Difficulties faced in evaluations that include data in a language not native to the evaluators or that lie outside the evaluators' cultural experience are discussed. Improvements to credibility and fairness from using a cross-cultural, bilingual evaluation are described and illustrated through evaluation of a language immersion program in Hawaii.…

A study investigated parent attitudes toward a dual-language (Spanish/English) immersion program of bilingual education, in which both English-speakers and non-English-speakers are participating students and English is used no more than 50 percent of the time for instruction. The 20-item (agree/disagree format) survey elicited opinions from 200…

A report is presented of an evaluation study that was set up to monitor the effects of a bilingual program on students' progress in all subject areas, its effects on student attitudes towards the French language and culture, and the patterns of language usage in the bilingual classroom. The sample for the study consisted of three groups: a…

Experiential learning and experiential education are defined and compared to classroom-based learning. Scandinavian Seminar, an American-Scandinavian organization with a one-year independent living and learning program, is described. The process of second-language learning, cultural immersion, and attitudes in language learning are discussed. (MLW)

Depicts the state of two-way immersion programs in the United States. Data indicate that these programs educate nonnative- English-speaking students, expand the nation's language resources by conserving the native-language skills of minority students and developing second-language skills in English-speaking students, and enhance crosscultural…

The French immersion experience in Montreal, since its inception in 1965, is considered highly successful. Despite critics who note that its results fall short of perfect bilingualism, French immersion has achieved what it set out to accomplish: functional bilingual competencies. In doing so, French immersion has challenged many assumptions about…

Argues that the ways in which other languages, such as Spanish, have been dealt with in the schools, particularly in bilingual programs, should not be applied to Pueblo languages. Pueblo culture, history, and politics have evolved a different way of thinking about language and require different educational solutions. Partnerships between Pueblo…

A study of elementary school foreign language programs in eight states yielded information about the status and design of language immersion, revitalized foreign language in the elementary schools (FLES), and foreign language experience (FLEX) programs. Immersion programs consist of the usual curriculum content presented entirely in a second…

Discusses why the right of access to the socioeconomically dominant symbolic resource, English, is a fundamental language right of Hong Kong children. Discusses why current English curricula design and practices do not provide such access and how they can be changed to provide Hong Kong with access to an English education that is compatible with…

There are many untested, long-held assumptions within the field of study abroad concerning the impact of program elements such as study duration, language of instruction, program models, and student housing choices. One assumption embraced within the field is that direct enrollment (or full immersion) programs are more effective at achieving a…

Over the last 30 years, inquiry-based teaching has become a highly valued component of professional development and practitioner research in Australia and New Zealand. This volume of the Language Teacher Research Series focuses on teaching and learning experiences in those two countries, which encompass a large geographical area with diverse…

This report describes a program that was designed to end the isolation typically experienced by language minority students in traditional bilingual education and to provide language majority students the opportunity to acquire proficiency in a second Language. The program served 4 classes of approximately 22 students each (85 students) in…

In September 1980, the Board of Education of the City of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Justice signed a consent degree that committed the board to the development of a comprehensive student desegregation plan to remedy the effects of past segregation on Black and Hispanic students. To fulfill the goals of the Chicago Desegregation Plan,…

A study compared language skill development and cultural attitudes of second-grade children taught in an additive-bilingual program setting with those of second-grade children from a monolingual classroom setting. Subjects were 41 second-grade children participating in a Spanish immersion program and 19 children from a regular second-grade…

The Colorado State University Foreign Language Weekend Camps (also called the "Poor Man's Study Abroad") are described in this report. Developed to provide an international component and a mini foreign experience for the university's students, the camps are designed to accomplish several purposes including: to offer both foreign and…