Van Lier's [2004. "The Ecology and Semiotics of Language Learning: A Sociocultural Perspective." Boston: Kluwer Academy] concept of ecology of language learning is applicable to our focus on children's active engagement in bilingual preschool classroom activities, which are conducive to language learning. The aim of this study was to…

This study was designed to investigate the nature of activities in an immersion English class and a non-immersion English class in the mainland of China, and to find out the differences between these two types of class through data gained from observation and interviews. Spoken discourse analysis was used to analyze the data, where Engestrom's…

What is the role of the teacher in developing learner autonomy? The limited research in this area is seldom situated in theory and often based on self-reported data. This study is situated in sociocultural theory and draws on two constructs, the zone of proximal development and imitation, to explain the teacher's role in developing autonomy. The…

This paper explores L2 novices' ways of soliciting teacher attention, more specifically, their summonses. The data are based on detailed analyses of video recordings in a Swedish language immersion classroom. The analyses illuminate the lexical shape of summonses in conjunction with prosody, body posture, gestures, and classroom artefacts. As…

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…

Study of the effects of a functional approach to grammar teaching on a sixth-grade French immersion class found that those subjects exposed to an experimental set of teaching materials outperformed control subjects at the end of eight weeks. There were no significant differences between the groups after three months. (Author/CB)

Focuses on research addressing how to integrate content and language teaching, with specific reference to studies conducted in French immersion classrooms. Findings indicate that teachers should structure activities to incorporate a focus on form into content teaching through teacher-led instruction and collaborative tasks with peers. (21…

This booklet, based on a nationwide study of elementary school foreign language programs, addresses the following topics: (1) why students should learn a foreign language; (2) information that may help persons select and initiate a specific type of program; and (3) a detailed description of three elementary school approaches used in the country…

Drawing on data from a yearlong qualitative study of a primary-grade English immersion class of Spanish-dominant Latina and Latino students, the author analyzes bilingual children's acts of translation during classroom activities. After pointing out the numerous positive benefits that resulted from these acts, the author suggests that encouraging…

A study examined minority-language use at a Tucson (Arizona) dual-language school and shifting patterns of language dominance in the surrounding Mexican American neighborhood. The minority-language resources most immediately available--held by fluent bilingual elders and recent Mexican immigrants--were less used than those of majority-language…

A study investigated the use of content-based tasks as central and peripheral in second language instruction. Specifically, it examined the relative effects of such tasks that were either central to the syllabus, as sources of knowledge or skills in their own right, or peripheral, as occasional source of language practice. The study was conducted…

Dual language education is a programme that combines language minority and language majority students for instruction through two languages. This book provides the conceptual background for the programme and discusses major implementation issues. Research findings summarize language proficiency and achievement outcomes from 8000 students at 20…