Running head: SUITABILITY OF IMMERSION EDUCATION FOR ALL LEARNERS
Capstone Paper MA in Education: Differentiated Education Suitability of Immersion Education for All Learners Yvonne Péralta Concordia University, St. Paul ED 590—Conducting Research and Completing the Capstone, Cohort 601 Professor Robin Percival February 20, 2014
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Table of Contents Abstract……….………………………………………………………………….. ………3 Chapter One: Introduction…..……………….…………………………………... ……...4 Chapter Two: Review of Literature …..…………………………………... …………… 8 Foreword……………………………………………………………………….….8 Commonly Known Facts about Immersion Education………………………..…..8 Elitism and the Immersion Approach ………………………………………...…10 In Defense of the Immersion Approach ................................................................15 New Perspectives for Success in Immersion …………………………………....20 Chapter Three: Research Summary and Conclusions……………………………………24 Chapter Four: Discussion and Applications ..………..…..……………………………..27 References ……………………………..……..……..…………………………………...31
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Abstract If research in immersion has mostly put an end to the false concept that immersion education is only for gifted students, there are still some questions about the suitability of these immersion programs for students with academic difficulties or learning disabilities. Moreover, the criticism that French immersion faces in some provinces in Canada finds an echo here in the United States. Have immersion programs found their success because the children who attend these programs would be successful in any kind of educational setting? It is hoped that this paper will contribute to addressing the question of suitability of immersion education for all learners and shed light on approaches and procedures that immersion programs are setting in place to meet the needs of diverse learners.
SUITABILITY OF IMMERSION EDUCATION Chapter One: Introduction Language immersion programs were first developed in the 1960s in Canada. The concept of teaching a regular curriculum in a different language was revolutionary. The basic definition of an immersion program is an approach where the foreign language is the medium through which content subjects are taught. The goals of a foreign language immersion program were, and still are for students to develop proficiency in a second language, and succeed in reaching academic achievement while at the same time developing cultural awareness (Fortune & Tedick, 2003). The first immersion school in the United States was created in 1971 (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2004). The number of immersion schools in Minnesota has almost doubled in less than 15 years. To date, there are at least fifty immersion schools across Minnesota, most of them elementary schools; only four of them are private (Center for Applied Linguistics, 2011). There are many kinds of programs that are available like full immersion, partial immersion, and double immersion. Research studies have proven beyond reasonable doubt that immersion students’ academic results equal or surpass all-English students’ results on different standardized tests and other measures of achievement (Rafferty, 1986; Saunders, 1998). Many studies mention cognitive and linguistic advantages for children who have acquired advanced level of proficiency in a second language thanks to immersion education compared to monolingual students (Genesee, 2006). Inevitably, there are many preconceived ideas about learning a second language, especially when it takes place in an immersion program and particularly when students start the program in elementary school. The main prejudices about the immersion
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approach are that it is an excellent way for gifted children to be challenged, but is not for every child. In fact, the notion of an elitist education given in elementary immersion schools for high achieving children is often cited in the literature as a popularly held opinion by the general public (Filbert, 2002). It is commonly known that, because immersion is a choice program, it comes with some “strings attached.” It asks parents to be more involved in the education of their children, providing at least positive attitudes toward the program and moderate support for English at home (Fortune & Tedick, 2003, August). Although supporters of the immersion model are swift to say that there are comparable contributions from parents in a regular English-only program (they should read, play games, and do activities to help their child’s classroom learning) the reality is not as clear cut as it is described (Genesee, 2007). If research in immersion education has mostly put an end to the false concept that immersion education is only for gifted students, logical and reasonable questions from school boards, educators, immersion teachers and parents have arisen about the suitability of these programs for all children. Struggling students in an immersion setting (because of academic difficulties, learning disabilities, or other exceptionalities) may not be as successful as their peers (Sauvé, 2007). The problem of high attrition rates in Canadian immersion schools, which are closely comparable to those in the United States (Rigaud, 2005), often finds its cause in academic or behavioral difficulties displayed by students. In the literature, attrition is also attributed to poor teaching methods and a lack of understanding of second language acquisition by teachers and administrators. The highly focused teacher-centered
