THREE English-French bilingual primary schools could be established in Jersey, if States politicians get behind a backbencher’s proposition.
Deputy Philip Bailhache wants to preserve a “cornerstone of Jersey’s cultural being” by promoting languages in schools.
“Although English is the dominant language in everyday life in Jersey today, it was not so long ago that the majority of educated people were able to speak and write in both English and French,” the St Clement Deputy said, in a report accompanying his proposition.
He added: “It is disappointing that few Jersey people can today speak French with any degree of fluency or understand the language of our nearest neighbour.”
To address the decline in French proficiency, Deputy Bailhache is proposing that three primary schools gradually introduce bilingual teaching from 2025.
The proposal builds on discussions from 2013 between the External Relations and Education departments, which garnered support from various stakeholders, according to the St Clement representative.
He said: “The Council of Ministers expressed broad support for the project in 2016, but it did not progress before the 2018 elections.
“A survey of parents was undertaken by the department in 2016 which showed that at least 60% of those surveyed would wish to send their children to a French bilingual school if that option were available.
“Discussions between 2014 and 2017 with French ambassadors, French government ministers and regional representatives in Normandy demonstrated considerable interest, if not excitement, at the prospect of French bilingual schools taking root in an anglophone context in the British Isles.”
Deputy Bailhache also spoke about the academic and economic benefits of bilingualism in his report.
He referenced a 2012 Belgian study which found that after three years, children in English “immersion classes” demonstrated faster reaction times compared to monolingual peers.
Meanwhile, he said language skills could boost employability and create new business opportunities with French-speaking countries.
Deputy Bailhache’s proposal comes just weeks after a leading expert in minority languages suggested that a proposed new town primary could be a “dual-language school” teaching pupils in English, and French and Jèrriais.
Professor Colin Williams, senior research associate at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge and a member of the Welsh Language Board, said that such schools were good for social cohesion and provided “a very sophisticated approach to language transmission”.
In the Island at the invitation of L’Office du Jèrriais, Professor Williams suggested that Jersey could introduce an initiative which has been successful in Wales, Catalonia, Andorra and the Basque country.
Ben Spink, head of the Jèrriais service, said he was “intrigued” by the suggestion.
Deputy Bailhache’s proposition is due to be debated at the 10 September States sitting.
