The purpose of this review is to provide a comparison of reading outcomes of the two most popular bilingual programs in the United States: Transitional Bilingual Education and Two-way Bilingual programs. To provide context, we present a theoretical framework and a brief historical perspective on how these programs came to gain popularity. We…

Focuses on the setting up and evaluation of a primary school German program in Melbourne using modified immersion principles. During the evaluation, this program was compared to a more traditional second-language program and one in which immersion principles operated to a lesser extent. How the evaluation was able to contribute to policy is…

The characteristics of Canadian language immersion, bilingual education, and modified immersion programs are described, and their characteristics are compared with research findings on the characteristics of effective dual language programs. The information provided is intended to assist policymakers, educators, and community leaders in making…

Following a brief history of bilingual education (BE), the author makes a meta-evaluation assessment of BE research, arguing that the findings are not so contradictory if one examines the theoretical frameworks chosen by the researchers. The equilibrium and conflict paradigms and the structural-functional theory are considered. (SJL)

A review of the research on Canadian immersion programs supports two notions regarding second language learning: (1) older learners may have as much learning success as younger learners, and in a shorter time period; and (2) integration of content teaching and language teaching is paramount in effective second language instruction. (29 references)…

Presents a comparison of two types of compact disc (CD-ROM) foreign language tutorials: (1) those made by publishers who favor an immersion approach; and (2) those made by publishers who use grammar-based approaches. Both types of CD-ROMs address various age groups, skill levels, and learning styles. (JMV)

The El Paso (Texas) Independent School District's district-wide program in majority-language (English) immersion is examined to determine the source of its success. The program's similarities to and differences from the Canadian immersion model are explored. The program's superior results in comparison with the same district's transitional…

Several research and evaluation studies completed in bilingual education programs for language minority children in Canada are presented to support the claim that heritage, or first, language (HL) literacy plays an important role in the acquisition of a third language. A study completed by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education…

A comparison of the salient characteristics of Canadian and United States bilingual education programs suggests various settings where it would be desirable to introduce children to schooling in their home language. These settings include: (1) the various ethnic communities in the United States, (2) multilingual developing countries, (3) parts of…

The report reviews current research findings related to the three entry points (early, middle, late) for French immersion programs in Ottawa (Ontario) elementary and secondary schools. It consists of: an executive summary and brief overview; an annotated bibliography covering authoritative immersion research reviews and reports published since…