This study investigated the effect of a bilingual education program on the achievement gap in language development between at-risk kindergarten students with minimal English proficiency and students who were proficient English speakers. Limited English Proficient (LEP) students were included in an Extended Foreign Language (EFL) program designed…

This digest reports on a study that examined the impact of participation in a two-way immersion program on the language and achievement outcomes of former program participants and on their current schooling path and college plans. The study explored outcomes for three groups of students: (1) Hispanic students who began the two-way program as…

This paper argues in favor of dual language programs over typical bilingual education programs because in the dual language program the minority language has a status equal to the majority language. Through the use of the language experience approach, this study examines the role of elicited response from a small sample of English and Spanish…

This teacher's guide, intended for the instruction of both French as a first language and French as a second language in an immersion setting, provides a host of strategies for teaching writing skills in the classroom (Grades 6 through 12). Section 1 is designed to bring the teacher's awareness to the training procedure, discussing the motivation…

Generally, immersion is carried out in circumstances where children who speak the majority language are taught the minority language. In this way, the security of the language learners is secured in intensive teaching. In Pietarsaari, Finland, an experiment on language immersion has been started, in which minority Finnish children with a…

This paper proposes a comprehensive framework for defining success in bilingual education. Defining success is a difficult and elusive task. Indicators of success are at the center of much controversy, and a review of the research of the last 30 years reveals varying trends in the underlying notion of success. Most studies focus on the ability of…

Describes schedules and activities of the summer and weekend foreign language immersion programs at the State University of New York College at New Paltz. Gives some highlights of last summer's program. (EKN)

In response to O. Weininger's article, programs in various countries are cited in defense of the efficacy of early language immersion. The importance of flexibility is stressed, as is need to examine bilingual immersion in the light of educational, social, linguistic, and "political" goals, as well as psychological theory. (PP)

The importance of fully exploring the values and limitations of early language immersion programs is reiterated. The need to take children's class advantages into account in judging the effectiveness of such programs is emphasized. (PP)

Investigates the relationship between language aptitude components and second language (L2) outcomes among learners whose intensive L2 exposure began at different ages. Findings reveal that in adolescence immersion, a positive relationship occurs between L2 outcomes and an analytical dimension of language aptitude, whereas in early immersion, a…

Discusses the Queensland Languages and Cultures Initial Teacher Education Program (LACITEP), in which 50% to 80% of the subjects taken are delivered through Japanese immersion. Notes that the promotion of second-language learning is a common aim of all immersion classrooms and provides insight into how the LACITEP Health and Physical Education…

Explores direct techniques, such as semantic mapping and formal word analysis, as ways of supplementing the incidental learning of French vocabulary through reading by high school students in immersion and extended French classes. Findings indicate that these techniques can play a positive role in the second language classroom. (38 references)…

Examines the use of e-mail to facilitate second language acquisition in an immersion education setting, with particular focus on an e-mail exchange between college students of Japanese as a second language in Australia and native speakers in Japan. Suggests that e-mail is a potentially valuable medium in language learning and could be useful in…

A study compared the effect of reading aloud to grade two French immersion students with that of participation in the normal language arts curriculum during a three-month period. Reading aloud was found to be a simple but effective adjunct to formal teaching methods for accelerating second language acquisition. (29 references) (Author/MSE)

Reports on a study that monitored and corrected the writing of bilingual Fransaskois students and immersion graduates in the same class. The study's objectives were to determine whether francophones and anglophones made similar or different mistakes and whether the two groups could be taught together without prejudice. Both groups made similar…