Stakeholders at DoD language training organizations seek to improve foreign language learner test scores. The method selected for the researched organization was to add foreign language immersive virtual reality games into the learning environment at the current institute. Earlier studies provided evidence of other organizations pursuing similar…

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) offers two main ESL programs for students whose native language is not English and who need to develop and enhance their English language skills (emergent bilinguals or EBs). The Content-Based ESL model (CB-ESL) consists of an intensive program of English instruction in all subject areas with…

The authors illustrate models and procedures that can be applied to calculate overall composite scores in order to identify an indicator of English language proficiency, based on composite scores for English learners with 504 or individualized education plans who are missing one or more domain scores on the Assessing Comprehension and…

French immersion programs in Saskatchewan have traditionally served to further the goals of additive bilingualism between Canada's two official languages, French and English. Whereas these programs have historically consisted of predominantly Anglophone populations, recent trends in immigration have contributed to the increasingly diverse…

Increased interest by political leaders and parents in educating linguistically competent U.S. students to compete in the global society has emphasized the need for early foreign language learning for all students. Language education researchers have identified core elements of sustainable long-term successful programs that begin in elementary…

While Chinese language learning in Australian schools is characterised by predominantly second language programs for learners who have had no prior exposure to the target language, there is increasing participation by Australian-born children who speak Putonghua (Mandarin) or another dialect at home. Curriculum and assessment frameworks and…

The MLA Report on "Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World" has been criticized for focusing its proposals on large German programs. This article attempts to show how some of its recommendations can also be implemented in smaller language programs. These programs exist within a network of relations to other…

This study was conducted to explore the effects of a two-way immersion bilingual program on maintenance/acquisition of Spanish-language proficiency and on reading and mathematics achievement in English over a period of 4 academic years. The researchers used Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) techniques to compare the effects of two different…

The effectiveness of alternative programs for teaching French as a second language in Ottawa and Carleton schools was evaluated. French proficiency, English skills, and academic achievement were assessed among students in grades 3-8 in the core French program, grades 4-6 in extended French, grades 10 and 12 in the bilingual program, and grade 8…

The study has two main components: a descriptive study of the secondary French program (SFSL) in a large school district in the Vancouver, British Columbia metropolitan area, and a followup study of grade nine students who had been surveyed initially when they were in grade six of the elementary French program (EFSL). The followup study examined…

This report describes the results of the Massachusetts study of foreign languages, part of the second phase of the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program. The assessment was conducted using a random sample of students from all over the state during one year of testing. The report is presented in five sections: (1) background of the study;…

Educational tracking of 232 English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) high school students in Alberta (Canada) found a drop-out rate of 74%. The drop-out rate varied dramatically with student's English language proficiency upon entry to high school. Evidence of drop-out subcategories termed "fall-out" and "push-out" indicates the need…

The Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) has long received federal grant funds under Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to supplement its regular bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs. In 1990-91, AISD was awarded a 3-year grant to serve a population of limited-English-proficient (LEP) high…

A study was designed to assess French second language proficiency, native language skills, and academic achievement of students in an intensive French program in an English language school in Montreal. Subjects consisted of three groups of grade 4 and three groups of grade 5 students, each grade level having one group from the intensive French…

Achievement test scores for 417 fifth graders in both school settings indicated superior language achievement by the 164 immersion centre students. Questionnaire data from 94 teachers and administrators provided reasons for these differences. Implied that programs should focus on maximum use of French and meeting teachers' materials and resources…