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…

Bilingual education has been an educational option in many countries for over 50 years but it remains controversial, especially in terms of its appropriateness for all children. The present review examines research evaluating the outcomes of bilingual education for language and literacy levels, academic achievement, and suitability for children…

Research has demonstrated that second language immersion is an effective means of facilitating primary school students' second language acquisition without undermining their competence in their first language. Despite the rapid growth of Chinese-English bilingual programmes in China, limited empirical research has been conducted thus far by which…

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…

Argues, on the basis of research carried out in Canada and Belgium, that not only does the formal learning of the ancestral language in school enhance the overall cognitive abilities of immigrant children but also constitutes the optimal means by which such children can gain literacy in the dominant language. (37 references) (MDM)

This document discusses research findings related to the question of how long language minority students need special services such as English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses or bilingual education before they develop oral and academic English proficiency. It draws conclusions based on a study of four different school districts, two in…

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…

Describing and defining bilingual-bicultural education, this brief publication is written to encourage the development of Canada Native Bilingual-Bicultural education programs. Specifically, this publication addresses the following: language needs of native peoples; bilingualism defined (functioning in 2 languages); biculturalism defined…

This article is an evaluation of a bilingual program for first in five Edmonton public schools. Half of the instruction was conducted in Ukrainian (Ukrainian oral language arts, social studies, music, art, physical education) and half in English (English language arts, mathematics, science). (CFM)

Presents the results of the 1974-75 evaluation of the bilingual education program initiated in 1970 by the Elgin County Board of Education in St. Thomas, Ontario. The study covers grades 2 to 5 and is a follow-up to previous evaluations. (Author/CFM)

Eighty fourth-graders enrolled in an English/French bilingual program in Canada were administered an auditory skills battery of six tests to measure auditory discrimination and short-term auditory memory. It was concluded that a relationship exists between certain auditory perceptual abilities and school achievement independent of cognitive…

Second language immersion programs, originally developed in Canada some 20 years ago, have been implemented in a number of U.S. cities. Alternative forms of U.S. programs are described--enriched, magnet, and two-way bilingual--and research findings pertaining to the effectiveness of each are summarized and discussed. (Author)

A comparison was made of an early French immersion program and an English language elementary program. Major trends resulting from the comparison are summarized. Comments and criticisms are made by three guest analysts. (RM)

Analysis of Ontario standardized-test scores indicates that French-immersion students, who had lagged behind regular English-program students in grade 3, had comparable or higher achievement scores in reading, writing, and mathematics by grade 6. Little support was found for possible explanations involving selective attrition of weaker students…

This paper discusses the question of whether, in a multilingual society, the child's first or second language is best as a language of instruction in primary school. Reviewing eight case studies from seven countries in which initial primary schooling was given either in the second or first language, the discussion compares achievement in reading…