Immersion at University Level: Rethinking Policies, Approaches and Implementations

Immigration at University Level: Rethinking Policies, Approaches and Implementations establishes a framework for higher education institutions hoping to create French immersion program.

French immersion came to life in a primary school in the suburbs of Montreal in the 1960s. This was done to meet the needs of anglophone children who had to live in the new francophone context in Québec. While immersion spread rapidly in primary and secondary institutions in Canada, it remains, to this day, almost inexistant at the university level. However, Graham Fraser, the Commissioner of Official Languages―the federal spokesperson with regards to the promotion and protection of linguistic rights―recommended on multiple occasions that immersion continue at the post-secondary level.

This volume revisits this recommendation; indeed, the title of this book alludes to the highly political nature of any linguistic accommodation, especially in a bilingual or plurilingual context. Graham Fraser's preface places the concept of immersion in a historical perspective of language debates in Canada.

The book presents language policies and French immersion programs in higher education institutions in Canadian universities, and more specifically those at the University of Ottawa. It offers a valuable frame of reference for higher education institutions in Canada and abroad.