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transmission of knowledge is also cited because it reflects a poor knowledge of differentiated education, which poses a problem in any kind of elementary classroom, but is of particular relevance to immersion programs (Filbert, 2002). Moreover, the criticism that French immersion education faces in some Canadian provinces finds an echo in the United States. Have immersion programs succeeded because children who attend these programs would be successful in any kind of educational settings (Wise, 2011)? Is immersion a new way of streaming, providing all the benefits of a private school without the cost of tuition for bright or middle-of-the-road students coming from prosperous homes? Could one extrapolate from these points and ask: is immersion education a new form of segregation (Arnett & Mady, 2010)? Because these issues have not until very recently been in the forefront of immersion studies, there is little literature about these new “equity” questions. The issue remains that there is a need for students with exceptionalities to be able to find equitable access to help from publicly funded educational systems. Teachers must collect data on learners, try new strategies to improve students’ success, and promote referrals to special education. Students with reading or behavioral difficulties, or even cognitive disabilities, can succeed in immersion with appropriate accommodations, modifications of the educational environment or other specific interventions. Many children, however, will not qualify for special education. Differentiated instruction, therefore, has to be at the core of the French immersion approach to promote all students’ success (Miller & Fortune, n.d). The purpose of this paper is to understand why immersion programs, and especially elementary immersion programs, are still considered elitist educational
SUITABILITY OF IMMERSION EDUCATION approaches. What are the legitimate issues about immersion education in regard to children with academic difficulties or diagnosed disabilities? How can immersion education practices be codified to meet the needs of diverse learners, considering our knowledge about differentiated instruction in elementary schools? In turn, these three questions lead to this research question: in light of what we know about differentiated instruction, how do we, as professional educators, effectively teach every student and address the suitability of elementary immersion education for all learners?
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Chapter Two: Literature Review To address these research questions, this literature review will begin by looking at commonly known facts about immersion education. Next, it will examine the potential for elitism in the immersion approach, and then it will assess the way it may impede students with behavioral or academic difficulties. Fourth, the paper will examine the different strategies to help at-risk students with immersion. The conclusion of this literature review will include a brief summary of these four topics. Foreword Unless indicated, when referring to the immersion approach in this paper the writer will mean early and total immersion, the most common variant of immersion education in the United States and Canada. It refers to elementary students enrolled in immersion schools where all instruction takes place in a language other than English with this second language often referred to as L2 as opposed to L1, English. This does not mean in any way that all immersion students would necessarily come from homes where English is the first and only language. Dual immersion, also mentioned in some studies, describes programs in which fifty percent of the education is taught in L1 and the other half in L2. Commonly Known Facts about Immersion Education Forty years of immersion research has proven that, at no cost to English language proficiency or content learning, students are able to achieve partial or full bilingualism thanks to the immersion approach. This significant achievement of functional proficiency is superior in comparison to English-speaking students who would study a foreign language as a second language in a conventional way (Genesee, 2008). Students in
SUITABILITY OF IMMERSION EDUCATION immersion settings also perform as well or better than their peers in standardized tests; nor do these students seem to suffer from cognitive or academic delays. In general it takes a year after the introduction of formal English language arts classes for immersion students to catch up with students in English-only programs. As Cummings (1998) writes: In most aspects of English standardized test performance: by grade 5 there are normally no differences in English test performance between immersion students and comparison groups whose instruction has been totally through English (p.1). Struggling students, however, whether because of learning disabilities, different exceptionalities, or behavioral problems, face academic difficulties. As a result, these students share in less of the overall success experienced by mainstream middle-of-theroad students (Genesee, 2008). This fact, previously mentioned in the preceding article written by Cummings, indicates that academic and behavioral difficulties often predict the potential failure of students enrolled in immersion programs as well as their possible transfer from an immersion program to an English only school (Cummings, 1986). Transferring at-risk students to non-immersion schools can seem to be the quick and easy solution to a difficult problem. An early report in 1993 of high attrition in immersion schools in Alberta, which averaged fifty percent for sixth graders, is quite telling (Keep, 1993). Ultimately this study proved to have significant consequences for immersion programs in this province, as will be discussed later in this paper. Although most of the existing research in immersion has been done by Canadian scholars, the large body of research published by CARLA (Center for Advanced
