A study indicates that students in French immersion programs in Canadian schools achieve superior progress in French and equal skill in English relative to students in partial immersion classes or traditional second-language study. (CK)

This report constitutes a synthesis of 10 years of research which was conducted to assist Ontario boards of education in implementing and evaluating French immersion programs in their jurisdictions. The immersion programs evaluated include three major alternatives: (1) the early total French immersion programs of the Carleton, Ottawa, and Toronto…

Summarizes an evaluation of an early French immersion program at grades 6 and 8. In English language skills, immersion students performed as well as, or better than, English-only program groups; in mathematics and sciences, immersion students did as well as their comparison group. Other findings are discussed. (PJM)

This bibliography lists articles on bilingual education and elementary level French immersion programs for English-speaking children. (RM)

In discussing the problems of evaluating Canadian bilingual immersion programs, six related aspects are separately considered: (1) the research design, (2) the students tested, (3) the nature of the tests used, (4) the methods of analysis employed, and (5) the interpretation of findings. (Author/SJL)

Research is presented in support of the theory that early French immersion of English-speaking children leads to bilingualism. The evidence is limited to children through the end of grade four. Comments and criticisms are made by three guest analysts. (RM)

A discussion of three possible formats of a bilingual education program: early total immersion, early partial immersion and late partial immersion. A French cloze test was used to evaluate the lead group of students in each program. A tentative conclusion is drawn in favor of the early total immersion program. (AMH)

The fact that early immersion in a second language has led to bilingualism and academic success among majority language children has been used as an argument against mother tongue instruction for minority language children. However, for minority language children, immersion in a second language has often led to language loss and academic failure.…

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…

It has been shown that students in North America can learn both a foreign language and subject matter taught in that language at the same time successfully. The immersion model is first examined for the majority group child, then considered for several target groups. (SCC)

The school performance of pupils in grades 2-4 of the French immersion program in operation in the Ottawa-Carleton public schools is evaluated in comparison with the performance of those in the regular English program. The results indicate that by the end of grade 2, pupils in the immersion program show the same level of cognitive development as…

The school performance of pupils in grades 1-3 of the French immersion program in operation in Ottawa public schools is evaluated in comparison with that of pupils in the regular English program. The results indicate that by the end of grade 1 immersion program pupils taught reading in French are found to lag behind their peers in the regular…

The basic language issues in Canada are two-fold: (1) French-Canadians are making serious attempts to maintain their native language and culture, and a move towards French unilingualism is apparent; (2) English-Canadians are showing increasing interest in becoming bilingual, mainly because they are not threatened by native language loss or by…

This pilot study investigates the performance in French of five English-speaking children, who are enrolled in their sixth year of a primary French immersion program in a Toronto elementary school. From speech data obtained in individual interviews, an analysis is made of the students' control of the French verb system. The subjects are found to…

This paper presents the findings of the last completed evaluation of a partial immersion program in St. Thomas, Ontario, which involves the use of French as the medium of instruction for half the school day and English for the other half, beginning in Grade One. Unlike the previous evaluation, in the current one a Canadian-normed instrument was…