Describes the use of illuminative techniques in the formative evaluation of a sheltered immersion project in Geneva, Switzerland. Interviews and questionnaires with students and teachers were used in subsequent teacher workshops. This process resulted in positive feedback from the principal and the teachers involved in this project. (Contains six…

Describes an English immersion "Bridge Program" for Hong Kong children that aims to provide a bridge between primary schooling in Chinese and secondary schooling in English. Also discussed are the role of communicative language teaching in content subject teaching, theoretical assumptions of Canadian immersion programs and the Bridge…

Describes a teacher research project, designed to motivate 8th-grade Spanish students, that involved creating a unit based on a Zapotec story. Only Spanish was spoken in the classroom. The researcher investigated students' reactions to having Spanish-only lessons focusing on the story. Interviews indicated that students found the class more…

Discusses why, where, and when two-way immersion programs were created; how they are being implemented (student population, program features, teachers, and instructional features); and what effects they are having, noting some of the issues that are emerging as this model gains popularity (e.g., minority languages other than Spanish, preserving…

In 1998, California voters approved Initiative 227, requiring that all limited-English children be provided an English-immersion program for 1 year or longer as needed. Hispanic parents are leaders in the movement. Dire predictions that bilingual children in English-language classrooms would fall behind have not materialized. (Contains 18…

This article examines the sociolinguistic competence of French immersion students. We first present an overview of the range of variation found in L1 speech and make a distinction between vernacular, informal, formal, and hyper-formal variants. We then compare the use of these forms in the speech of Canadian francophones and Grade 9 and 12…

In this article, the author describes a program of Eastern Cherokee ancestral language restoration in Cherokee, North Carolina. One of the primary goals of the program is to enhance the self-concept of the children and motivate the students to experience academic excitement and success. The use of authentic legends and stories is one method…

Existing programs using language immersion strategies for teaching language-minority children in the United States are described. In those programs, instruction is conducted in English at a level understood by the limited-English-speaking students, the teacher is bilingual in the non-English home language, the teacher generally speaks only in…

A formative evaluation wae made of immersion weekends sponsored by the French center to determine how improvements in the role of monitors can enhance the oral production of students. Two weekends were observed and some in-service training with evaluator and monitors was held between the weekends. Three instruments were used to categorize and…

Discusses the schooling of Mexican American and Puerto Rican children in U.S. schools prior to 1960. Describes policies that aimed to force acculturation, ban the use of Spanish, and channel Hispanic children into programs that virtually guaranteed that they would pursue low status occupations. (GC)

This paper advocates that Wisconsin teachers of French should participate in immersion programs for each Department of Instruction recertification cycle. Typically, teachers obtain their immersion experience in France, initially as undergraduate students and subsequently as tour guides for their own students. The paper suggests that North American…

Describes the birth of French immersion programs in the Montreal elementary schools. (AM)

Inter-American Magnet School in Chicago, a highly acclaimed Spanish-English dual-language elementary school, established pull-out English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes to provide extra English instruction, primarily for new immigrants. Describes the school's founding and development, students, innovative bilingual staff, multicultural…

Overviews recent developments in immersion language programs in Australia, contrasting the Australian experience with that of other countries. Findings indicate that the most promising developments at the tertiary level are teacher education programs with content-based instruction in the target language and an emerging focus on combining intensive…

Describes two African American immersion schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which opened in 1990 and 1991 to serve as models for the city's public school system and effectively combat the failure of this system to successfully educate African American students. The schools signified a new direction of educational reform in the city following more…