Twenty years ago French immersion was the rage. Now its appeal has faded as surely as a pair of blue jeans.

    The reason may be that parents now know their children don't emerge speaking French like a native, and rumours abound about difficulties with later schooling. On the other hand, some parents and children are positive about the experience. So, as a parent, how do you know what's right?

    York psychologist Ellen Bialystok, who has studied children and language acquisition for the last 15 years, suggests looking closely at the program curriculum and being realistic about what it is or isn't.

    "French immersion does not make children bilingual. It isn't the same as working and living within a French-speaking community."

    But this doesn't make immersion programs invalid, she says. Her research shows that immersion programs, or any exposure to a second language, can accelerate children's cognitive development and their phonological awareness (one of the keys to learning how to read). It also increases children's abilities to learn languages later in life, and builds confidence in language use and in other developmental areas.

    What about children's later education, when they leave the program?

    "Initially there is some confusion," says Bialystok, but she urges parents not to panic. "A child may have a tendency to write in English with French grammatical structures and need some coaching with English spelling; and while this naturally tends to frighten parents, these problems seem to disappear within a few months." She emphasizes that the things children learn in the early grades (up to Grades 4 or 5) are language arts and symbolic skills. Later, however, the primary purpose of schooling changes, and they use language as a tool to explore abstract thought. Then it may be wise to continue their education in their first language.