During the first half of the twentieth century in British Columbia, French language was considered a school subject to be taught as any other using formal classical approaches. Generally, no specific provincial or local policies existed to guide how French was taught and learned. By 1981, however, British Columbia had developed explicit language…

To investigate the role of context in reading development, a comparison of reading comprehension and processes was conducted between learners of Japanese as a second language in study abroad (SA; n = 15) and intensive domestic (in the United States) immersion (IM; n = 15) contexts. A significant difference was found between contexts in pretest to…

Recent research by Swain (2000a, 2000b, 1998, 1995), Swain and Lapkin (2001, 1998, 1995) and Kowal and Swain (1997, 1994) has examined the role of collaborative tasks in focusing immersion students' attention on the need for explicit knowledge of grammatical forms and lexical items in the production (especially written) of French texts. This is…

Computer games are no longer just for entertainment; they have also become a useful instructional strategy for acquiring knowledge. When games are used for purposes other than strict entertainment they become serious games. The goal of serious games is to enable the player to learn a task, master a strategy or develop a skill. Serious games can be…

The purpose of this manual, which accompanies a video program, is to provide an overview of four immersion teacher tasks for elementary foreign language teachers who are, or soon will be, teaching in a total or partial immersion classroom. Part of a series of video programs, this manual is intended to provide basic information, models, and…

The purpose of this manual, which accompanies a video program, is to provide general background information for foreign language teachers who are, or soon will be, teaching in total, partial, or two-way immersion classrooms. Part of a series of video programs, this manual highlights special considerations in teaching language arts in kindergarten…

The purpose of this manual, which accompanies a video program, is to provide general background information for foreign language teachers who are, or soon will be, teaching in total, partial, or two-way immersion classrooms. Part of a series of video programs, this manual highlights special immersion programs for immersion teachers while planning…

Four common myths or misconceptions in the United States about language are discussed, drawing on historical evidence and contemporary data. These myths are that: (1) the predominance of English and English literacy is threatened; (2) English literacy is the only literacy worth noting; (3) English illiteracy is high because language minorities are…

In contrast to other volumes on language immersion programs that have discussed language outcomes, this book focuses on how teachers and school administrators implement and carry on the daily operations of immersion schooling. It chronicles a 2-year research project that involved the staff and principals of two immersion schools in the midwest, in…

A report prepared for the U.S. Department of Education on three school program models for limited-English-speaking children is examined. The models include a structured English immersion strategy and early-exit and late-exit bilingual education. The report describes the three models, reviews evidence of their relative effectiveness, and assesses…

A discussion of bilingual education in the Basque Country of Spain presents and compares three language education program/policy models: (1) the traditional approach to language instruction as a subject area, found to be minimally effective in developing second language skills; (2) partial immersion, originally with instruction almost exclusively…

The report looks at programs and approaches for educating students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It is intended as a guide for school and district decision-makers to help them identify instructional approaches and programs appropriate to their students' needs. Four program alternatives are discussed: newcomer programs;…

This personal narrative of an Arapaho teacher compares the development of an indigenous language program to running the gauntlet. On the Wind River Reservation (Wyoming), Arapaho instruction was introduced in reservation schools during the late 1970s. By 1984, it was taught in grades K-12, but for only 15 minutes per day. Although recordings of…

This study examined the strategies that 12 kindergarten and first-grade French immersion students in Ontario developed for oral communication and the contexts of such communication. Over the course of the school year each student was videotaped once a month in various classroom settings. The transcriptions of student conversations and utterances…

Intended for distribution to kindergarten teachers, elementary school principals, school superintendents, Manitoba Department of Education, and provincial libraries and universities, this summary report contains a brief description of the 1985 Manitoba Kindergarten Assessment, and presents assessment findings and related recommendations based on…