Book Description

This report constitutes a synthesis of 10 years of research which was conducted to assist Ontario boards of education in implementing and evaluating French immersion programs in their jurisdictions. The immersion programs evaluated include three major alternatives: (1) the early total French immersion programs of the Carleton, Ottawa, and Toronto Boards of Education; (2) the early partial French immersion program of the Elgin County Board of Education; and (3) the late partial French immersion program of the Peel County Board of Education. Reference is also made to evaluations of similar immersion programs evaluated by other researchers in Ontario and throughout Canada. The report includes a description of the programs and information on the characteristics of some other bilingual education programs found in Ontario. In addition, the following information is provided: (1) discussion of the specific research questions and the research design; (2) presentation of the evaluation findings concerning the linguistic effects; (3) presentation of the findings on the academic effects; and (4) discussion of some social and psychological dimensions of French immersion programs. A bibliography is included on immersion education in Canada and the United States. (Author/AMH)