That being said,

here is an interesting article from the most recent issue of University Affairs: “The rise of the monoglots: Fewer and fewer universities require students to master a second language. Some think that’s a shame,” by Léo Charbonneau, University Affairs (Aug.-Sept./08).

When Bad Research Leads to Bad Policy: The Case of New Brunswick

Shamelessly lifted from Matt and Diana: “This opinion piece was in response to EFI policy development in NB. It was written by Philip Oreopolous who is an Associate Professor of Economics, University of British Columbia and a University of Toronto Research Fellow, Canadian Institute For Advanced Research. It was written just before the decision was announced on August 5th.” Download PDF.

Immersion delayed, immersion denied

The Globe and Mail has an editorial today which begins

The speed with which small children can pick up a language is hardly disputable. Countless people on this planet observe it every day. Again and again, solid research has confirmed the phenomenon. Yet the government of the only province in Canada that has declared itself officially bilingual is acting in defiance of this gift of nature. This month, New Brunswick announced that it will wind down the French immersion program in the early grades of Anglophone schools.

And, an excellent commentary in the Times&Transcript by W.E. (Bill) Belliveau.

See the letters in the Telegraph-Journal and The Daily Gleaner.

And Robert Macleod in the T-J also asks, where’s Shawn?

But is the provincial government listening? No. And apparently, there is even more to come.