Here is the preliminary report written by Verónica Loureiro-Rodríguez who is from the University of Manitoba and is in the Department of Linguistics.
Spanish immersion in Winnipeg? ¿Por qué no?
1. Introduction
In the last six years, Canada has experienced a dramatic increase of 32% in its
Spanish-speaking population. The 2011 Canadian census registered more than 439,110
people with Spanish as their mother tongue, 8,825 of whom reside in the province of
Manitoba, making Spanish the third largest non-official language in the country
(Statistics Canada, 2012). As a result of this remarkable growth, a new interest in the
Spanish language has emerged, and with it, a local initiative to create Winnipeg’s first
Spanish immersion program.
Recent research shows that immersion programs are a successful educational
approach for both majority and minority language students (Barnett, Yarosz, Thomas,
Jung, & Blanco, 2007; Howard, Christian, & Genesee, 2004; Howard & Sugarman, 2007;
Lindholm-Leary, 2001, 2005; Shannon & Milian, 2002; Thomas & Collier, 2002). It has
also been shown that minority language students enrolled in immersion programs reach
academic and linguistic goals at higher rates than those in non-immersion programs
(Howard & Sugarman, 2007; Lindholm-Leary, 2001; Lindholm-Leary & Block, 2010;
Shannon & Milian, 2002; Thomas & Collier, 2002).
2. Parental motivation: Why does it matter?
But, why are parents choosing immersion programs? Do all parents share the
same priorities? Or do parents differ in their reasons based, for example, on the language
they primarily speak at home, their own linguistic abilities, their educational level or their
income? The growing popularity of dual language education makes it necessary to
examine the reasons that parents articulate for choosing these programs. Finding out
Preliminary report on parental motivation parents’ expectations and motivations will help us better understand to whom immersion programs are really serving and what matters to parents who choose them (de Jong & Howard, 2009; Parkes, 2008). Furthermore, this information will be valuable for student
recruitment purposes, as well as for delineating language program goals (Parkes, 2008;
Whiting & Feinauer, 2011).
Research carried out in the United States suggests that there are many factors that
influence parents’ decision to enroll their children in dual language programs, such as the
cognitive and academic benefits of bilingualism, the promotion of children’s self-esteem
and self-worth, and the maintenance of the heritage culture (Craig, 1996; Kemppainen,
Ferrin, Ward, & Hite, 2004; Lao, 2004; Lindholm-Leary, 2001; Monzó, 2005; Shannon
& Milian, 2002). In Canada, research on immersion programs has traditionally focused
on French language proficiency (Genesee, 1987; Lambert & Tucker, 1972; Shannon &
Milian, 2002; Swain, 1981; Wright, 1996), not on parental motivations. However, results
from research carried out by the Canadian Council of Learning indicate that the majority
of parents choose to enroll their children in French immersion programs for instrumental
reasons, that is, because they believe that being proficient in French will open up career
opportunities for their children.
3. The Spanish Immersion Program initiative: A look at parents’ motivations
One of the tools the proponents of the Spanish Immersion Program have been using to
promote their initative is a Facebook group called Winnipeg Spanish Immersion. More
than 200 parents have joined this group. In September, I distributed an online survey
among these parents. The survey consisted of a sociolinguistic and demographic
questionnaire and an open-ended question about motivations for enrolling their children
in the Spanish Immersion program. At the end of the survey, I solicited volunteers for a
follow-up interview. As of October 29th, 2013, 35 parents have completed the survey,
and I have interviewed 15 of them.
3.1. Preliminary results.
3.1.1. Demographics
In the great majority of these families, one parent is originally from a Spanish-speaking
country and the other is from Canada, with the latter one being an English speaker. Not
surprisingly, English is the primary language in 97% of these households. About 35% of
the Spanish-speaking parents speak or try to speak only Spanish to their children.
Most of these families have two children of school age. Forty percent of the
mothers and 92% of the fathers are employed full-time. Half of the parents hold a
professional or graduate degree, and 25% of them have a college degree only.
3.1.2. Main reasons for enrolling their children in a Spanish immersion program
The main reason why parents would like their children to attend a Spanish
Immersion program is to give them the opportunity to remain connected with their
heritage, and to ensure that their children are able to communicate with their monolingual
Spanish-speaking relatives. The second reason parents mentioned was for children to
acquire academic skills in Spanish. These parents want their children to grow up not only
speaking Spanish, but also reading and writing it. It is their hope that, after graduating
from high school, their children are proficient enough to attend university in a Spanish speaking
country. Parents also value the global importance of Spanish and the job
opportunities that knowing such a widely spoken language would bring to their children.
3.1.2. Other topics and issues
During the interviews, the following topics and issues were addressed.
1. The majority of parents are open to the possibility of cohort classrooms
2. They would like for the school to offer as many hours in Spanish as possible, and
hope their children to learn about the linguistic and cultural diversity of the
Spanish-speaking world
3. Parents are excited about contributing to the program with their cultural and
linguistic knowledge.
4. A few parents suggested to conduct follow-up interviews or hold frequent
meetings once the Spanish program is running to answer questions and address
any issues or concerns that may arise.
References
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Preliminary report on parental motivation
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