Dual language education programs have become extremely popular. Although these programs share common characteristics, they vary in several respects. Programs use different languages and include students with varying characteristics. For instance, many of these programs include students with fluent English proficiency and those with limited English…

In recent years, numerous educational programmes have been developed that have been aimed at raising the academic achievement and wider participation of Pasifika students in New Zealand society. One example of this, which has to date only been explored at local school level, is bilingual/immersion education. The arguments underlying this paper are…

Magnet schools have developed strong national and local constituencies among parents and educators, who see them as vehicles for bringing equity and academic excellence to all students. Typically, these schools offer innovative programs through a specialized focus or theme. They may emphasize subjects like science or the arts, or they may adopt…

This overview of research focuses on the characteristics of immersion programs in the Ottawa area. These are primary-entry, late-entry (grade 6 or 7), and secondary level bilingual programs. The following matters are treated: tests and testing conditions; comparisons with Canadian Public Service language requirements; comparisons between groups…

A decade of research on immersion programs in Ontario is synthesized. The immersion programs studied over this period include three major alternatives: early total French immersion, early partial French immersion, and late partial French immersion. The programs all serve an English speaking students population, devote at least one half of each…

Achievement in French and English language skills and in mathematics is compared among groups of immersion students in Grades 3, 6, and 9 in the province of Manitoba. Comparisons are also made between these groups of immersion students and a sample of students whose native language is French. Different types of programs (early and late, total and…

A discussion of the effect of an immersion program on the majority language child. Research is reviewed on the "threshold hypothesis" and "the developmental interdependence hypothesis." Recent studies of the cognitive and academic effects of bilingualism are critically examined in the light of these hypotheses. A bibliography…

The Carpinteria Preschool Spanish Immersion Project was developed to bring Spanish speaking children to a level in school readiness skills that matched English dominant children upon entrance to kindergarten. A description of the program and its effectiveness is offered. (DF)

This update summarizes the first 2 years of a 5-year evaluation of the implementation of California's Proposition 227 (which replaces the state's bilingual education programs with 1-year English immersion programs) and its effects on the education of English language learners (ELLs). Researchers used the percentage of ELLs receiving primary…

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence that participation in a two-way bilingual elementary program has had on former program participants' language and achievement outcomes; current schooling path and college plans; and attitudes toward school, self, and others. Study participants were current high school students who were…

Presents the 1979 evaluation of the Peel County (Ontario) late immersion French program, in the context of some current issues in second language education in Canada. These include the comparative effectiveness of early and late immersion, the importance of intense exposure, and total accumulated hours of instruction. (Author/AMH)

Based on a literacy interdependence theory, uses findings from the Ramirez et al. study on programs for Spanish-speaking, limited-English-proficient students to refute theories opposing bilingual education. Expresses concern that all three program types in the Ramirez study reflect transmission models of pedagogy in which students have little…

Reviews the reported findings and implications of the Ramirez et al. study. Examines the validity of the operational definitions of the program types and the degree of implementation of the models. Discusses the seven major findings of the study, and some possibly misleading conclusions. (KS)

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…

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…