This article serves as the introduction to this special issue of "Language Teaching Research" on content-based language teaching (CBLT). The article first provides an illustrative overview of the myriad contexts in which CBLT has been implemented and then homes in on the five studies comprising the special issue, each conducted in a…

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…

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…

Identifies key components of U.S. Language immersion programs and offers a description of existing partial and full immersion schools. The survey parallels information-gathering efforts in Canada and Europe by providing details and summaries of demographic information, teachers, materials, target language proficiency and use, program structure and…

This case study focuses on a team of middle school teachers in a two-way immersion bilingual education program. The report explores the following questions: How does the organizational structure of the middle school under study promote or impede professional networks among the teachers? What type of teaching-learning practices do these forces…

This book is designed as both a methods text and practical guide for school districts and teachers involved in foreign language instruction at the elementary and middle school levels (grades K-8). Its primary concern is with majority-language speakers and with beginning-level classes. Brief introductory sections outline key concepts for success.…

Materials used in conducting a conference workshop on language immersion are presented, including an introductory overview, a guide for observing and analyzing immersion instruction, findings resulting from analysis of the program in question, and the text of a related presentation made at the same conference. The introductory section describes…