Conference Sessions

One of the frequently cited goals for immersion classrooms is that of intercultural understanding. How does your elementary Social Studies curriculum address this, particularly when it comes to instruction about model citizenship? Please come willing to examine your own ideas about citizenship as well as share your classroom experiences.

In this presentation, I will share findings from a qualitative research study that explored two-way immersion practitioners' definitions and interpretations of equity. The findings illustrate program- and classroom-level policies and practices that contribute to or inhibit the creation of an equitable learning environment for linguistically diverse students.

The use of technology is an essential part of teaching and learning in an immersion classroom. By infusing the curriculum with the use of technology, students are motivated to use their immersion language to express their ideas, personal opinions, and creativity.

We will explore literacy instruction in elementary immersion programs. VIF International Education supports dual language/immersion programs in 20 schools in North Carolina as of the 2012-13 school year. A strong literacy rotation is central to the model in all learner contexts.

This paper reports a collaborative project between an ESL researcher and a history teacher on a ninth grade writing program for late immersion students in Hong Kong. The paper discusses the applicability and practicality of a content-language integrated approach and the importance of collaboration between content and language teachers.

This qualitative study adds to the knowledge base on teacher identity by exploring immersion teachers' perspectives on their identities and how their identities affect their instructional approaches in the immersion classroom. Data include classroom observations, interviews and teachers' reflective journals, which will be analyzed with the constant comparative method.

Our session will focus on how a two-way bilingual program was selected for implementation, as well as how it has grown and will continue to grow to support the community in a high poverty school in a suburban school district.

This best practice session will present four steps associated with the task of presenting orally the synthesis of an academic paper in the context of language adjunct courses at the University of Ottawa. Its task is directly relevant to immersion programs at the secondary level, and with adaptation could be used with elementary students regardless of the foreign language taught.

Researchers and teachers working on teaching Chinese as a foreign language have generally reached a consensus that speaking, listening, reading and writing should be weaved together in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. However, unlike reading, speaking, or listening, writing is usually not given adequate attention in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. In the presentation, the whole process is treated from two interactive aspects.

Presentation Slides (PDF)

This presentation will report the findings of a study on the effectiveness of an inductive approach to grammar in improving the linguistic accuracy of sixth grade (n=28) students in an Irish immersion classroom. Data will be presented on pretest and posttest scores, students' reflective diaries, and focus group interviews.

Presentation Slides (PDF)