The 2023 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages was held in Columbus, Ohio on March 9-11. This year's theme, Empathy, Equity, and Empowerment is reflective of the vital work educators do in classrooms every day across the country. The Wikipedia definition of empathy is "the capacity to understand or feel what another…

Reflecting upon their intercultural experiences, with a tool like the "Autobiography of intercultural encounters," may help adolescents become better interculturalists. This research investigates how the use of the Autobiography may allow adolescents develop intercultural competence (IC). Using Byram's framework on which this tool is…

The purpose of this study was to examine the self-efficacy beliefs of novice elementary French as a second language (FSL) teachers. A mixed methods approach was used to investigate self-efficacy appraisals of core French (n = 14) and French immersion (n = 13) teachers in delivering instruction in FSL programs. A questionnaire was administered that…

This article examines four French immersion (FI) teachers' perspectives on the relationship between language and culture and on their roles as intercultural mediators in New Brunswick (NB), Canada's only officially bilingual province. Data were drawn from semi-structured interviews with the teachers. Couched in the broader framework of Canada's…

This paper looks at reading in French immersion and how learning French is seen more as a skill rather than a social practice that could be examined through a more critical lens. Most of the teachers often teach students how to read but rarely will they discuss the role of French in Canadian society and how this is manifested in the texts they…

This qualitative study explores how parents decide to enroll their children in one-way immersion programs and how the decision is made to continue in those programs at the middle/junior high school level. A total of 131 parents responded to a survey with open-ended questions about these two decisions. Analyzed thematically and within a conceptual…

The purpose of this study was to describe perceptions of stakeholders (leadership of Concordia Language Villages, staff members and villagers of "Lac du Bois", the French Language Village of Concordia Language Villages), related to achievement of the mission statement. The research question was: How do stakeholders in "Lac du…

The 23rd EUROCALL conference was held in Cyprus from the 24th to the 27th of August 2016. The theme of the conference this year was "CALL Communities and Culture." It offered a unique opportunity to hear from real-world CALL practitioners on how they practice CALL in their communities, and how the CALL culture has developed in local and…

Drawing on recent research in first language study and curriculum development, a framework is presented for considering the significance of print in providing informal contact with the target second language. A theoretical rationale for exploring culture and language within a whole-language, literature-based context is provided. (25 references)…

Short stays, such as a summer course, in the country where the target language is spoken have been recognized as advantageous to the second language learner. However, they have not been the object of much research. Therefore, a study was carried out to describe changes of attitudes towards country, culture, and language learning which occurred…

Discusses and compares the relative effects of a French immersion program in two different settings: a French-speaking setting in Quebec and an English setting in British Columbia. No clear-cut differences in favor of either setting were found, although students in the French setting reacted more favorably to their program. (PJM)

This handbook, designed to assist foreign language teachers in planning and executing a language immersion/homestay program for their students, is based on a successful program in Switzerland undertaken by Northport (New York) High School French teachers in 1980. The material is presented in three parts: (1) preparation of the exchange, including…

This paper focuses on teaching varieties of French spoken outside of France, examining how best to introduce American students to French spoken in many francophone communities. Highlighting the notions of functional competence and pedagogical norm as central criteria for developing effective, but realistic, curricula for introducing Quebec French…

A presentation of a study and evaluation of a late-immersion French program in British Columbia. Grade Ten students took one semenster in which French was the only language of instruction. Proficiency of these students increased significantly. The findings, along with previous research, suggest that late immersion is a feasible option. (AMH)

Although drama has been used successfully in English as a second language and has been shown to have positive effects on achievement and on self-confidence and motivation in various studies, it has received little attention in French immersion context where subjects are taught in French, the second language of students. The objective of this study…