Using the lens of critical theory, this article explores the tenuous relationship between special education and French Second Language (FSL) education, particularly as it manifests in the issue of including students with language-based learning disabilities/difficulties within the French immersion context. Drawing on considerations of these issues…

The aim of this document is to give teachers and administrators the contextual and pedagogical tools for the late immersion program. It acts as a guide for beginning and experienced teachers who need to update their knowledge regarding this program and its details. For many working in this area, it also confirms their daily practices as well as…

This study explores No Child Left Behind's required timetable for English language learners (ELLs) to reach English language proficiency within five years, as outlined in the Annual Measurable Achievement Outcomes (AMAOs), despite the lack of research evidence to support this as a reasonable expectation. Analysis was conducted on the archived data…

Through an examination of one mother's journals about her son's academic struggles to navigate the French immersion (FI) program in Canada, this article explores the tensions that exist when the construct of "inclusion" is juxtaposed against that particular second language-learning context. The analysis of the mother's journals revealed…

A two-year study of learning disabilities found in association with French immersion programs indicates that children encountering difficulty in primary French immersion programs have a specific learning disability characterized by a pattern suggesting a maturational lag in the temporal lobe regions of the brain. (JMF)

Three case studies of children with specific learning disabilities who were switched out of French immersion programs are presented to provide background for the development of hypotheses for future study regarding the advisability of switching. (JMF)

A discussion of a project in Quebec in which language disabled children are not switched out of immersion programs but are provided with remedial instruction within these programs. The students develop facility in their first language, learn basic skills, exhibit no exceptional behavioral problems and acquire competency in French. (AMH)

Two questions are addressed: (1) Should immersion programs be offered to all children, and (2) should the child who is experiencing difficulties in immersion be switched to the regular English program? It is felt that there is no definite answer to the first question at present and that the answer to the second is "yes." (AMH)

This article reviews 30 years of experience with French immersion second-language instruction and concludes that most children with learning disabilities can benefit from the experience of a bilingual (immersion) education. For children with language handicaps who need to learn a second language, bilingual (immersion) instruction is better than…

A report is made of an investigation regarding the type of learning disabilities found in children who fail or do poorly in primary French immersion programs. Comments and criticisms are made by three guest analysts. (RM)

A discussion of the immersion approach to second language instruction contains: a description of the approach and its goals; a brief history of its introduction into public schools; a description of the most common immersion program designs (early total, early partial, middle or delayed, and late); a review of available information on program…

Issues relating to the psychoeducational evaluation of bilingual children from French immersion programs are presented using data from an in-depth study of a young learning disabled girl, discussed in reference to Cummins' theory of cross-linguistic transfer. (Author/MSE)

This paper describes the methodology of a study seeking to determine whether there is evidence that French immersion children with specific reading disability in one language also have the disability in the other language, and learning-disabled readers belong to the same subtype in both languages. (Author/JDD)

Studies on reading comprehension for bilingual students are reviewed to examine the importance of first-language mastery prior to second-language acquisition. Immersion program factors analyzed include automaticity, plateau effects, need for a variety of sociolinguistic settings, oral facility versus cognitive academic linguistic abilities, and…

Results of studies by four research teams on French as a second language in Ontario are presented along with commentaries. Merrill Swain and Sharon Lapkin's findings from the study "Bilingual Education in Ontario: A Decade of Research" are reported, and Michael Canale's discussion of the purposes and theoretical framework development of…