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Research on Language Acquisition) seems to reiterate the 1993 observations about attrition rates, with all of the cumulative research findings pertaining equally to the United States and Canada (Fortune & Tedick, 2003). Most of the research cited in this paper comes directly from CARLA’s publications or its extensive bibliography. Elitism and the Immersion Approach It is often said of immersion programs that their success is due to the elitism inherent in the self-selection of families motivated to enroll their children in such programs. Virtually every article written about immersion education contains a paragraph, or sometimes an entire chapter (depending on the length of the study or report), devoted to defending immersion against the fatal stigma of elitism (Boissonneault, 2008; Fortune & Menke, 2010 ; Kippan, 2010). The real question, however, is not whether there is inherent elitism involved in immersion education but why so often parents and educators refer to elitism when they talk about the immersion approach. Why is this perception so common in Canada and the United States? One of the most recent Canadian immersion studies applied the lens of critical theory to the immersion approach, resulting in one of the most powerful and thoughtprovoking articles written in a long time about the elitism issue. Written by two prominent immersion and language specialists, this study closely analyzes the issue of students with language learning difficulties or disabilities, and their inclusion in the Canadian immersion educational experience (Arnett & Mady, 2010). At this point of the review, it is important to recall what critical theory encompasses to better understand the unusual process of these two authors (2008):
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Traditionally, critical theory has been used to explore how dominant groups have used their racial, class, and/or gender differences from other groups to create exploitative situations that oppress the minorities. Research that takes a critically conscious perspective challenges barriers to social change, inequality and democracy as they resist the reproduction of the ideas of the privileged and dominant groups. (p.13) Before going any further, here are reminders of what factors are cited to identify a student with learning difficulties or a disability. Genesee (2006), who is one of the most prominent and respected researchers in the immersion field, defines these students as: Students with low levels of academic ability have a level of general intellectual competence that falls at the low end of a normal distribution of intelligence; their low ability is further reflected in difficulty learning academic material in general (…). In contrast, a “learning disability” is widely regarded as a neurobiological (or innate) impairment in the underlying brain processes that are responsible for learning. (…) Such impairments are thought to be associated with specific aspects or areas of brain functioning and are thus associated with specific disabilities – usually related to learning language (specific language impairment), reading/writing (reading impairment), and other non-linguistic cognitive skills (cognitive impairment). In effect, the term “learning disability” encompasses a spectrum of different learning impairments, each with its own underlying neurocognitive etiology. (p. 4) Sadly, it is often believed that children with low level of academic ability or with a learning disability are inferior to the majority of students who fare well academically
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and who show relatively few or no sign of behavior difficulty. Consequently, one can readily understand why parents are so reluctant to have their children labeled with a learning disability or a behavior problem because of the stigma that exceptionality engenders. Studies have also shown the tragic reluctance of teachers to meet the needs of exceptional children, because of misunderstandings about what the exceptionality of a student means or feelings of inadequacy on the teacher’s part, and the inability to help students succeed because of a lack of strategies to provide effective instruction. The motive for parents to send their children to an immersion school shouldn’t be because of the belief that bright, hard-working children with no learning disabilities who reside in affluent neighborhoods are the only students there. In general, boards of education control where and when to offer immersion programs, either at the elementary, middle school or high school levels. It is logical that if an immersion school is built in a relatively affluent neighborhood, there will be less diversity (of any kind) in the student population. If so, some children, thanks to the area, or part of the city where they live, can access a bilingual education, while others cannot. (Genesee, 2008) Teachers and principals can also present a barrier to inclusion in schools, and are often referred to by parents as “gatekeepers” for suggesting that an immersion program may not suit a certain type of student, dissuading parents from keeping their child in a program, or even attempting to prevent a child from enrolling in an immersion program in the first place (Mady, 2012). Such behavior clearly constitutes an ethical, social and political issue: at-risk students could be deprived of accessing skills relevant to life as well as to job-related skills. As Mady (2012) explains in her article:
