At Toronto French School, we believe that bilingualism is more than the ability to speak another language. Language studies at TFS instill a broad cultural awareness within an international context. Regardless of their native language, our students achieve a high level of competence in French and English.

Experts agree that bilingualism offers distinct advantages. Here are some excerpts from recent research:

Learning a second language at an early age:

• has a positive effect on intellectual growth;
• enriches and enhances a child’s mental development;
• leaves students with more flexibility in thinking, greater sensitivity to language, and a better ear for listening;
• improves a child’s understanding of his/her native language;
• gives a child the ability to communicate with people s/he would otherwise not have the chance to know;.
• opens the door to other cultures and helps a child understand and appreciate people from other countries;
• gives a student a head start in language requirements for college; and
• increases job opportunities in many careers where knowing another language is a real asset.
  
  Source: Northern and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University (Providence, RI) and Centre for Applied Linguistics (Washington, DC), May 2005
  
  Bilingualism is part and parcel of what Canada is – a resource that benefits all of us in countless ways.
  
  Linguistic duality, coupled with multiculturalism, helps to lend a positive distinctiveness to Canada as a country where sharing, respect and tolerance prevail. It also plays a part in maintaining the social stability and providing the type of know-how that makes Canada a place of diversity, dynamism and openness.
  
  Studies have shown that bilingualism is a source of personal enrichment. Knowing more than one language seems to strengthen a person’s mental capacities, as well as developing creativity.
  
  Source: Excerpts from a speech by Dyane Adam, Commissioner of Official Languages, at French Language Renewal Project Graduation Ceremony, Edmonton Education Centre, June 2005
  
  Business leaders believe that individuals derive a great deal of benefit from knowing a second language. Half these leaders feel that people who speak more than one language are more likely to find employment more easily. Many say that those who speak another language are more culturally sensitive and more likely to get better jobs.
  
  - Chamber Weekly CEO/Business Leader Poll by COMPAS in the Financial Post, December 1, 2003
  
  Bilingualism leads to better career opportunities in all sectors of the economy – tourism, business, health care, the arts, and beyond.
  
  Beyond career opportunities, being bilingual also brings cognitive and intellectual enhancement and cultural enrichment.
  
  One barrier to improving bilingualism is the concern among some parents that learning a second language may have a negative impact on first language acquisition. However, participants in Quebec cited research findings that those who learn a second language actually see benefits in their first language.
  
  - Canadian Parents for French, Provincial and National French Second-Language Education Stakeholder Consultations, Pan-Canadian Report, April 2004
  
  “Being bilingual is like going to a brain gym,” says York University psychologist and research professor Ellen Bialystok. “Handling a language is a big task for the brain’s ‘executive function,’ the areas that keeps you focused on navigating through your day, doing what matters and avoiding distractions. Handling two languages is even more work. Every time you have to put together a sentence, you’ve got two possible ways of saying everything, two possible ways of responding. Every time you use language as a bilingual (person), you’re exercising these very important functions.”
  
  Bialystok says speaking a second language even enhances physical changes in the brain, pumping up more blood to carry more oxygen.
  
  - York University Media Release, July 15, 2004