The Seine River School Division's Simon Laplante on an upcoming adjustment.

The Seine River School Division is making an adjustment to encourage French learning in their immersion schools.  Beginning in September, immersion students will only receive English instruction starting in grade two, instead of in grade 1.

Simon Laplante, Assistant Superintendent of the Division, says this change will help kids better grasp the French language.

“We're talking oral French, reading, and speaking everything in French so that they develop a more solid base in the language.  We know because of research and what's been done in other provinces, it's been proven to be very effective, and totally non-detrimental to the English skills of our students."  He adds the Board also made a lot of consultations before passing this motion, and says they will continue to monitor the effects of the revision once it is in place.

Laplante says the change is necessary because the younger children are, the more they are influenced to develop long-term habits.

"In kids at a very young age, the brain is...very soft and as you grow older, it hardens.  By introducing a different language, the brain develops further and has more structures being imprinted.  These structures stay for the rest of your life, so all the research is very supportive of starting second and third language learning at a very young age."

This change will apply to five schools in total, and Laplante says that the Seine River School Division's Board of Trustees are very excited about the new program.

"It's going to create all kinds of applications for teachers and our kids, and we look forward to seeing an improvement in their ability to speak French."

Laplante says the affected schools are  École Ile Des Chênes School, École Ste. Anne Immersion, École St. Norbert Immersion, École Lorette Immersion, and École St. Adolphe School.