Canada’s appeal to immigrants
Canada’s appeal to immigrants has been on the increase over the past two decades. Available data from a 2018 survey indicates that over 300,000 immigrants relocate into the country every year. Canada has been witnessing an upward shift in bilingual speakers. This paper utilizes data from the ODESI database to conduct an in-depth analysis of factors that determine bilingualism acquisition and retention.
Formulation of the Research Question
Research Question: Does the acquisition of English among children aged between 5 and 17 years in Quebec differs with other locations?
Formulation of the Research Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis (Ho) – Acquisition of English among children aged between 5 and 17 years in Quebec does not differ with that in other locations? Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Alternative Hypothesis (HA) – Acquisition of English among children aged 5 to 17 years in Quebec differs with that of their agemates in diverse geographical locations in Canada.
Analysis and Derivation of the Output
Table 1: Analysis and Retention of Bilingualism among Children in Quebec and Outside Quebec
Characteristics
Acquisition of bilingualism in 2016 among those who were not bilingual in 2006
Retention of bilingualism in 2016 among those who were already bilingual in 2006
Canada outside Quebec
Quebec
Canada outside Quebec
Quebec
percent
Mother tongue
English
5.8
58.3
60.5
94.7
French
80.3
54.1
97.2
92.1
English and French
23.7
70.0
86.2
95.6
Other language
8.5
74.0
46.2
95.6
Parents bilingual in English and French in 2006
Neither parent
5.5
43.6
50.8
88.4
One parent
16.6
61.4
76.2
91.6
Both parents
42.9
77.4
90.2
96.2
Age group in 2006
5 to 7 years
13.4
51.8
81.9
94.6
8 to 10 years
7.5
59.3
75.4
95.6
11 to 13 years
4.4
57.5
63.3
93.6
14 to 17 years
2.7
52.7
55.7
92.5
Sex
Female
8.7
55.9
66.6
93.3
Male
5.1
54.8
63.9
93.6
Generational status
First generation (immigrants)
8.9
76.2
48.0
96.1
Second generation (children of immigrants)
7.7
73.5
57.9
95.4
Third generation (non-immigrants)
6.2
52.4
70.4
92.3
Highest level of education of at least one parent in 2006
No high school diploma
2.9
34.1
48.5
90.1
High school diploma
4.3
47.5
55.3
90.5
Postsecondary diploma
5.4
50.4
64.2
91.5
Bachelor’s degree
10.3
72.7
69.5
97.5
Graduate degree
13.9
83.7
72.5
96.6
Economic family income quintile in 2006
Bottom quintile
6.1
45.6
55.8
91.8
Second quintile
6.0
46.6
59.4
92.2
Third quintile
6.3
52.6
65.4
91.5
Fourth quintile
7.1
61.7
67.5
93.8
Top quintile
8.3
75.8
70.6
97.2
Presence of the minority language group in the census subdivision in 2006, by quintile
Bottom quintile
4.9
42.2
47.8
84.7
Second quintile
5.3
52.6
50.5
89.6
Third quintile
6.4
54.8
57.5
91.9
Fourth quintile
5.7
70.1
60.6
95.6
Top quintile
13.3
67.8
80.6
95.5
Living with parents in 2016
No
3.6
53.7
60.6
91.1
Yes
7.9
56.0
67.6
94.9
Discussion
In reference to the analysis, children in Quebec that are already bilingual are more likely to acquire and retain other languages. A child’s ability to acquire and retain the second language is influenced by socio-demographic factors such as parents’ education and income. Based on the output, younger children as compared to their older counterparts depict a greater ability to acquire and retaining a language. As compared to the 2006 data, 13% of 5-7-year olds became bilingual in 2016. This is as compared to 3% of those aged between 14 to 17 years. Besides, English-French bilingualism acquisition rate is high among non-bilingual children in Quebec as compared to other parts of the country. The acquisition rate is also higher among children whose parents have high levels of education. In addition, the retention of the English-French bilingualism is higher in Quebec as compared to other parts of the country. For instance, the number of children that were bilingual in the 2006 survey was still bilingual in the 2016 study. In 2006, for instance, the retention rate for children in Quebec was approximately 95%. Table 1 further postulates that the English-French bilingualism retention rates are generally lower among children in other parts of the country as compared to those in Quebec. Factors such as the parents’ education status and fluency in the two languages also affect the children’s retention and acquisition rate. For instance, the retention rate among children outside Quebec is 56%.
Conclusion
This study postulates that Canada has been witnessing an influx of immigrants. This is due to the vast nature of the country’s job market, a formidable health system, as well as an effective education system. Most of the immigrants are bilingual. However, a number of factors influence English-French bilingualism acquisition and retention. Such factors include the children parents’ literacy level as well as region of residence. For instance, children in Quebec have a higher bilingualism retention and acquisition rate in Canada. This affirms to the assertions of the alternative hypothesis that postulate existence of a disparity between the bilingualism acquisition and retention rate among children in Quebec as compared to their agemates in other locations across Canada.