Research on stakeholder perspectives in language immersion contexts is relatively new (Padron & Waxman, 2016; Whitacre, 2015). This current qualitative research examined perspectives of stakeholders at a mini-conference for immersion educators and administrators called Conversations in Immersion. The mini-conference encouraged immersion…

This study examined seven Louisiana kindergarten immersion teachers' practices to evaluate students' oral target language production and compare the oral production elicited when different instructional practices were used over a single semester. Three rounds of three 20-minute observations in three different contexts--circle time, direct…

At the intersection of social studies and world language curricula are opportunities to explore students' prior learning with vocabulary-rich content designed to support language acquisition goals. "Funds of knowledge" is defined as socio-cultural, economic, and historical knowledge from home and community settings. The instructional…

This ethnographic case study explores school culture through the lens of Dewey's (1915/2001) belief in the importance of creating schools with a sense of community in which all members are indispensable to the whole. Three aspects of the foreign language immersion curriculum at South Boulevard Elementary lead to a culture of community: commitment…

From 1969 to the late 1980's, most French programs in schools were based on a traditional foreign language instructional model, usually offering 30 minutes a day of French language instruction in elementary grades, increasing to 50 minutes a day in middle school. Contingent on funding and political swings over time, programs expanded from…

In this article, I--a White, French-immersion teacher-researcher--engage in a reflective examination of my research and teaching practices involving African American students. My critical reflection of my research examines the instruments used in my comparative study of African American students' experiences in the French-immersion context and the…

These three journals include articles on issues related to language learning. The fall 1998 journal presents: "Attention! Are You Seeking a Position with Excellent Long-Term Benefits? Be an Advocate!" (Mary Lynn Redmond); "National Town Meeting Energizes Support for Early Language Learning" (Marcia Harmon Rosenbusch);…

The Louisiana guide for administration of secondary language programs in grades 4-8 outlines the state foreign language mandate and offers guidelines and suggestions for a variety of program elements. An introductory section gives the broad rationale for foreign language instruction and cites the state mandate. The guide then proceeds to specify:…