The Language and Culture Initial Teacher Education: Primary (LACITEP) program in Australia, a preservice teacher education program designed to train elementary school teachers as specialists in Japanese language teaching, is described. In the partial immersion format, at least half the courses are taught in Japanese. Courses in the first year…

At Concordia College's Institute of German Studies (Minnesota), an immersion program, a 1-month course entitled "German in the Business World" concentrates on development of written and oral communication skills needed in firms dealing with German-speakers. As part of its emphasis on banking, insurance, and business, the course includes…

The fourth phase of a longitudinal study focusing on the cognitive and language development of children in a primary-grade Spanish immersion program (SIP) is reported. Subjects were the remaining 13 members of an SIP cohort beginning in 1987, 15 members of a standard program comparison classroom, 18 members of another class in the 1987 SIP cohort,…

There are over 3 million children in the United States whose primary language is other than English. Although bilingual education has been effective in meeting their needs, its availability is limited, and the alternative is often limited or no English instruction at all. It is not yet clear how effective total immersion is for non-English…

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…

A collection of papers on immersion programs focuses primarily on their applicability for language minority students, and addresses some common myths and misunderstandings about immersion education. In "An Overview of Issues in Immersion Education" (Wallace Lambert), major issues and misconceptions are outlined. A second group of papers…

In its first year, the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program combined kindergarten and first-grade students in two classes. About half of the students had no speaking knowledge of Hawaiian; the remainder had attended Hawaiian-language preschools and/or spoke Hawaiian at home. Both teachers, fluent speakers of Hawaiian, were new to teaching. The…

Sheltered English is a method of instruction for limited-English-proficient (LEP) students based on the Canadian model of immersion education in which content is taught in English and made comprehensible to the students by special instructional techniques. The goal of the program is to enable the LEP students to acquire high levels of oral English…

First year planning and implementation of the Portland (Oregon) Partial Immersion Program in Spanish--an elementary magnet program providing a total language experience in a multi-cultural setting--were assessed. The program uses both Spanish and English to instruct students; half of the instructional day is conducted in each language. The…

A new approach taken to teach English to visiting West German teenagers in an immersion course in England emphasizes language use for fluency. Although the syllabus is designed to provide practice in all four language skills, it focuses on integrating the four skills, increasing productive skills, sensitizing the students to the value of paired…

A study of the impact of language of instruction in schools on the divergent thinking, self-esteem, and locus of control of expatriate and Hong Kong native Chinese adolescents is reported and some of the cognitive and affective costs of the immersion method of bilingual education are examined. Hong Kong children in most schools must change…

Evaluation of a structured immersion program, operating since 1968 in Uvalde, Texas as part of the United States Department of Education's Project Follow Through, suggests that the structured immersion approach has had a consistent positive effect on the academic achievement of the language minority students involved. Approximately 130 Spanish…

A collection of classroom activities for French and Spanish language immersion programs includes descriptions of or directions for a variety of exercises, accompanied by a brief introductory section of notes for the teacher. The activities include audio-motor units, a back-to-back activity, a cocktail party simulation, cultural assimilators,…

A study was carried out to assess the French language proficiency of kindergarten students enrolled in a French early immersion program and two "classes d'accueil," that is, a special program for non-French speaking immigrant children. The particular focus of the study was to investigate whether the level of proficiency in French is…

A study was conducted to assess social and political factors affecting the implementation of French immersion in northern Ontario, Canada. Using a sample of eight boards in Northeastern Ontario communities, data were obtained by interviewing 17 French immersion principals and 52 immersion teachers. Data were also obtained by surveying all…