Describes immersion programs in the United States and Canada and reviews results of evaluative research pertaining to them. Discusses findings with respect to students' native-language development, academic achievement, and second language proficiency. Also discusses the suitability of immersion for students with distinctive, potentially…

Presents an investigation of a longitudinal study of the development of past tense and plural inflections in elementary school children enrolled in either a French immersion or a traditional English curriculum. The type of program did not influence the rate of acquisition. (Author/BK)

This study examined the factors that best predict which elementary school children will transfer out of a French immersion program. Learner characteristics, teacher and parent evaluations, and family background were examined. Analyses suggest that attitudinal and motivational factors are of primary importance to the continuation of second-language…

Examines the cognitive, academic, social psychological, and linguistic consequences of transferring poor achieving English-speaking students out of French immersion programs. Data suggest that the child's basic cognitive and affective characteristics rather than factors associated with language of instruction influence academic achievement, as…

First-language acquisition of Turkish 4- to 8-year-olds in a Dutch submersion environment in the Netherlands was studied. Investigation of the development of lexical, morphosyntactic, and pragmatic abilities and comparison with children in Turkey suggested that the acquisition of first-language skills by Turkish children in the Netherlands is…

The development of first language skills among native English-speaking students enrolled in early French immersion programs was explored. Preliminary results support the hypothesis that early bilingual schooling enhances the students'performances on various kinds of first language learning tasks. (Author/CB)