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Bilingualism is important not only in the Canadian context, but also in the international context, given the globalization of the economy and employment opportunities. Can (Canadian) schools ethically exclude at-risk students from what is viewed to be the most effective educational means for promoting bilingual competence given such global realities? (p. 11) Mady’s critical examination of the immersion approach questions this status quo and how it allows the perpetuation of the goals of the ones who hold power. Since French immersion programs (in Canada, but also the United States) are recognized and praised as the most successful approach to learning a language, any ambivalent form of dissuasion or exclusion of a child from an immersion education could be interpreted as a tool of oppression (Arnett & Mady, 2010). Immigrant and low-income families in Canada, as well as in the United States, are often reluctant to enroll their children in immersion schools in the first place. The reasons for this reluctance are mostly a lack of information communicated to this public encompassing second language (L2) acquisition, accessibility to remedial programs in L2, or to appropriate special education services if these parents were to choose the immersion approach for their children (Wise, 2011). Moreover, especially in Canada, parents are led to believe that better special education services, for instance, may be delivered in regular English programs. As Wise (2011) wrote in her article: Exceptional pupils enrolled in Canadian French immersion programs rarely have access to the same range of special education programs and services that are available to students in the regular English program. More often than not, students
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with special needs are encouraged to transfer to English programs to access necessary support services. (p. 177) The lack of support for children and parents in French immersion schools resulting from teachers’ lack of training and the unwillingness of schools to provide more staff development on this controversial subject points to the failure of the majority population to remove existing barriers to a more equitable education for all (Genesee, 2008, Arnett& Mady, 2010). Therefore, making French Immersion programs accessible to all students, even children at-risk, should be the next major component in the definition of an inclusive immersion program. To do otherwise would be to deny the rights of a minority of learners, deliberately ignoring inclusion and differentiation philosophies (Arnett & Mady, 2010). Voicing the possible unsuitability of some children with disabilities or academic difficulties for immersion education in public schools raises unavoidable legal questions. In fact, because of increased criticism some French immersion programs in Canada are facing in regard to inclusion, the past few years have seen an increase in the promotion of immersion for all, particularly in Alberta (Genesee, 2008). In some cases, certain legal steps, like filing claims of discrimination, have been taken by parents and teachers to encourage equitable access to a second language. Nonetheless, both the Canadian courts and the immersion schools themselves continue to seem reluctant to embrace the concept that learning a language in an immersion setting as a right, underplaying the elitist “streaming” that is clearly taking place. The majority of students with learning difficulties or disabilities find themselves in English programs: as much as 70-100% more students in some programs (Arnett & Mady, 2010).
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High attrition in Canadian immersion schools is often caused by parents and teachers reacting to academic or behavioral difficulties displayed by students (Cummings, 1998). As Cummings states, failure to retain students in immersion programs was more than fifteen years ago already being attributed to poor teaching methods, lack of understanding of second language acquisition, and teacher-centered transmission of knowledge in the classroom. Research shows that students should not be moved to an all-English school only because of a lag in their language development or academic performance. It is now well known and documented that this lag in the early grades will disappear before fourth grade (Genesee, 2007). Meanwhile, the rate of attrition in immersion schools in the U.S. does not seem comparable to rates in Canada, but that may simply be because there has been less research conducted in the U.S. about such rates (Rigaud, 2005). In Defense of the Immersion Approach In defense of the immersion approach, there is an inherent difficulty in determining eligibility for special education services for students in such schools, especially at the elementary level (Woelber, 2004). The question is always about the part the second language (L2) plays in academic or behavioral difficulties. In such cases, blaming the immersion language is generally the first reaction of parents, teachers, and administrators with little knowledge of language acquisition (Miller & Fortune, n.d). One may infer that this propensity, which seems logical given that a child who cannot understand a new language will not succeed academically, is, in fact, not confirmed by the research.
