across Canada in the French language.

[Chris Young]

As with all teachers, my life experiences are part of what I bring to the classroom. The opportunities that I had, whether it be because of the federal government—often in a bilingual environment—or as a student and as a teacher, enabled me to grow professionally.

At a conference at the Historica-Dominion Institute in Montreal, I talked about the past, present and future of our country with other teachers from across the regions.

At the teachers' conference, I learned a lot about our parliamentary system. I also came to appreciate Ottawa's bilingual spirit.

Next summer, I will be in France and I will participate in The Cleghorn War and Memory Study Tour. Together with 18 Canadians, I will gain a better understanding of the role of our anglophone and francophone soldiers in the two world wars.

For educators, these experiences outside the classroom are rich and invaluable, but the students are the real winners. In the classroom, they will be exposed to a wider range of viewpoints. They will better understand their country and the entire world. They will be better citizens.

In my classroom, because of my own experience, I have always taken the time to teach the history of French Canada. I try, as much as possible, to show my students multiple perspectives when studying topics such as the October crisis, conscription and the referendums in Quebec.

For instance, at a seminar last week, my students looked at various articles about the battle of the Plains of Abraham and the conquest written by anglophones and francophones. As a facilitator, I led the discussion by incorporating personal stories from my studies in Montreal and my visits to the Plains of Abraham. I think those practices help anglophones in the west to better understand a new and complex history, and at the same time, to develop empathy for the struggles of French Canadians.

Our students and teachers can often experience history and the French language outside the classroom. For a number of years, Raymond and I have taken our students on a historical walk of the city. In Saint-Boniface, our students interpret the heritage of Métis leader Louis Riel by going to see the controversial statue and his tombstone. For some students, it is their first contact with a French-speaking community and their first visit to Université de Saint-Boniface.

I recently organized a class trip that was a little more ambitious. I organized a trip for students to France and Belgium to visit the Canadian battlefields of the two world wars. It was an authentic and meaningful experience for my students. Not only were they exposed to a rich history, but they were also immersed in French and Belgian culture. We visited several Canadian cemeteries. To pay tribute to the dead soldiers from our school, my students created a memorial video that was partially bilingual. For the 100^th anniversary of Kelvin High School, which took place last year, the video was presented to our students and the community.

[Dr. Laura Sims]

I teach in a faculty of education in a francophone university. I think that one of the most important elements of forming future teachers for immersion and supporting current ones in their professional development is providing them with meaningful opportunities to live the language, to understand its importance, and to constantly be able to develop their French language skills. This means supporting cultural organizations in the communities where we live so that all citizens can partake and benefit.

To inspire students, teachers need to be passionate about what they're teaching, and they need to be knowledgeable. For teachers and students alike to enrich our cultural literacy, this can come from living the language through literature, local theatre, arts, sports, historic sites, festivals, and museums.

It comes from having authentic resources that reflect our collective identity. It comes from experiencing francophone cultures across Canada and the world through fantastic programs like the summer language bursary program, Canada World Youth, and Katimavik. It comes from being able to study and work in both languages throughout this country.

In supporting educational institutions like the Université de Saint-Boniface and French language cultural organizations in minority contexts, like the Festival Théâtre Jeunesse or the Maison Gabrielle-Roy, it increases our cultural competency and our social integration as Canadians.

[Chris Young]

We feel that the federal government has an important role to play in promoting bilingualism. We have two recommendations.

First, the government should provide more funding for educational resources for immersion students and resources that support the teaching of Canadian history.

Second, we feel that the government must continue to support authentic experiences from which students and teachers can benefit outside the classroom. It is because of these various programs and the support provided to museums, exchanges and community groups that the three of us are here today and are able to tell you about our experiences.

[Raymond Sokalski]

Official bilingualism has added value that inspires us as educators. It is the asset that comes from a broader vision of our country and our world. I invite you to take a look at the photo I brought with me. For those who do not have it in their hands yet, there is a historical plaque at the Forks National Historic Site of Canada, which is supposed to explain the creation of Manitoba. It is one of the points of interest that our students look at when they are gathering information in the historic neighbourhood and in Saint-Boniface to study the French fact in Winnipeg.

This plaque is also on the wall of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

As you can see, in the English version, Riel seized power from an ailing Governor Mactavish.

However, in the French version, we learn that the residents of Red River formed a provisional government.

A unilingual observer would not notice this major difference between the two historical summaries. Our immersion students, having benefited from certain resources, having met with people and having visited the real places, notice the difference right away. This example is a symbol of everything this teaching program has to offer, more specifically everything that the underlying programs and federal resources have to offer.

