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An invited article: Bilingual education of majority-language children: The Immersion experiments in review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Fred Genesee
Fred Genesee*
Affiliation:
McGill University
*
Dr. Fred Genesee, Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield Avenue, Montreal, PQ, CanadaH3A IBI
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Abstract

Second-language “Immersion” school programs that have been developed in Canada and the United States during the last two decades are described and the results of evaluative research pertaining to them are reviewed. Major Immersion program alternatives (i.e., Early, Delayed, and Late variants) along with their theoretical bases and pedagogical characteristics are described first. Research findings are then discussed with respect to the impact of participation in an Immersion program on the students' native-language development, academic achievement, second-language proficiency, and on their attitudes and second-language use. Also, the suitability of Immersion in different geographical/social settings and for students with distinctive, potentially handicapping characteristics is considered. It is concluded that second-language Immersion programs are feasible and effective forms of education for majority-language children with diverse characteristics.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , March 1983 , pp. 1 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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