Examines the language practices in three immigrant families of South Asian ancestry who reside in Canada and have chosen French immersion education for their children. Based on interview data, presents a profile of the inter- and intra-generational language interactions that distinguish each family. Describes their reasons for maintaining their…

Teachers in traditional bilingual settings confront strict program requirements under the guise of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), excessive assessment demands (state, district and program assessments in both English and Spanish), and negative attitudes about bilingual education from many in the political and public spheres. Since 1998, the passage…

Preschool and early elementary science provides engaging opportunities for integrated content-based language learning. This instruction uses the concepts of other content areas as a springboard for language acquisition and self-expression. It is through the active interpretation of content standards by foreign language teachers that the ideas and…

In this study I investigated the effectiveness of a kindergarten vocabulary intervention, developed based on previous research on characteristics of effective vocabulary intervention through storybook read-alouds, in 5 kindergarten classrooms. Among these classrooms were 3 mainstream, 1 two-way bilingual, and 1 structured immersion classroom. The…

This study aims to investigate the role of mediation in the learning process from a sociocultural perspective, activity theory in particular. This study was carried out in a primary English immersion school within the CCUEI Programs in Mainland China. Data were collected mainly through observations and interviews, which were then supplemented by…

Grounded in sociocultural theory, this study uses an ecological approach to examine how student interactions within a dual-language school context may offer affordances for increased linguistic and conceptual understanding. Using qualitative analysis of student discourse, this paper focuses on data from recorded interactions between pairs of…

The 23rd EUROCALL conference was held in Cyprus from the 24th to the 27th of August 2016. The theme of the conference this year was "CALL Communities and Culture." It offered a unique opportunity to hear from real-world CALL practitioners on how they practice CALL in their communities, and how the CALL culture has developed in local and…

The effects of different variables on second language acquisition, specifically the effect of parental influence, were tested on the Gardner (1979) model of second language acquisition. Data were obtained from 68 anglophone students in grades 7-10 enrolled in a French immersion program and also from their parents. A factor analysis of parental…

Describes immersion programs in the United States and Canada and reviews results of evaluative research pertaining to them. Discusses findings with respect to students' native-language development, academic achievement, and second language proficiency. Also discusses the suitability of immersion for students with distinctive, potentially…

Used an approach to the study of interlanguage that challenges prevailing models of second language acquisition (SLA) that assume that negotiation of meaning is the only causal variable in SLA. Examines two notions of language play as they have been presented in applied linguistics literature: ludic language play and language play as rehearsal in…

A recent survey of teachers in a French early partial immersion program revealed concerns for those who teach English as to whether an immersion program is suitable for all children. Teachers believed, among other things, that the problems of children who were learning English and French as second languages were compounded by the program.…

This paper focuses on the pedagogical beliefs and practices of immersion teachers in a large midwestern city. (JL)

The adoption of a process writing approach in elementary French immersion (FI) is discussed, including favorable arguments from the research and concerns related to creative writing in second-language contexts. Ways to address the special needs of FI students are outlined. (45 references) (Author/LB)

Reviews the development of the language immersion method to teach French in Canada in 1965, and discusses the spread of its use to other countries and other languages. The definition of "immersion" is briefly reviewed, and its efficacy is discussed. Finally, possible reasons for the method's success are examined. (12 references) (JL)

Addresses common questions about immersion-type language programs in Australia through interviews with 18 immersion program students. An explanation is given of what goes on in an immersion program; and student comments regarding the program's knowledge, academic, cultural, social, and general aspects are provided. (six references) (GLR)