Colonialism and displacement have not only led to the migration of millions of Irish people and the endangerment of the Irish language, but also to a subjectivity in which it is possible to struggle against the risk of language loss. This paper explores the importance of sharing stories and information about family at second-language Irish…

This paper analyzes how future educators would design their ideal school in the context of the Basque Country, with particular attention put on language planning and language teaching aspects. More specifically, we focus on the ideas about the languages to be included in the curriculum, the modes of inclusion of students' home languages and the…

French immersion (FI) programs in Canada have historically served predominantly Canadian-born, English-speaking students and families in their endeavour to learn both of the country's official languages, French and English. However, FI programs are becoming increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse as a result of increased global…

This study examines the bilingual education in Spain and in Canada, and discusses their historical backgrounds, current bilingual education programs in use, and teacher proficiency within their bilingual education programs. The purpose of this study is to examine these two countries' bilingual education programs and find a way to implement a…

Students of second and international languages in Alberta do not receive sufficient hours of instruction through formal classroom time alone to achieve distinguished levels of proficiency (Archibald, J., Roy, S., Harmel, S., Jesney, K., Dewey, E., Moisik, S., et al., 2006). This research study uses a constructivist approach (Guba & Lincoln,…

Six years ago Project Starship MIR, the Russian language "shuttle," launched at Turnagain Elementary, one of the Anchorage School District's 65 elementary schools. The MIR "peace" mission originated with encouragement from the local business community to prepare students for Alaska's future economic, social and political ties…

A summer English camp language immersion program, which began in 2003, provided instruction by native English speakers to Thai college students via collaboration between Prince of Songkla University in Thailand and Ball State University in Indiana, USA. During this program, Thai students were exposed to English formally through classroom…

The attitudes and behaviours of majority language speakers have an important impact on minority languages, and it has been claimed that the long-term success of minority language initiatives may only be achievable if some degree of favourable opinion, or "tolerability", of these initiatives is secured among majority language speakers.…

Differences between early and late Irish-immersion secondary school students are examined, not only in terms of academic outcome and target language ability, but also in terms of attitudes to learning the target language. Participants included a gender-balanced group of 97 students in Irish-immersion in fourth year of secondary school (mean age…

It is an underlying principle of Australian Education Review (AER) 54 that active efforts should be made to cultivate the latent bilingual potential within Australia's wider population and that this should be linked to major improvements in the quality of language teaching in schools. A combined approach of this kind will require investment in…

A study of 127 French immersion students in Alberta found over two-thirds never read in French for pleasure outside school, a finding not influenced by gender, French reading achievement, or attitude towards reading in French. However, students benefitted from some methods used by teachers to stimulate reading. (51 references) (Author/MSE)

Reports the case studies of three trilingual elementary school children in separate Vancouver (British Columbia) early French immersion classes, focusing on themes emerging from analysis related to the children's literacy practices and contexts for language learning, and the teachers' perceptions of these students and representations of…

This study evaluated a partial-immersion program in French in Victoria, Australia, an area in which little research has been conducted to date. The program has operated at an elementary school since 1991 and is the first English/French program of its kind in Victoria. French is the language of instruction for at least 40 percent of classes, with…

An interview with Guy Roy, adjunct minister of education and professional education in Manitoba (Canada), explores the role of French, French language instruction, and French-language education outside Quebec Province, and specifically in Manitoba. Issues discussed include language and cultural maintenance, immersion education, language attitudes,…

A study investigated the processes underlying acquisition of French by students in two late immersion programs (grades 8-10) in Queensland (Australia). Focus is on three features: the cooperative learning situation that developed, idiosyncratic language that emerged, and students' patterns of socialization. (31 references) (Author/MSE)