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One interesting study looks at students with reading disabilities. The first part of this study analyzes a comparison of students with similar reading disabilities in a French immersion program with those in a regular English program. The second part studies a comparison between students with reading disabilities who had opted out of French immersion with those who were kept in the immersion program. The conclusions of this study are that immersion students with (at least) mild reading disabilities are faring as well as their counterparts in a regular English setting, and are not at a greater disadvantage if they are kept in the program. Indeed, students who transferred from immersion to regular programs were not at a special advantage either. This study of 17 cases, which compared students’ academic results in phonemic awareness, spelling, reading comprehension and arithmetic, supports the idea that immersion may be suitable for children with reading disabilities, as there are no academic disadvantages for these students when taught in a second language (Sauvé, 2007). Knowing exactly which student may have a learning disability and deciding the best way to help the child is still a very difficult matter. In her study, Woelber, a school psychologist, examined the Child Study Team in the immersion school where she works. The group is composed of a school psychologist (herself), a learning disability teacher consultant (here a speech pathologist), a social worker and, most often, the principal and another teacher. This team provides the homeroom teachers with a variety of educational help, while also deciding if a child needs a complete set of evaluations. Even with a very structured and protocol-oriented Child Study Team, the challenges to arriving at a valid and reliable decision are numerous. Compared to the evaluation process in nonimmersion schools, more data about observations in different settings is often needed in
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an immersion school: student progress has to be continually monitored, and meetings need to take place regularly between teachers and parents before a student is able to qualify for an Individualized Educational Plan (Woelber, 2004). The management of this plethora of data falls, of course, under the responsibility of the homeroom teacher who bears the burden of proof over whether a student has a disability. It has been shown that the evaluation process in immersion is arduous and takes a toll on teachers. Teachers sometimes avoid trying to build a case for children with difficulties, believing that very little can be accomplished during the school year because of the long process, or because they do not trust the child study team to provide sound educational strategies that can be used in their classroom. Woelber (2004) explains: This school’s CST (Child Study Team) is made up largely of monolingual English speakers, with little to no prior education in French or the language immersion context. Given the importance of noting an information processing condition as part of meeting SLD criteria, it is interesting that this issue did not surface as a special challenge when determining eligibility for immersion learners. (…) In retrospect, this general oversight may reflect a lack of awareness of the complexity of processing a second language, and its impact on learning and assessment results. (p. 11) Because of the lack of support some schools provide at-risk students, teachers continue to think negatively about immersion for academically challenged students. Indeed, teachers will prefer that they themselves attempt to manage students in serious academic failure or with behavioral difficulty. They will tend to do a certain amount of damage control until the child’s problems become impossible to ignore. It will often be in
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the subsequent grade that a colleague will “have to” deal with the bureaucratic hurdles, and the ten steps of the child study process. Often, it is at the end of first grade or in third grade that attrition rates in immersion begin to climb. There is not a lot of research about this disconcerting data; however, it is difficult not to correlate these two facts. At Woelber’s particular school site, a study has also shown that for six cohorts of K-5 students, the average rate of attrition was close to 25% (Rigaud, 2005). It is quite a staggering attrition rate for a suburban school when one child out of four leaves a school choice program. It would be a plus for immersion research to know who is leaving the program and the reasons why they are leaving it. Any attempt to gather this information, however, faces major hurdles in that most schools do not have exit interview procedures and, in all cases, tend to be very reluctant to share any information they do glean about students. In view of the above, one might infer that the reasons for the inherent elitism in immersion education is due more to the lack of knowledge and power of teachers, principals and parents than to a serious “political” will on the part of the main actors in this play. Still, it is understandable why the perception persists that the elitism is the outcome of a conscious desire on the part of the “power in place” – i.e., the leaders of the dominant culture – to maintain its advantage by keeping other players at bay. In immersion literature, for example, one can find almost as many articles that all but prove immersion is not for everyone as it is possible to find those that argue the opposite. Again, in search of defenders of the cause of the immersion approach for all students, Fortune and Tedick of the CARLA Institute of Minnesota pointed out as early as 2003 that many of the most valuable techniques used by immersion teachers can be
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recommended for all students with difficulties, regardless of whether they are enrolled in an immersion or an English only program. Boissonneault, a Canadian immersion specialist, goes even further in her promotion of the immersion approach for all learners (Boissonneault, 2008). According to her article, thinking that a student with a hearing impairment will not be a good candidate for an immersion approach is counterintuitive. She explains that such a child needs extra assistance anyway, whatever the setting. Moreover, she suggests that learning a new language may be of great help to such students because it forces them to focus on oral and listening work, articulation, and repetition of different sounds. Early detection of auditory processing problems is the key to the many adaptations that can be made available to help enhance auditory discrimination. The use of diverse technology and a speech therapist’s services are also two possible tools for assisting students with auditory problems in an immersion school (Boissoneault, 2008). Boissoneault (2008) writes: “The problems and the solutions encountered are not language-specific. The skills learned are easily transferred from one language to the other—especially between languages as similar as English and French”. (p. 7) There is also another assumption that may seem like a logical objection to immersion programs for all. It is the case of children of immigrants and non-English speakers, and the difficulties in integrating them into an immersion program. The common belief is that including students with little knowledge of English will impede their assimilation into mainstream society and will, consequently, add one more barrier to overcome for a minority of these students. In fact, the literature says the opposite: the immersion approach can be a good equalizer for non-English speakers who are at no
