Bilingual and Immersion Teacher Education

Abstract

This entry provides an overview of issues and research on teacher education for bilingual/immersion contexts. Bilingual education encompasses a wide range of program models involving use of at least two languages for academic instruction, one being the majority language of the geographic area where the program is offered and the other a second, foreign, heritage, or Indigenous language. The entry begins with a definition of bilingual/immersion education, identifying the four overarching program models (foreign/second language immersion, two‐way bilingual immersion, developmental bilingual education, and Indigenous language immersion) and their associated goals. It continues with a discussion of the knowledge base that underlies bilingual/immersion teaching, emphasizing that the crux of effective bilingual/immersion teaching is the integration of content, language, and literacy. This discussion is followed by a description of approaches to both preservice teacher education and in‐service professional development for bilingual/immersion contexts that includes program examples. Next, research on bilingual/immersion teacher education is reviewed. Finally, the entry reflects on the challenges facing the field and concludes with a brief description of future directions.