Research on stakeholder perspectives in language immersion contexts is relatively new (Padron & Waxman, 2016; Whitacre, 2015). This current qualitative research examined perspectives of stakeholders at a mini-conference for immersion educators and administrators called Conversations in Immersion. The mini-conference encouraged immersion…

At the time of the demise of bilingual education in California via Proposition 227, Chueng and Drabkin (1999) discussed the unchecked prevalence of poorly run bilingual programs and the apathetic administrators who provided inadequate oversight in terms of ensuring program quality. Proponents of dual language immersion programs hope to avoid this…

At the intersection of social studies and world language curricula are opportunities to explore students' prior learning with vocabulary-rich content designed to support language acquisition goals. "Funds of knowledge" is defined as socio-cultural, economic, and historical knowledge from home and community settings. The instructional…

This study examined seven Louisiana kindergarten immersion teachers' practices to evaluate students' oral target language production and compare the oral production elicited when different instructional practices were used over a single semester. Three rounds of three 20-minute observations in three different contexts--circle time, direct…

In the past century, French has shifted from being the native language of many Louisianans to being an endangered dialect. Since the creation of the state agency CODOFIL (Council for the Development of French in Louisiana) in the 1960's, efforts have been made to revitalize French in Louisiana, and since the 1980's, some parishes have offered…

In the United States, foreign language immersion programs are K-8 voluntary programs wherein children are instructed in the core subjects in a language other than English. While these programs are quite popular, many parents, having chosen immersion for their child's education, change their minds and transfer their child into a "regular"…

This ethnographic case study explores school culture through the lens of Dewey's (1915/2001) belief in the importance of creating schools with a sense of community in which all members are indispensable to the whole. Three aspects of the foreign language immersion curriculum at South Boulevard Elementary lead to a culture of community: commitment…

In this position article, we explore what happens when school district policies regarding desegregation, accountability, and foreign language immersion education collide. Specifically, we contrast 2 immersion programs that experienced distinct outcomes as a result of the conflicting agendas underlying these 3 policies. One program, originally…

From 1969 to the late 1980's, most French programs in schools were based on a traditional foreign language instructional model, usually offering 30 minutes a day of French language instruction in elementary grades, increasing to 50 minutes a day in middle school. Contingent on funding and political swings over time, programs expanded from…

Discusses a French immersion program in Louisiana, highlighting indications that students in the program are scoring higher on the state's mandated standardized tests than students in the district not participating in the program. Attempting to overcome deficits in language immersion research using testing and demographic data from a large sample…

This paper examines the role that cultural identity and grassroots activism and community development have played in the creation, maintenance and expansion of Louisiana French immersion education. Although linguists tend to portray the extinction of endangered minority languages as inevitable, research on the effects of minority language…

In this article, I--a White, French-immersion teacher-researcher--engage in a reflective examination of my research and teaching practices involving African American students. My critical reflection of my research examines the instruments used in my comparative study of African American students' experiences in the French-immersion context and the…

These three journals include articles on issues related to language learning. The fall 1998 journal presents: "Attention! Are You Seeking a Position with Excellent Long-Term Benefits? Be an Advocate!" (Mary Lynn Redmond); "National Town Meeting Energizes Support for Early Language Learning" (Marcia Harmon Rosenbusch);…