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…

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)

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)

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 descriptive case study provides a comprehensive profile of 13 learning disabled students' experience after one full year in a French immersion learning difficulties program in Canada. (Author/VWL)

A handbook for teachers and administrators of second language programs in Alberta's schools suggests principles and guidelines for planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating full or partial immersion programs, focusing on the framework for program planning and implementation, information for developing realistic program expectations, and…

Thirty-two children who experienced difficulty in primary French immersion were compared to seven other groups of children matched for age and sex on a wide variety of language, perceptual, academic achievement, memory, motor, sensory and other tests to determine if there was anything unique in the profile of this group. The comparison groups…

This collection of essays on early French second language instruction includes: "Why Bilingualism?" (Steven MacKinnon); "French Second-Language Programs: Alternative Approaches" (Henry P. Edwards); "Core French: A Brighter Future" (Janet Poyen, Judy Gibson); "The Parents' Role" (Deborah Whale); "Franco…