Communication and Interaction Patterns in French Immersion Classrooms: Implications for Consultation

Abstract

This observation study in French immersion elementary programs was carried out in six classrooms over an eight-week period. An observation grid was developed for use in order to determine the predominant language and the type of communication strategies used by teachers and students. The results indicated that: (a) communication in French was maximized in the wholeclass classroom grouping; (b) the greatest variely of communication in both French and English occurred in student-to-student interactions; (c) the greatest number of student-initiated interactions occurred in the small-group classroom grouping; (d) student-initinted interactions predominated in discussing, social, and discipline/acting out communications; (e) French was the predominant language used for asking, telling, and discipline/acting out communications, while English was the predominant language used for social communications and both languages were used for discussing communications; (f) French was the predominant language in all subject areas. Study findings are discussed in terms of their implications for school psychology consultation practices that involve school psychologists and teachers .