Language immersion programs seek to develop multilingual, multiliterate individuals able to engage with academic content. Studies of immersion students' language development provide details regarding language proficiency and accuracy, yet they generally do not address how features of written, academic language, for example, syntactic and lexical…

This article probes the extent to which postsecondary Spanish learners can substantively increase their knowledge of Spanish over a two-week period within a context of language and content instruction for four hours per day. The article considers the relationship of an immersion experience to upper-level literature and culture classes. Insights…

Previous research reports the positive impact of dual immersion programs on students' language proficiency, yet fewer studies have examined students' attitudes in such programs. The current study examined student attitudes and language proficiency in a Cantonese dual immersion school and explored relationships between students' attitudes and…

This study investigated the effects of an intensive summer program on students' writing, reading, listening, vocabulary, and grammar skills. The program consisted of 4 weeks at the U.S. home institution and 4 weeks in Berlin, Germany, and offered the equivalent of two college-level, second-year German classes in one summer. During the last three…

This article briefly reviews the social, political, and economic context that explains the present status of elementary language education in the United States and addresses the challenges identified by recent reports on the state of language education in the United States. Different curricular models of world language education--exploratory,…

With 24 adolescent students enrolled in a French language summer camp, the present study examines the relationship between self-assessment and oral production in French, interpreting results through a framework of individual learning variables. Participants were surrounded by French inside and outside the classroom. Self-assessment was measured…

The assessment of dual language immersion (DLI) students' proficiency in the partner language plays a key role in program evaluation. This article reports findings from a large-scale study, drawing on cross-sectional assessment data from 73 schools and longitudinal data from 25 schools. Students were tested in the interpretive (listening and…

Research has demonstrated that students in dual-language immersion programs perform as well as, or better than, their peers in core academic content areas by late elementary school. However, the extent to which immersion education fosters bilingualism has received less attention in the literature. Using data from a four-year efficacy study of…

This study compared the Mandarin performance of elementary immersion program students and high school world language program students in the same school district. A cross-sectional design was employed to gather information on Mandarin proficiency of fourth and fifth graders and Level 4 and Level 5 (AP Chinese) high school students who took the…

A Mandarin/English two-way immersion elementary program is described from its inception and implementation through the fifth grade, the culminating year of the program. All students in all grades were assessed on their oral/listening, reading, and writing performance in Mandarin using program-created assessment measures. Fifth-grade students also…

This study reports on the measured proficiency-referenced learning outcomes during study abroad of a large, multi-institutional cohort (N=1,881) of U.S. students of Russian who have undertaken intensive language study on ACTR-administered formal language study programs at Russian universities for periods of 2, 4, and 9 months over the course of…

Compares the French language competence of Ontario high school immersion graduates with that of core program graduates of a six-week summer course in a francophone environment. The immersion graduates performed functions well, but at the expense of accuracy, while summer students showed fewer discrepancies in speaking skills. (Author/CB)

Discusses a collaboration in the design and implementation of student portfolios to examine growth in foreign-language proficiency. Analysis of the portfolios showed that many factors should be considered by teachers in deciding on contents and objectives of the portfolios. (Author/JL)

Reviews research findings as they relate to the acquisition of reading skills (in the first and second language) by majority-group school children participating in early immersion programs. (Author)

Reviews research on the language learner and immersion-type bilingual education programs. It is noted that formal foreign language teaching may be needed in these programs for primary school children. It is suggested that research is needed and that a combination of functional and formal approaches be used. (Author/AMH)