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| Image By Boris Dzhingarov - New York City SkylineUploaded by dzhingarov, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28502233 |
History
The migration of French Speakers to what would later comprise the U.S. commenced during the colonial period, during the 17th and 18th centuries. Political, economic, and religious refugees from Europe and Canada settled periodically in what is now New England, the Midwest, and the Southern States (Jaumont, "Francophones of the United States"). Native French immigrants typically ventured to a new life in the U.S. following religious, political, and economic upheavals in France, and later, in response to the expulsion of the Acadian French by Great Britain from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, led to a flourishing French speaking population in Louisiana (Paquette, "French Immigrants"). These early French speaking migrants were able to foster the retention of their vibrant French linguistic and cultural heritage, by organizing around their cause, and encouraging transmission of their heritage and language to their children. Later groups were not as successful at maintaining the vibrancy of their unique Francophone cultures. As time passed, the climate in the U.S. surrounding non-native English speakers became an “unfavorable context” in which to support the vitality of a heritage language (Jaumont).
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| Image Credit: Mark Rondeau, French Canadians in America, Rondeau Family Collection. http://www.markrondeau.com/frenchcanbook.htm |
In the early part of the 19th century, two groups who suffered from suppression of their customs and language, were French speakers in Maine and Louisiana. There, anti-french laws were enacted, and brutal, criminal acts were committed against them due to pervasive discrimination (Jaumont). One could surmise that in such a situation, the transmission of language would not be fostered. Recently, laws ratified in Louisiana and Maine “are more reassuring and favorable to the sustainable development of the French-speaking heritage of the country” (Ross, et al., 2016, as cited in Jaumont). These institutional supports create educational opportunities that encourage the learning of French language and culture for French - descendant youth. The author advocates programs like these for English Language Learners (ELLs), where bilingual French - English education “complements the acquisition of the English Language, but does not threaten it in any way” (Jaumont).
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| U.S. Census Bereau Map of Persons of French - Canadian Ancestry, 1990, retrieved from: http://www.nygeo.org/FrancoAmer.html |
Contemporary French Speakers in the United States
According to Jaumont, “Francophones in the United States are defined by criteria that are historically, geographically, culturally, and economically changing." The U.S. Census Bureau's 2013 American Community Survey reports that a little over 1.3 million Francophones live in the United States (as cited in Jaumont). The author suggests that the number is most likely higher, due to illegal residents who were not part of the survey, and bi and multilingual speakers choosing to report another language, like Arabic, Creole, or English as their native language. The author also reports that this number will most likely grow in the years to come, as a result of continual migration from areas where French is spoken, like West Africa.
http://arcmap.mla.org/mla/default.aspx
Recent French speaking immigrants to the U.S. include those from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Especially in large urban centers, socioeconomic factors and the pressure to learn English to succeed in the U.S. “tend to discourage members of French speaking immigrant communities from maintaining or transmitting French” (Jaumont). Jaumont, a French bilingual researcher, educator, and author, points out that the U.S. is “often criticized for its lack of interest in foreign language learning." When we consider the linguistic and cultural diversity inherent in the U.S. population, it seems counter intuitive that a nation of many languages would not value and support language instruction for bilingual and multilingual students in its institutions.
Benefits of Bi and Multi Lingualism
In their 2012 study, Bilingual Effects on Cognitive and Linguistic Development: Role of Language, Cultural Background, and Education, Researchers Barac & Bialystock found many benefits of bilingualism. They found that bilingual speakers outperform monolinguals in the area of executive function (p.413). This alludes to what many monolingual educators working with bilingual and multilingual students simply “sense,” that this group has exceptional skills and talents, like attention switching, problem solving, and awareness of their environment. Thus, if we value an educated, skilled populous, we value education that fosters bilingual and multilingualism.
Video: Being Bilingual Rewires Your Brain, World Economic Forum, Aug. 2 2016
U.S. Educational Programs that Foster French - English Bilingualism
One program that fosters French bilingualism is the foundation-based, non-profit, the French Heritage Language Program, or FHLP. The organization serves 500 students from K - 12 in New York City, Florida, Maine and Massachusetts (Le Dévédec). Proponents of the program assert that home languages, such as a French lingua franca, are an asset for both new immigrants and their American schools. FLHPs mission is to provide under served French speaking communities and schools and with French classes. They also act to advocate for the teaching of heritage languages in the U.S. They work in partnership with the French Embassy in the United States.