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disadvantage with the new immersion language (Fortune & Tedick, 2003). Students can be successful in this environment and their knowledge of the immersion language can, in fact, provide a significant boost to their self-esteem. The idea that to ensure favorable success rates for non-English speaking students, it is necessary for them to master their native tongue, then English before attempting to acquire another language, is a myth (Diversity, 2010). It is not an overwhelming barrier for non-English students in an immersion school, as the literature has shown. Academic studies reveal that such students do not have to be proficient in English and in their native tongue in order to succeed in the main language and that, therefore, such factors should play no role in determining whether these children should be allowed to participate in immersion programs, or whether they will succeed in such programs if they do enroll. To summarize the defense of the immersion approach as non-elitist from the beginning, one must remember that second language acquisition theories are not well known by the different actors in a student’s life. The least informed, of course, would be the parents of students but, despite forty years of research on immersion education, there remain many misconceptions among teachers, principals and school board members. It seems now that awareness has begun to spread that students learn differently and differentiation needs to happen in the classroom to allow the inclusion of all students. New perspectives for success in immersion The fundamental question that should be asked, therefore, is not if the immersion approach is suitable for all learners but how to make sure that it is. There are still many studies that need to be undertaken but there are already possible avenues to make immersion for all a reality, most of them pedagogical in nature (Genesee, 2007).
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The first challenge readily apparent in U.S. and Canadian schools is the tendency to delay determining whether a child has learning problems. In immersion programs, the diagnosis of certain specific learning difficulties, like a reading difficulty, will in general only be accepted in second or third grade – later than might be the case in an Englishonly program. When kindergarten entrance tests indicate difficulties in phonemic awareness and letter-sound knowledge in a first language, it is known that such students these will be at-risk because of the great amount of cross-linguistic transfer that occurs during the reading acquisition process (Genesee, 2008). If these students with potential difficulties were to receive help as early as kindergarten, the chances of their remaining and succeeding in immersion would escalate. Modifications and more serious accommodations need to take place in immersion education. Student-centered learning, for example, as logical as it seems from a differentiated perspective, is not given the importance it should have in immersion classrooms (Fortune & Menke, 2010). Since it is known that small instructional adaptations may have great results, what is required is the application of best practices in the classroom with a language perspective. Language objectives must be clearly planned and applied to ensure maximum results. This requires a comprehensive scope and sequence of goals with realistic program objectives, where teachers have the same expectations appropriate at each grade level, and work in differentiated ways to make sure that those goals may be reached. To recognize that, as in any school, meeting the needs of all students is required in immersion programs is also to recognize the need for staff development in elementary
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schools, in particular, and for language teacher training in college in general. As Arnett and Mady (2010) stated in their article: The time has come to stop saying that (…) teachers are unprepared to meet the needs of students with diverse learning needs and start preparing them to do so in the teacher education programs. The “system” as it stands, cannot continue to function as a barrier to certain student population. (p. 32) If, in the best of all worlds, students receive appropriate support in the immersion system, the question then is in which language these interventions will take place. Very few immersion specialists have studied this issue. Fortune and Menke believe that if one is talking about remedial reading, it should be done in the immersion language as children should learn only one set of codes at a time. It is too much to ask of a child who already suffers some difficulties to learn how to read in two languages. Fortune and Menke do, however, recommend a combination of careful assessment and patient and expert instruction to help struggling students. This quality instruction must be based on differentiated strategies to facilitate perceptions, such as the use of graphic representations, and of different modalities to present information. It should also facilitate processing through the use of graphic organizers, chunking concepts into smaller ones. Last, but not least, teachers need to employ targeted strategies to facilitate expression, marshalling as many mediums as possible such as, for example, art, music, and writing (Fortune & Menke, 2010). One can easily see why immersion programs are so popular nowadays. They offer children the undeniable opportunity of learning a different language and of becoming proficient, if not fluent, in that language with no detriment to their proficiency in English
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(or their native language if it is not English). There is the question of the possible inequity of this approach if it is suggested to the parents of students with academic or behavioral difficulties or with disabilities that their children should not enter such a program. In addition, it has been well established that immersion education can be suitable even for at-risk students. The next chapter will seek to condense the main ideas from this chapter and offer some conclusions.
