In this paper the impact of French language education on linguistic assimilation among Canadian francophone minorities outside of Quebec is assessed. The Study of Adult Recurrent Education, conducted in 1974-75, was the data set used in the study. The sample was selected from a target population of those persons 18 years of age and older in the Ottawa Census Metropolitan Area. The sub-sample of persons of French mother constituted the universe examined. French language education was found to be an important barrier to the linguistic assimilation of francophones in the Ottawa area. In addition, language of instruction was found to have a cumulative impact ranging from modest to strong on the language spoken at home, with friends, at work, language of exposure to the mass media, inner speech, dominant language, and ethnic identity. Various conclusions were reached including the fact that: the language of instruction has a strong impact on the language of inner speech, expecially at the elementary level; language of inner speech, in turn, correlates strongly with the language spoken at home, with friends, and to a lesser extent, with dominant language and ethnic identity; and language of instruction at the secondary and postsecondary levels is more important in terms of language use at work and vis-a-vis the mass media. This paper contains quantified, theoretical, and ethnographic information. (Author/GC)