The rapid growth of Mandarin Chinese and English dual-language (DL) programs and the differences between these two languages have fostered the need to investigate the early literacy performance of young students in a Mandarin/English DL program. This study used the interactive transfer framework (Chung et al., 2019) to understand the Mandarin and…

Pinyin is a sound-annotating system for Chinese characters using Roman letters. Teaching and learning Pinyin has been an important educational practice in Mainland China for native Chinese children, and it is also typically taught to beginning learners of Chinese as a foreign/second language in tertiary-level classrooms. However, whether it should…

This paper looks at reading in French immersion and how learning French is seen more as a skill rather than a social practice that could be examined through a more critical lens. Most of the teachers often teach students how to read but rarely will they discuss the role of French in Canadian society and how this is manifested in the texts they…

Examines the history of language issues and educational policies in the Marshall Islands. Discussion focuses on the administrative, financial, curricular, and staffing features of current language and educational programs, and an immersion model of bilingual Marshallese-English education is proposed to counteract some of the negative outcomes of…

Two frequently made claims about French immersion programs in Canada are analyzed: (1) the planning and implementation of such programs is adequate as practiced to satisfy participants within the program; and (2) resulting improvements in French learning are likely to achieve federal policymakers' goals of ameliorating animosities between…

This study sought to examine to what extent language learners in an immersion classroom used their native language and the foreign language when performing the cognitive operations involved in math word problems. Thirty-two third- through sixth-graders in a Spanish immersion program participated in the study. Data were collected through: (1)…

Describes the Canadian program of French immersion in terms of current issues in the theory of second-language (L2) learning, including the role of consciousness, optimal timing of L2 learning, communicative competency classification, and the role of the first language. Implications for L2 pedagogy and requirements for a new language pedagogy are…

The existing minority language situation of French Canadians in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces is examined, highlighting the historical, political, social, and educational aspects of bilingualism in Canada. Additive and subtractive forces in Canadian bilingualism and biculturalism are outlined for comparison. French…

Little data are available concerning the native languages of Scandinavian residents, other than the official languages, despite the linguistic diversity of the region. Foreign language teaching starts early in schooling, but there has been little study of actual language needs. Three basic program designs are available for teaching foreign…

This thesis reports on a study of the use of first and second languages among students of a Spanish immersion program. Eight fifth- and sixth-graders with varying levels of Spanish proficiency participated in the study. Data were collected through student verbal reports, questionnaire-based interviews, classroom observations, and background…

Articles in this issue of a journal on applied linguistics include: "Multilingualism as a Relaxed Affair: The Case of the Western Canadian Halfbreeds" (Patrick C. Douaud); "Testing a Group of Bilingual Children with the Bilingual Syntax Measure" (Christine Helot); "Two Years On: A Sample of Mother Child Interaction in a…

The collection of essays on French second language instruction in Canada, directed to parents, includes: "Our Brave New World" (Andrew Kniewasser); "French in Your School: Identifying and Achieving the Right Program" (Carolyn Hodych, Jos Scott); "So, You're Worried About Becoming an Immersion Parent" (Judy Gibson);…

This collection of essays on early French second language instruction includes: "Why Bilingualism?" (Steven MacKinnon); "French Second-Language Programs: Alternative Approaches" (Henry P. Edwards); "Core French: A Brighter Future" (Janet Poyen, Judy Gibson); "The Parents' Role" (Deborah Whale); "Franco…

A discussion of English-as-a-Second-Language teaching techniques and approaches for young children focuses on principles found to contribute to successful program development. First, characteristics of successful language immersion programs are outlined: parental involvement and support; students who are members of a majority group; positive…

The position taken in this paper is that the basic debate concerning the effectiveness of bilingual education has been totally "socially naive." A study investigated the concept that the ethnolinguistic vitality of a community determines the quality and quantity of linguistic contacts with one's own linguistic group and with other…