Ottawa, April 24th, 2024 – On this National French Immersion Day, the Canadian Parents for French national network joins with its linguistic duality partners to raise public awareness of the important contribution of French immersion toward a strong, dynamic and bilingual Canadian society.
This year’s theme is “Our Languages, the bridge that unites”, highlighting the importance of linguistic and cultural diversity in our country, as well as the crucial role French immersion programs play in promoting these values. CPF wishes to recognize the roles of Canadians who have learned French, by means of French immersion or other French as a second language learning programs, and the role they play as allies in support of the vitality of French in all parts of Canada. Canada’s official languages create links between communities within the population and are at the heart of the Canadian identity and the social contact that unites us.
To mark this Day, CPF launched a series of social media posts, with the hashtags #nfid2024, #jni2024, featuring statistics on enrolment in French immersion and the use of French in adulthood to help dispel commonly held beliefs and feature how the program delivery has evolved to be inclusive of all learners. According to Statistics Canada, Census in Brief 2021 (released February 2024),
- Nearly 450,000 school-aged children are currently enrolled in French immersion (11.9% of eligible students).
- Half (50.2%) of children and adults, with one year+ in French immersion can have a conversation in French.
- Close to half (47.0%) of school-aged children, with one year+ in French immersion, have an immigrant background.
- Two-thirds (65.7%) of bilingual young adults, with one year+ in French immersion, use French into adulthood, at home and at work.
“Join us in celebrating National French Immersion Day. Think about the positive impact that this educational program has had in supporting the Canadian Francophonie and recognize the importance of the work that French immersion teachers do, making a significant impact on changing the lives of students from one end of Canada to the other,” shared Derrek Bentley, CPF National president.
CPF National and CPF Ontario are jointly hosting an Awareness Breakfast in celebration of National French Immersion Day 2024, on Thursday, April 25, 2024, 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., In Camera Dining Room, Legislative Building – Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON.
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For more information, or to register to attend the Breakfast, please contact: Dominique Labas, CPF National Project Manager, at dlabas@cpf.ca
National French Immersion Day is celebrated on the fourth Wednesday of April each year. It is coordinated by the Canadian Association of Immersion Professionals (ACPI) and promoted with the support of like-minded organizations.
Read the press release here.