Is Bilingual Education Sustainable?

We present cross-sectional research to verify whether learning to read in Italian (the participants’ mother language and majority language) is delayed when simultaneously learning to read in English (a second language not spoken in the country). Available evidence considering the specific combination of bilingual orthographies being acquired suggests that there should not be adverse effects on the Italian literacy outcomes of Italian–English immersion students. To verify this hypothesis, the Italian reading performance of three groups of bilinguals educated in 50:50 Italian–English immersion programs in Grades 1, 3 and 5 were compared to that of three control groups of Italian monolingual peers attending mainstream monolingual Italian schools. The second aim was to examine the impact of an Italian–English immersion program on English language and literacy skills. To pursue this goal, we examined the English performance of the bilingual group across Grades 1, 3, and 5. Finally, we aimed to verify whether the language and reading attainments exhibited by the bilingual children in Italian were correlated to their English performance. The results show that bilingual children were not less proficient in Italian than monolingual children; improvement in English was observed across all grades, and performance in Italian was correlated with performance in English.

Is a One-Way English Immersion Teaching Approach Equitable to Those Chinese Non-English Major Students from Rural Areas?

English is a compulsory course for students in China from primary education to postgraduate education. Recently more and more policymakers at Chinese universities have been forcing English education to be performed using a one-way English immersion approach. In their views, the more English practices in English classes, the better the learners’ learning performance will be. This study adopts a hermeneutics research method, a questionnaire survey and some interviews to investigate the question whether a one-way English immersion teaching approach is equitable to those from rural areas. It finds that this teaching approach is inequitable to those from rural areas in at least three aspects, including increasing their economic burdens, decreasing their English acquisition confidences, and mismatching with their career requirements. The study calls for Chinese policymakers to alter their urban-centered viewpoints toward English education, and English teachers to enrich the English teaching approaches in the future and pay more attention to the future career requirements of those from rural areas.

Teachers Talking in Very Young Learners Immersion Class: How They Did It

<div align="center"><table width="645" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="439"><p><strong>Abstract:</strong> This research aimed to describe the language used by the teachers namely teacher talk in VYL English Immersion class whose students’ age ranges from three to six years old and to describe how the language was used effectively in the class. The results showed that there were four types of teacher talk used frequently to help the teachers teach effectively in the class namely (1) giving directions, (2) giving information, (3) asking questions, and (4) praising and encouraging. Those four talks did not work alone in the class; the teachers also use gesture and demonstration to accompany the talks.</p><p class="Abstract"><strong>Abstrak:</strong><em> </em>Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan tipe-tipe bahasa Inggris yang digunakan guru dalam konteks pengajaran bahasa Inggris pada kelas imersi dengan siswa berusia antara tiga sampai enam tahun dan menjelaskan bagaimana tipe-tipe bahasa tersebut digunakan secara efektif di kelas. Hasilnya, terdapat empat tipe bahasa yang sering digunakan guru untuk menyampaikan materi, yakni (1) pemberian arahan, (2) pemberian informasi, (3) pertanyaan, dan (4) pujian dan dorongan. Keempat tipe bahasa tersebut tidak digunakan secara independen di kelas. Guru juga menggunakan bahasa tubuh serta demonstrasi kegiatan saat menggunakan keempat tipe bahasa tersebut.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></div>

Effects of Education and Mothers’ Perceptions regarding English Education on Preschoolers’ Interests in Learning English: A Comparison between General Kindergartens and English Immersion Institutes

This study investigated children’s interests in learning English, affected by educational activities in and out of institutes, and mothers’ perceptions regarding early childhood English education. We recruited, 253 mothers of 3- to 5-year-old children in either general kindergartens or English immersion institutes. They answered questions on socioeconomic status, perceived interest in English by their children, their perceptions regarding early childhood English education, and English education outside institutes. In addition, 42 English teachers provided information within institutes such as class time per week, teacher-pupil rate, and language use policy during class. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS 22 for frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The major findings are as follows. First, the two groups were in distinct learning environment. Second, mothers’ perceptions and outside-institute activities were significantly different between the two groups. Third, the English interests of children at both institutes were influenced by mothers’ worries and at-home English interactions. Fourth, education within institutes did not affect both group’s English interests. Fifth, private education and socioeconomic status did not affect both group’s English interests. Lastly, only the children’s interests in English immersion institutes were affected by gender and mother’s perceived necessities. Focusing children’s interests, this study helps in understanding young children’s affective aspects regarding learning English. The findings are expected to be a guideline for each home and institute to increase children’s interest in learning English.

English Immersion U.S.A. Program (EIP) - An educational and sociocultural experience

The present paper shares an account of the experience of the English Immersion U.S.A Program (EIP), promoted by the U.S. Mission to Brazil as a positive response to the need to outreach to minority and disadvantaged public school students in Brazil after the selection of the Youth Ambassadors program. The account conveys the experience of the selection process, the program itself, and highlights the possibility of the program to (1) foster international cooperation to reach the goals of the U.S. Mission to Brazil through both education and social inclusion; (2) allowed the participants to have an immersive experience in the U.S. culture and allowed them to practice and sharpen their English language skills; (3) allowed the participants to get to know Brazil itself better as they interacted with fellow Brazilians from different parts of the country; (4) make an educational environment to allow transformative learning, and (5) achieve Sustainable development goal number 17.

ENGLISH IMMERSION PROGRAM IN EFL SETTING: A MODIFIED MODEL, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EFFECTIVENESS

This study reflects the best practice of the English immersion program designed for EFL learners. Through observation in the research site and interview with eight participants (two language managers and six language learners), the modified model is discovered as the guidelines in ruling the project in which curriculum, English proficiency, and language management are the main points. Besides, Informal learning becomes the hot issue of this study since the English zone facilitates English informal interaction between language partners and learners which enhances English learning experiences effectively and motivates them to use English. The finding also reported that English immersion program emerges learning community, personal qualities development, English language acquisition, and self-efficacy, language awareness and language exposure The study may contribute to the body of knowledge in second language acquisition and recommend schools or universities and other related institutions to implement English immersion program as the alternative solution for English language learning in non-native speaking countries.

The Need Analysis of Participation in an English Immersion Village at Kampung Inggris Pare

The privilege of English as an international lingua franca force many countries to open a wider opportunity for society to learn the language. However, the unbalance between societal needs and the role of English as a foreign language in Indonesia sometimes find the obstacles in the process of learning. This paper reveals the learners’ initial perception of English and analyzes the need for participation in an English immersion program. 24 participants from six English institutions contributed to this qualitative study. The data collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews for three months in Kampung Inggris Pare, Kediri, East Java, Indonesia. Most of the learners had a negative perception of English before participating in this immersion program that they perceived this language was difficult. This perception is associated with negative experiences during the process of learning English at school. However, their awareness of low self-confidence and poor speaking performance in facing globalization invited them to participate in an English immersion village in Kampung Inggris Pare. This paper concludes that the necessities, the lacks, and students' desire underlie the need analysis of participating in an English immersion program in Kampung Inggris Pare.