Early and Middle French Immersion Programs: French Language Outcomes

Children learning to read in two languages are faced with orthographic features from both languages, either unique to a language or similar across languages. In the present study, we examined how children develop orthographic processing skills over time (from grade 1 to grade 2) with a sample of Canadian children attending a French immersion program and we investigated the underlying factor structure of orthographic skills across English and French. Two orthographic processing tasks were administered in both languages: lexical orthographic processing (e.g. choose the correct spelling from people–peeple) and sub-lexical orthographic processing (e.g. which is the more word-like vaid–vayd?), which included both language-specific and language-shared orthographic regularities. Children’s performances in sub-lexical tasks increased with grade but were comparable across languages. Further, evidence for a one factor model including all measures suggested that there is a common underlying orthographic processing skill that cuts across measurement and language variables. Keywords: orthographic processing; reading; French immersion; bilinguals; second language learners

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Gifted and Nongifted Students’ Reasons for Leaving French-Immersion Programs

Gifted and Talented International ◽

10.1080/15332276.1996.11672838 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 31-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Susan R. Karovitch ◽

Bruce M. Shore ◽

Marcia A. B. Delcourt

Keyword(s):

French Immersion ◽

Immersion Programs

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Are French Immersion Programs Suitable for Working-Class Children? A Follow-up Investigation

WORD ◽

10.1080/00437956.1971.11435629 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 27 (1-3) ◽

pp. 311-341 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Margaret Bruck ◽

Jola Jakimik ◽

G. Richard Tucker

Keyword(s):

Working Class ◽

French Immersion ◽

Immersion Programs

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Instructional Strategies and SLA in Early French Immersion

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263100011980 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 245-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Birgit Harley

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Instructional Strategies ◽

Experimental Research ◽

French Immersion ◽

School Based ◽

Immersion Programs ◽

Clear Conception

Examining the role of instruction in second language acquisition (SLA) entails not only a specification of what aspects of SLA stand to be affected but also a clear conception of what is meant by instruction. In this paper the potential of various instructional strategies for promoting SLA among child second language (L2) learners is considered in relation to empirical findings in early French immersion programs. Several principles are proposed concerning the what, when, and how of code-focused L2 instruction in a communicatively oriented school-based acquisition context. These proposals need to be put to the test in further experimental research.

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From sound to syntax: phonological constraints on children's lexical categorization of new words

Journal of Child Language ◽

10.1017/s0305000908009252 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 967-997 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

STANKA A. FITNEVA ◽

MORTEN H. CHRISTIANSEN ◽

PADRAIC MONAGHAN

Keyword(s):

French Language ◽

French Immersion ◽

Extensive Experience ◽

New Words ◽

Phonological Knowledge ◽

English Speaking ◽

Language Environment ◽

Computational Analyses ◽

The Relationship

ABSTRACTTwo studies examined the role of phonological cues in the lexical categorization of new words when children could also rely on learning by exclusion and whether the role of phonology depends on extensive experience with a language. Phonological cues were assessed via phonological typicality – an aggregate measure of the relationship between the phonology of a word and the phonology of words in the same lexical class. Experiment 1 showed that when monolingual English-speaking seven-year-olds could rely on learning by exclusion, phonological typicality only affected their initial inferences about the words. Consistent with recent computational analyses, phonological cues had stronger impact on the processing of verb-like than noun-like items. Experiment 2 revealed an impact of French on the performance of seven-year-olds in French immersion when tested in a French language environment. Thus, phonological knowledge may affect lexical categorization even in the absence of extensive experience.

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Optimal Entry Point for French Immersion

Revue de l’Université de Moncton ◽

10.7202/017704ar ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 27-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Joan Netten

Keyword(s):

Bilingual Education ◽

Entry Point ◽

French Immersion ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Immersion Education ◽

Immersion Programs

Abstract This discussion will be divided into three sections. In the first, I wish to present for your consideration certain general principles of bilingual education which need to be taken into account in making decisions about entry into immersion programs. Secondly, we will examine the three major forms of immersion education, early, middle and late, to determine the advantages and disadvantages of each, and lastly, I will share with you my perceptions as to which point might be considered an optimal one for entry into French immersion.

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French-Medium Instruction in Anglophone Canadian Higher Education: The Plurilingual Complexity of Students and Their Instructors

Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics ◽

10.37213/cjal.2021.29345 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 181-204

Author(s):

Steve Marshall ◽

Danièle Moore ◽

Mariko Himeta

Keyword(s):

Classroom Practices ◽

French Language ◽

French Immersion ◽

Western Canada ◽

Personal Beliefs ◽

Canadian Higher Education ◽

Normative Practices ◽

One Year ◽

The University ◽

Professional Dilemma

In this article, we analyze the plurilingualism of instructors and their students in a program taught through the medium of French at a multilingual, Anglophone university in Western Canada. We employ the lenses of plurilingualism and plurilingual competence in the analysis of data from a one-year qualitative study of plurilingualism across the disciplines at the university. We analyze interview data and students’ writing samples, focusing on how French and other languages are used by instructors and students in classes, and on the professional dilemma that instructors face in such courses: are they disciplinary experts and/or French immersion teachers? In our discussion, we suggest that instructors’ and students’ classroom practices are the result of several factors, including institutional discourses around plurilingualism and the French language, personal beliefs and ideologies, experiences of mobility from France and Quebec to British Columbia (instructors), and normative practices previously experienced in French immersion schools (students).

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