This is not only about access to a language that was not theirs at the outset, but also about access to multiple perspectives on the world that allow them to be better able to find their own identity through the perspectives of others. This is what we need to promote, protect and enhance.

[Dr. Laura Sims]

In conclusion, I invite you, when thinking about programs linked to immersion, to be profoundly inspired. The value of bilingualism is much more than can be quantified in simple economic terms.

Learning additional languages contributes to our social cohesiveness as a nation through better communication and improved cultural competency and acceptance.

It contributes to personal growth, and it contributes to our economy by providing opportunities and the flexibility for Canadians to work anywhere in this country.

It also allows us to enrich our cultural identity as francophone and anglophone Canadians by permitting us to create a collective identity, one that respects and supports the other community while at the same time incorporates a fuller and richer Canadian pluralistic identity.

Thank you very much for your time.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you to our witnesses for their opening statements.

Before we begin with Monsieur Godin, I want to point out to members of the committee that the clerk has given you copies of the Canada-Manitoba Agreement on Minority Language Education and Second Official Language Instruction 2009-10 to 2012-13. It was sent to you by e-mail. I would ask you to reference this document because this is the document the federal government uses to fund both minority language education and second official language instruction in the province of Manitoba.

The analyst is looking for suggestions and recommendations on how this agreement, which expired about a month ago, on April 30, and which needs to be renegotiated for another five years, can be improved upon.

It's a thick document, in both official languages, which your offices received by e-mail this morning.

I would ask you to make sure your questions are focused on improvements to this federal-provincial agreement. It would be of great help to us in drafting the report.

I think we have a couple of extra copies if you want to refer to them during the committee meeting.

Mr. Godin, go ahead.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to welcome our witnesses. I see Ms. Sims met with Acadians and fell in love with Acadia. Welcome.

I listened to your remarks and that makes me want to send all three of you to meet with the Prime Minister, as ambassadors, to promote bilingualism and to give him the message that the judges of the Supreme Court and officers of Parliament should be bilingual. That would send a clear message to all Canadians that the government respects both official languages and that bilingualism starts at the top. Would you agree with me on that?

[Raymond Sokalski]

Yes.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

That does not seem to be getting through.

Ms. Sims, would that be a good idea?

[Dr. Laura Sims]

Yes.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you.

Mr. Young, you also talked about how important student exchanges are. You talked about it twice.

And Ms. Sims, you talked about Katimavik.

[Dr. Laura Sims]

Yes.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Did the government make a mistake by ending the funding for the Katimavik program?

[Dr. Laura Sims]

May I add something? You can see that I am—

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

I am asking a question, but you can answer it however you would like.

[Dr. Laura Sims]

I would just like to say that we are here as individuals. I am not speaking on behalf of Université de Saint-Boniface, where I work. I also work at Kelvin High School.

I just wanted to tell you that I am not representing anyone else other than Laura Sims, just like my colleagues are representing themselves only. In my view, this is an excellent program. I have never participated in it, but my understanding is that it was excellent and I would like it to continue. I know the funding was eliminated, but I would like it to continue because it is an excellent program.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

What do you think, Mr. Sokalski?

[Raymond Sokalski]

I was just going to add that everyone who learns a second language goes through a period of turmoil. If you were to start learning a new language in a classroom, which can only be a sterile environment compared to the real world, you would probably not go through this turmoil.

I am talking about the experience of being truly immersed in a completely new society. That is when you realize why you are learning the language. You realize that you are learning the language to develop those types of relationships. Those moments occur when you participate in programs like Katimavik, when you are in a completely new place, surrounded by people who are nothing like you. That type of experience is quite rare, but we need to reproduce it as much as possible. Katimavik is one example. Canada World Youth is another, just like the Encounters with Canada program and the Forum for Young Canadians. We tried to give you a few short examples of those programs in our remarks.

[Chris Young]

I will quickly say that I did not participate in Katimavik, but some of my students did and they thought it was an absolutely incredible experience. They travelled across Canada and met various communities. They said the experience has changed them. As I said in my presentation, I feel that those programs are very, very important for our country, for bilingualism and for becoming more open.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

I also wanted to talk about the age at which young people should start immersion school.

When there were changes to the age, I must admit that the people of New Brunswick were disappointed. Even the anglophones were disappointed. I would have never thought that 350 anglophones would protest outside the Legislative Assembly in Fredericton and say that they wanted to learn French. When the provincial government said that the program would start in grade 5, parents showed their opposition to this measure. Finally, the government brought it down to grade 3. However, experts say that the younger you start, the better it is.

You are experts. You do not want to talk on behalf of your institutions, but I would like to hear what you have to say as individuals. You are teachers. At what age and grade do you think immersion should start?