Equity & French Immersion: Who Belongs in FI?

Do children with learning disabilities (LDs) and other learning challenges belong in French Immersion?

In education, we often talk about equity through the lenses of race, religion, gender, socioeconomic status, or ability. These conversations matter deeply.But one equity issue that is rarely discussed — and yet affects every part of a child’s academic life — is equitable access to high-quality reading instruction.

And in French Immersion (FI), this gap becomes even more visible.

Many educators might instinctively answer “no,” or at least know colleagues who would. The assumption that only academically strong students should be in FI is not only outdated — it’s an equity issue.

For decades, research has shown no evidence that immersion programs are unsuitable for any identifiable category of students. Students with diverse learning needs can and do succeed in FI when provided with appropriate, evidence-based instruction.

Yet a common belief persists: that if a child is struggling to acquire skills in French, they would be better off “focusing on just one language.” This idea feels intuitive — if a student is having difficulty, shouldn’t we reduce the cognitive load?But research has consistently shown that this is not the case. Struggling readers do not improve simply because they switch to English, and learning two languages does not cause or worsen reading difficulties. The underlying sub-skills of reading — phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary, comprehension — are highly transferable across languages. Strengthening these foundations in either language supports them in both.Learning in two languages isn’t the barrier — students simply need the right supports in place to show what they’re capable of in FI.

This isn’t new.

As early as 1978, researchers studying students with LDs in French Immersion found that they developed basic language skills at the same rate as students with LDs in the English program.

Even more importantly, when students were moved out of FI due to academic difficulties, those difficulties usually continued in the English stream.S witching programs is not a magic solution — particularly for reading challenges, since the foundational components of literacy are shared across languages.

This is why conversations about equity in reading instruction matter so deeply

.Removing students from French Immersion based on outdated beliefs inadvertently restricts their access not only to bilingualism, but to the opportunities that come along with bilingualism. In an increasingly globalized and competitive world, there is a reason so many parents want their children to learn French: bilingualism is an advantage. It opens doors academically, socially, and professionally. And for students with learning disabilities or other challenges, access to those advantages matters even more. These learners already face barriers in school — so rather than narrowing their opportunities, we should be expanding them. When we keep students in French Immersion with the right supports, we give them access to every benefit the program offers,.

My mission is to help teachers retain and support these learners by providing clear, research-informed guidance for high-quality literacy instruction in FI classrooms. I hope this blog (and my resources, if you choose to you them) empower you with the tools, confidence, and clarity to make French Immersion accessible to every child — not just the ones who find reading easy.

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If you’d like to explore this topic in more depth, the Center for Applied Linguistics has an excellent overview of recent U.S. and Canadian research on bilingual learners with disabilities: Welcoming Bilingual Learners with Disabilities into Dual-Language Programs (2022) https://www.cal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Welcoming-Bilingual-Learners-with-Disabilities-into-Dual-Language-Programs-3.pdf

OTHER SOURCES

Macdonald, Dianne, Kathleen Hipfner-Boucher, and Xi Chen. 2025. “Biliteracy for Bilingual Children with Reading Impairment.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, September, 1–24. doi:10.1080/13670050.2025.2546430.

Jim Cummins, “Language Proficiency, Biliteracy and French Immersion,” Canadian Journal of Education 8, no. 2 (1983): 117–138, https://doi.org/10.2307/1494722.

 Jim Cummins, Bilingualism and Special Education: Issues in Assessment and Pedagogy, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 10, no. 2 (1984): 267–269, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263100007373.

 Margaret Bruck, “The Suitability of Early French Immersion Programs for the Language-Disabled Child,” Canadian Journal of Education / Revue Canadienne de l’Éducation 3, no. 4 (1978): 51–72, https://doi.org/10.2307/1494685.