This paper examines the persistent, growing popularity of Canadian French immersion (FI) programmes. Critics charge that FI programmes are elitist, diverting already limited resources from other areas of the education system. We begin with a brief overview of the benefits of FI in Canada and enrolment trends. Next, sources of FI-related inequality…

Globalisation processes, often accused of imposing uniformity the world over, also open up opportunities for minorities (including linguistic ones) to exploit a variety of spaces for self-definition and self-expression. The expansion in the use of minority languages in public signage is one consequence of this present phase of reorientation in…

Compares two different types of bilingual education programs--the Canadian immersion programs, designed primarily for foreign language enrichment, and the European School bilingual education program, designed primarily for language maintenance. Achievement scores for both approaches were comparable, pointing to the importance of environment and…

Summarizes an evaluation of an early French immersion program at grades 6 and 8. In English language skills, immersion students performed as well as, or better than, English-only program groups; in mathematics and sciences, immersion students did as well as their comparison group. Other findings are discussed. (PJM)

Discusses and compares the relative effects of a French immersion program in two different settings: a French-speaking setting in Quebec and an English setting in British Columbia. No clear-cut differences in favor of either setting were found, although students in the French setting reacted more favorably to their program. (PJM)

Provides an overview of French Immersion programs in Canada and focuses on particular issues in current immersion research. Specifically, the monitoring of outcomes in English, French, and content courses is examined, and a diagnostic analysis of the learner's second-language development is presented. Finally, the importance of teacher education…

Presents study of two groups of students in an early French immersion program in British Columbia. In comparison to peers in regular English program, immersion students performed at similar level in mathematics and attained equivalence in English language skills soon after English language arts were introduced into curriculum. (Author/BK)

A comparison of the French proficiency of bilingual and monolingual native English, Italian, or non-Romance language speaking eighth graders in an Ontario bilingual program found that the bilingual students generally performed better than monolingual students on cloze procedure tests and story telling tasks. (40 references) (Author/CB)

Considers various factors relating to the failure of recent Canadian graduates of French immersion programs to make substantial use of French immediately following their schooling. The article presents some case studies of adult Canadians engaged in maintaining or improving their French skills. (29 references) (Author/CK)

Using the Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching (COLT) observation theme, this study compares the second-language-learning environments of elementary-level students of French in four submersion and four immersion classrooms in Montreal, Canada. Results indicate clear differences between the two environments. (Author/VWL)

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…

Considers the pedagogical validity of English immersion education in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, Melanesian countries of the South Pacific. Questions the appropriateness of implementing a policy of English language immersion education in a postcolonial, multilingual Third World context where support for first language maintenance and second…

This report discusses an investigation on the processes involved in the acquisition of French by students in late immersion programs in Australia. An ethnographic style of data collection was used in the study, which covered a full year. (Contains 14 references.) (JL)

Discusses the minority French-speaking population in Ontario from its 17th century origin to the present day, focusing on the changing circumstances affecting minority French-language education. Political, economic, and demographic processes are shown to influence the role played by the French-language schools in the maintenance of French language…

The British Columbia French Speaking Test, administered to grade 3 immersion students, measured their speaking skills through a story- retelling and group discussion task. When 110 immersion children were compared to 25 Francophone children, results indicated that the immersion children were comparable to the francophones in communicative skills…