Life after French Immersion: expectations, motivations, and outcomes of secondary school french immersion programs in the greater Toronto area (English)

A dissertation that explores French Immersion education from three perspectives: parents enrolling their children into early FI programs; current FI students who have pursued FI to grade 12; and graduates of FI programs in Ontario. The findings of the research found that parents of FI students believed their child would become bilingual because of their participation in the program, and that their child would have better future employment opportunities. Current FI students thought that their participation would offer better future job opportunities, however they were less interested in seeking out French-language employment and rather the ability to put FI on their résumé. Both current FI students and graduates had pride in partaking in the program, however, graduates showed a low level of french usage after graduating and those who did use it often became teachers themselves.