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Chapter Three: Research Summary and Conclusions In every public school in the Unites States, students have the right to the best quality education and are entitled to appropriate instruction that is tailored to fit their individual needs. Language immersion programs are very successful in providing good quality instruction and achieving all the objectives like mainstream programs do. Studies, over and over again, have demonstrated the effectiveness of such programs with the added benefit of functional fluency at the end of twelfth grade and a better cultural competency as well. These two factors in an education may become a bonus regarding the eligibility for future jobs in our increasing global world (Kippan, 2010). The major opposition to immersion programs in the United States and in Canada is the argument of an elitist education where social, racial and cultural diversity is less represented. Because language immersion programs are often labeled a choice program, it seems that most of immersion students (particularly in elementary schools) are from a higher social class than in regular English program. The student body is more often Caucasian and Asian than Black or Hispanic. When the home language is not English, there is no real support given by the school or teachers even if it has been shown in recent studies that support for students’ native language can help meta-cognition. According to Cummins (cited by Swain & Lapkin, 2005) although some exceptions apply: In most immersion programs diverse students’ first languages are invisible and inaudible in the classroom. Unfortunately, teachers are typically not at all proactive in searching for ways to use students’ first languages as a resource, either in immersion or English programs.
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Moreover, the immersion curriculum is often thought to be more difficult to follow for students with academic difficulties and/or learning disabilities. Frequently, the second language is at the center of the discussion and the scapegoat for any problems the students may encounter. For that reason students with behavioral problems occasioned by a disability or not are often not encouraged to enter the program (Wise, 2010). What is also criticized in immersion schools is the inability to retain these problem-prone students by giving incentives to have them successfully participate in the program. The search for solutions under the special education umbrella is limited; there is often a lack of intervention resources and remediation services (Fortune & Menke, 2010). To counterbalance these findings, other studies have shown that even students with language or hearing impairments could benefit from the immersion approach. Immersion could yet be a much better choice for these students with such disabilities, since many strategies used in the classroom are focused on sounds, repetition and oral reproduction (Boissoneault, 2008). Studies have also shown that transfer from an immersion program to an English-only program does not guarantee that the child will suddenly be successful academically or behavior wise. If support is to be provided in immersion, students have to be tested and identified as early as possible in terms of social/emotional, cognitive and academic needs. Appropriate adaptations will be set in place insuring that students with exceptionalities can remain in the program and, if not thriving, are at least being engaged and learning a second language (Filbert, 2002, February).
SUITABILITY OF IMMERSION EDUCATION Evidence also showed that teachers and administrators needed to be on board. Staff development at the school level has to provide professional support by means of ongoing training in language acquisition and differentiated instruction. It is also critical to ensure that teachers receive the skills needed to identify students’ needs, and to provide through co-teaching and planning, the appropriate delivery model of an ideal inclusive education (“Diversity in French”, 2010).
