Who we are ...

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We are a group of parents, educators, researchers and politicians who are advocating for multilingual education programs in Ontario schools. Some of us are parents who have sent our children to multilingual preschools and International Language Education (ILE) programs, and we want them to be able to continue to develop their fluency as they continue through the public school system. Some of us have immigrated from other countries, and want our children to develop complete literacy in our heritage languages, and do not want them to lose their language skills as they integrate into Canadian culture. Some of us are from English and French-speaking families who realize the importance of other languages as we look to the future. 

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Our history ...

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We know that dual-language proficiency is academically beneficial and is also very helpful career wise, as is seen through the popularity of French-immersion programs.​ So our group began as an advocacy group for Mandarin bilingual education within the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) called Toronto Mandarin Bilingual Education Parents Association (TMBEPA).

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Though Mandarin is not one of our official languages, the opportunities that Mandarin/English bilingualism offers for the future are obvious. The ILE program is not adequate enough for developing literacy and proficiency in heritage language education. School boards in Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam and Edmonton, as well as many school boards in the U.S. now have Mandarin Immersion program offerings. So why not in Toronto, where the Mandarin-speaking population is so large? We made a proposal to the TDSB in September 2012 as TMBEPA for a Mandarin/English Bilingual School/Program. Progress stalled over issues with Ontario’s Education Act, which only allow education to be delivered in English or French.

 

Now we realize that we need to lobby the Ontario government to change the Education Act to allow multilingual education in Ontario schools – not just for the Mandarin language, but for all languages that correspond to the needs of Canadians linguitic and cultural heritage.

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Let’s join together to see this possibility become a reality!