The bilingual advantage for immigrant students in French immersion in Canada: linking advantages to contextual variables

Mady, Callie

doi:10.1080/13670050.2015.1041875

Cited by 28 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Given that ELLs have traditionally been excluded from FI programs on the grounds that learning too many languages is too difficult (Calman, 1988) or that mastery of English is required before learning French (Mady, 2006), it is curious to see that almost three times as many principals feel that a higher number of ELLs meet with success in the FI program than in the English program. This does, however, confirm recent research which suggests that ELLs can be as successful in FI, if not more so, as their Canadian 2 counterparts (e.g., Mady, 2015). None disagreed with the statement; however, the abstention rate was high, with 91.5% for the English program item and 79% for the FI program item.…”

Section: Principals' Beliefs About Success In French Immersion (Fi)supporting

confidence: 76%

“…Anchoring to a monolingual view of what constitutes successful learning (e.g., attaining "native-like" proficiency) positions those who cannot attain this goal as "unsuccessful learners" and deficient (e.g., Wenden, 1985). In one study, ELLs outperformed their Canadian-born or monolingual peers (Mady, 2015) on tests of French achievement, highlighting that still today "these attitudes [stemming from the monolingual perspective] distort and devalue many aspects of multilingual behavior" (Sridhar, 1996, p. 59). As we learn more about the diversity of learners, questions of equitable access and the way that inclusivity is practiced in FI emerge (Mady & Black, 2012).…”

Section: Gatekeepers Of French Immersion (Fi) Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Principals’ Beliefs About Language Learning and Inclusion of English Language Learners in Canadian Elementary French Immersion Programs

Mady

Masson²

2018

cjal

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Gatekeepers’ language ideologies and beliefs about language learning determine how learners experience French as a second language programs, in particular, their access to, and success and inclusion in, the French immersion (FI) program. In this article, we explore how FI principals understand language learning and the inclusion of English language learners (ELLs) and how these perspectives shape school policy in FI programs. The study took place in a large urban school board in southern Ontario with student population consisting of 50% ELLs. After conducting a questionnaire with principals across the school board, we interviewed a subgroup of principals gathering quantitative and qualitative data. In addition, we consulted the board’s website and documentation provided to parents regarding enrolling their children in FI. The study highlights convergence or divergence from principals’ beliefs in relation to board policy about access and inclusion to the FI program. Through critical discourse analysis, data revealed that principals have contradictory beliefs about language learning, and at times principals struggle to reconcile these beliefs with official board policy. While FI principals are mostly positive about including ELLs in FI, to provide equal access to the program, they would benefit from (a) moving away from a definition of bilingualism as equalingualism and (b) expanding and developing the meaning of inclusivity beyond physical presence to adapt the FI space for greater inclusion of ELLs.

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Section: Principals' Beliefs About Success In French Immersion (Fi)supporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Gatekeepers Of French Immersion (Fi) Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Principals’ Beliefs About Language Learning and Inclusion of English Language Learners in Canadian Elementary French Immersion Programs

Mady

Masson²

2018

cjal

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“…Although varied evidence has been collected on TLA, relatively few studies have specifically focused on language‐minority children acquiring an L3. Mady () found an advantage of immigrant multilingual students over English‐speaking and multilingual Canadian students in French tasks, and these differences were not associated with linguistic proficiency in L1, linguistic awareness or strategic skills. In another recent study by Maluch, Kempert, Neumann, and Stanat (), it was found that bilingual immigrant children, with similar background characteristics to the group of Dutch monolingual peers, had, on average, advantages in foreign language achievement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

English as a Foreign Language in Bilingual Language‐minority Children, Children with Dyslexia and Monolingual Typical Readers

et al. 2017

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The present study was aimed at investigating literacy skills in English as a foreign language in three different groups of children: monolinguals with dyslexia (n = 19), typically developing bilinguals (language-minority) (n = 19) and a control group of monolinguals (Italian) (n = 76). Bilinguals were not expected to fail in English measures, and their gap with monolinguals would be expected to be limited to the instructional language, owing to underexposure. All participants were enrolled in Italian primary schools (fourth and fifth grades). A non-verbal reasoning task and Italian and English literacy tasks were administered. The Italian battery included word and non-word reading (speed and accuracy), word and non-word writing, and reading comprehension; the English battery included similar tasks, except for the non-word writing. Bilingual children performed similarly to typical readers in English tasks, whereas in Italian tasks, their performance was similar to that of typical readers in reading speed but not in reading accuracy and writing. Children with dyslexia underperformed compared with typically developing children in all English and Italian tasks, except for reading comprehension in Italian. Profile analysis and correlational analyses were further discussed. These results suggest that English as a foreign language might represent a challenge for students with dyslexia but a strength for bilingual language-minority children. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…Second, the bilingual teacher's faculty is relatively weak, and the bilingual teaching eff ect is not ideal. Third, the use of modern teaching methods is not suffi cient, resulting in poor immersion teaching (Mady, 2017). Fourth, there is a lack of English language environment for bilingual teaching.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive Application Ability of College Students' Knowledge Structure and Skills under the Immersion Bilingual Teaching Mode

Zhang¹,

Fang²

2019

RCIS

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Bilingual teaching refl ects the requirements of today's social informationization and economic globalization, and it has become an inevitable trend of Chinese college education reform and development. In recent years, all institutions of higher learning have intensifi ed their teaching reforms. They adjusted the structure and content of the course to optimize the knowledge structure of college students, and further enhance the innovation and entrepreneurship and employment ability of college students. Through the collection and analysis of a large number of documents, we systematically clarifi ed the status quo of immersion bilingual teaching mode research at home and abroad. Based on the study of the Canadian immersion bilingual teaching mode, we have constructed the WBI course and conducted practical teaching. Before the practice began, we conducted surveys on teachers, student qualifi cations, curriculum arrangements, and textbooks, all of which met the standards for immersion bilingual Teaching. On this basis, we selected some students who have studied this course as the research object and conducted a questionnaire survey. Through the analysis of the various elements and teaching eff ects that aff ect bilingual teaching, we can know that the implementation of bilingual teaching in colleges has obvious help for college students. Due to resource constraints, we are unable to carry out such bilingual teaching extensively. Therefore, further discussion on the specifi c strategy for implementing bilingual teaching is our next step.

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The bilingual advantage for immigrant students in French immersion in Canada: linking advantages to contextual variables

Cited by 28 publications

References 43 publications

Principals’ Beliefs About Language Learning and Inclusion of English Language Learners in Canadian Elementary French Immersion Programs

Principals’ Beliefs About Language Learning and Inclusion of English Language Learners in Canadian Elementary French Immersion Programs

English as a Foreign Language in Bilingual Language‐minority Children, Children with Dyslexia and Monolingual Typical Readers

Comprehensive Application Ability of College Students' Knowledge Structure and Skills under the Immersion Bilingual Teaching Mode

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