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Chapter Four: Discussion and Applications What research suggests is that there is no panacea for the success of all our elementary students in immersion, but many possible guiding principles that schools need to follow (Fortune & Menke, 2010). Genesee suggests, for instance, that testing future immersion kindergarteners in English (L1) might be a good option to identify possible at-risk students so that intervention strategies can be planned early and deliberately. This testing should, by no means, become an admission test (Genesee, 2007). Deliberate planning and teaching requires highly trained and supported teachers, as they face teaching challenges to help students at risk of failing (Fortune & Menke, 2010; Wise, 2011). The importance of collecting data on learners, trying new strategies to improve student success, and promoting referrals to special education, if need be, is now at the forefront of the discussion about success for all in immersion. Students with reading or behavioral difficulties – or cognitive disabilities – can succeed in immersion with appropriate accommodations; modifications of the educational environment, where students are not afraid to take risks; or other specific interventions. An RTI-like model is promoted so teachers can provide explicit instruction in small groups and offer targeted support and feedback. Differentiated instruction has to be at the core of the French immersion approach to promote all students’ success (“Diversity in French”, 2010). Another strategy for success is to clearly and positively communicate with parents and students. Good communication with immersion parents is of the utmost importance for keeping children in an immersion school and ensuring their success. Parents should be
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informed of what is happening in the classroom and seek more information from teachers if they feel left out of their children’s education (Fortune & Tedick, 2003). Being parents of an immersion student takes more involvement and dedication than being a parent of a child in a mainstream school. In a six-page article, Boissoneault details all the steps for parents to help their children who are struggling in immersion. She covers reading, writing, math, learning skills, memorization, and study technique (Boissoneault, 2007). It is real coaching that she asks the parents to do, and this article seems to be one-of-a-kind in the literature reviewed by this paper. The importance of high-quality relationships with any students, but especially struggling students, is imperative, particularly in immersion (Fortune & Menke, 2010). Also, teachers have to consider each child as an individual: appropriate expectations from teachers and parents need to be discussed with the child. A motivated student with fitting and targeted support from his teachers in a friendly environment is a recipe for success (“Diversity in French”, 2010). In all the articles and books about inclusion of all learners in immersion that were read, it was revealed that successful outcomes for struggling learners depend on 1) highly qualified teachers 2) quality of adapted instruction (monitored and assessed), and 3) effective communication with parents with emotional well-being of the child in mind. It is obvious that for an immersion school to work, a school needs teachers mastering the content but also the language in which it is delivered. This is, however, not yet sufficient. Teachers need to understand second language acquisition theories and be proficient in differentiated education methods. Teachers also have to be given the
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necessary resources and ask for the professional development that the challenge of immersion teaching in inclusion requires. When one thinks about qualified teachers and meaningful L2 resources, one must mention funding. Support has to be monetary, yet with budget cuts affecting schools, priorities have to be drawn. It is the responsibility of principal and staff development chairs to address these challenges. Another important indicator of success is the conviction that the immersion approach can be right for every child. Unless severe mental retardation and specific exceptionalities (like acute hearing impairment and selective mutism) exist, any student should be able have the opportunity to learn another language, and be successful at it, starting at the elementary level. It is believed that until this concept reaches school boards, principals, teachers, and support staff, no real progress will be made towards inclusion. Moreover, differentiated instruction or instructional models like RTI and learner-centered instruction have to be promoted to serve all exceptional students and students with difficulties. Interventions have to be assessed regularly, modified, and consistently refined. Best practices in immersion are the same as best practices in mainstream education: cooperative learning and multi-modal approach teaching and learning, modeled on Gardner’s theory on multiple intelligences for instance. There is no wheel to rediscover. The research shows, and the writer of this paper also strongly believe, that parents are one of the pillars for success in immersion. Parents have to be told the good and the bad about immersion. All the good is often told: children learn a foreign language; they can be as or more successful than their peers in a main stream English program. The bad could be summed up by the extra effort and commitment required from them and their children.
SUITABILITY OF IMMERSION EDUCATION There is also a need for further immersion qualitative studies to increase our understanding about at-risk students in immersion schools. What are children’s emotional conditions in a setting where they might not feel as successful as they should? How do they really fare psychologically regarding their self-esteem when they transfer from immersion to all-English programs? What about late immersion for these students who have “missed the boat” in elementary school because of their exceptionalities? It would be fascinating to know how these students reconsider learning a language after their experience. In turn, what the evidence gathered in this paper shows is that honesty and effort in the partnership between all the players (school board, principal, teachers, parents, and students) will go a long way towards ensuring progress and success for all students in immersion. The future of immersion for all is very positive and hopeful: with precise assessments, appropriate interventions, and parental back-up, struggling learners – even those with serious exceptionalities – can be successful with the immersion approach.
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