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Recently, the FLHP started a successful program in the New York City Public Schools, in cooperation with International Network for Public Schools (INPS). French speaking bi and multilingual ELLs from fifteen public schools for new immigrants took part. Of these, 30% were from French-speaking West Africa and Haiti (Dévédec). Through teacher and student advocacy efforts, the program transformed from one that offered after-school French language classes, to eventually providing A.P. French Exam prep classes, and, in cooperation with La Guardia Community College, for-credit college level French classes at local high schools.
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| Map of French Speaking African Countries from African Language Solutions at:http://www.african-ls.com/blog/language-translation/is-there-a-difference-between-french-and-african-french/ |
Dr. Boumlik, of the Department of Education and Language Acquisition La Guardia Community College, says the program supports “professional development of heritage language speakers’ unique
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| A photo I snapped 4/17/2017 our Upward Bound Program's group of high school students from Buffalo, NY, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio as they enjoyed a break from touring potential colleges. I was fortunate to work with and learn from this group of mono, bi, and multilingual students as tutor/mentor and Language Development Instructor. |
French Bilingualism in the Community
In Lewiston Maine, the influx of French speaking immigrants originated in colonial 17th century. French speaking migrants from France traveled to what is now Canada on the ships of French explorers, at the behest of kings and queens. They then migrated to this, and many other mill towns in the New England area, to work and settle in their French speaking communities, or “les petit Canadas” (Gosnell, p. 98). Their labor powered these mill towns, yet their children and grandchildren later felt the “sting of discrimination” against their culture and language, with many being discouraged by schools and their local community members from speaking French as late as the 1960’s (Sharon).
Now, the local Franco Center for La Rencontre is experiencing a rejuvenating resurgence in membership and attendance. Ms. Sharon reports that several hundred French speaking African immigrants, many of whom are asylum seekers, have arrived in the state over the past decade, and are now interacting in ways that neither they or their new neighbors ever expected. Local Bates College French professor, Mary Rice Defosse states that there have “always been pockets of French speakers in Maine,” but the new immigrants are making the skill useful again. She reports that French speaking Franco Americans unexpectedly have a new public function for their bilingual skills. She says it is a validating experience for French Canadians who made history there, to welcome a new wave of French speakers, this time, from Africa.
Below: the local Lewiston, Maine, Franco Center for La Rencontre French Club, featuring my bilingual Aunt Claire fifth from left. I grew up mostly out of state, and did not pick up any French.
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| "French clubs like this one have become de facto support groups for African immigrants in Lewiston, Maine" (Sharon, 2017). Photo Credit: Susan Sharon/MPBN |
Community based bilingual groups and bilingual education for ELLs are recommended throughout the canon of Teaching English as a Second Language Literature. Anthropologist Edward Hall (1976) compared the Low Context and High Context Communication (LC and HC) of cultures. He defined the elements of a modern, western, e.g., American culture with that of Low Context cultures, found in regions such as Africa, South East Asia and others, where many languages, including French, are spoken. Low context cultures rely more on collectivism and group-oriented values than High Context cultures. In order to support and empower all ELLs, including recent refugee heritage or lingua franca French Speaking ELLs, it is important for educators to advocate for community based, bilingual and multilingual learning environments for our students.
Resources:
Website detailing Franco American Flags: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us_fr-am.html#ne
French Embassy in the United States: https: https://franceintheus.org
Works Cited
Barac, Raluka, and Bialaystock, Ellen. “Bilingual Effects on Cognitive and Linguistic
Development: Role of Language, Cultural Background, and Education.” Child
Development, vol. 83, 2012, pp. 413 - 422, DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01707.x
Gonsell, Jonathan. “Franco-American Cultures in a New World Perspective”. French
Politics, Culture and Society. Winter 2012, Vol. 30 Issue 3, p 96 - 118.
Jaumont, Fabrice. “Speakers of French in the United States.” France in the United States,
Embassy of France in Washington, D.C., June 6, 2015. Web. 24 June 2017
Paquette, William. "French Immigrants." www.immigrantstotheunitedstates.com. Accessed
7 July, 2017.
Sharon, Susan. “A Common Language Connects French Canadians, African Immigrants.”
All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 27 March, 2017,
www.www.npr.org/2017/03/27/521648929/in-maine-a-common-language-connects-
french-canadians-african-immigrants. Accessed 1 July, 2017.
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