Study of the second language retention of students who completed a seven-year elementary Spanish immersion program found that some language loss occurred soon after program termination, with greatest loss in productive skills. Findings suggested that attitudinal predisposition influenced the extent to which students retained their Spanish skills.…

The results of a study involving 18 students from a grade 8 early French immersion class support the argument that in producing a second language, learners will on occasion become aware of a linguistic problem and modify their output. (41 references) (MDM)

Attitudes of four groups of elementary school students toward 10 socially relevant concepts, e.g., "self,""monolingual French Canadians,""bilingual English Canadians," and other areas are studied. Two of the groups were grade five and six English-speaking Canadian Students who had participated in either an…

Suggests that in certain regions of the country such as Iowa, two foreign language goals should take precedence over the goal of language proficiency in elementary schools: (1) to introduce children to other languages and cultures, and (2) to show that they can learn to communicate successfully in another language. (SED)

Findings and conclusions of three studies are reported: (1) comparison of two variations of a French core program, (2) an enrichment program attempting to change attitudes, and (3) a comparison between an immersion program and an intensive program. Three guest analysts comment and criticize. (Author/RM)

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…

Examined the ability of Grade 8 intermediate and advanced learners of French to collaboratively complete a text reconstruction task, focusing on the students' discussion of the form of the message they were constructing. Results indicated that students gained awareness of gaps in their existing knowledge and links between the form, function, and…

The present paper questions the validity of Macnamara's (1966) finding that teaching arithmetic through a bilingual's weaker language leads to retardation in problem arithmetic. By comparing the performance of immersion pupils on an Irish (as a second language) version of the problem arithmetic test with the performance of non-immersion pupils on…

This study sought to examine to what extent language learners in an immersion classroom used their native language and the foreign language when performing the cognitive operations involved in math word problems. Thirty-two third- through sixth-graders in a Spanish immersion program participated in the study. Data were collected through: (1)…

A study investigated parent attitudes toward a dual-language (Spanish/English) immersion program of bilingual education, in which both English-speakers and non-English-speakers are participating students and English is used no more than 50 percent of the time for instruction. The 20-item (agree/disagree format) survey elicited opinions from 200…

This paper cites observational and interview evidence indicating that language immersion students in the United States and Canada increasingly avoid using their second language in peer interactions as they move into higher primary grade levels. Implications for immersion programs and teachers are discussed. (32 references) (MDM)

This guide is intended as a reference for both parents and teachers concerning the design and objectives of two-way bilingual language immersion programs in elementary schools, including procedures and considerations in the creation of a new program. The first section looks at the role of language immersion as a form of enrichment education, and…

The annual evaluation of an English-German bilingual education program in the Edmonton Public Schools, extending from kindergarten through grade 4 at the time of evaluation, is presented. The current evaluation focuses on grade 2 and 3 achievement in English language arts and mathematics, self-esteem, cognitive development, German language skills,…

This report describes an experimental intensive core French program for grades 5 and 6 at Churchill Alternative School in Ottawa (Canada). The aim was to improve the oral French skills of core French students by providing a period of intensive exposure to French and by increasing the total number of hours in French during one program year from 120…