Language Immersion Research and Resources

(Note: The following web resources are identified on the CARLA website at http://www.carla.umn.edu/immersion/resources.html#listserves )

The LIM-A listserv is for all those interested in or involved with language immersion education in the Americas. LIM-A is administered by the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition. To subscribe, send an email message to [email protected]. The message without subject line or signature should read: subscribe LIM-A your first and last names

 

The LIME listserv is a free electronic discussion forum for scholars, teachers, administrators and others interested in the teaching, study and administration of language immersion in general and in Europe in particular. LIME is based at the University of Vaasa, Finland. To subscribe, send an email to [email protected] with subscribe LIME in the body of the message.

 

ACIE is an organizational network for individuals interested in immersion education (teachers, administrators, teacher educators, researchers, parents) and is sponsored by the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition at the University of Minnesota. The ACIE newsletter is published three times during the academic year and contains articles with an emphasis on ideas and best practices, as well as school profiles, research reports and a calendar of upcoming events of interest to individuals involved in immersion education.

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages is the only national organization dedicated to the improvement and expansion of the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction. ACTFL is an individual membership organization of more than 7,000 foreign language educators and administrators from elementary through graduate education, as well as government and industry. ACTFL organizes an annual conference and publishes the journal Foreign Language Annals.

 

ACPI/ CAIT is a professional non-profit association aims to promote and improve Immersion programs in Canada and provides professional development opportunities for immersion teachers. ACPI/CAIT offers a newsletter and annually sponsors both a summer institute and a conference.

 

The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) is one of the U.S. Department of Education's Title VI National Language Resource Centers, whose role is to improve the nation's capacity to teach and learn foreign languages effectively. CARLA sponsors the American Council on Immersion Education and offers annual summer institutes specifically targeted at the needs of immersion educators

 

CAL is a private, non-profit organization that carries out a wide range of activities including research, teacher education, analysis and dissemination of information, design and development of instructional materials, technical assistance, conference planning, program evaluation, and policy analysis. They sponsor up-to-date directories of U.S. total and partial immersion programs & two-way immersion programs. In addition, CAL maintains an extensive array of research-based information on two-way immersion programs in the U.S.

 

Dual Language Education of New Mexico is a state-based organization created to promote the effective design and implementation of dual language models as defined in New Mexico Best Practices for Dual Language Program's Handbook. This organization is known for its annual fall conference La Cosecha and its participation in developing standards and best practices for two-way immersion. More recent initiatives include professional development and continuing education for immersion professionals and the community members they serve.

 

EuroCLIC is a European network of advocates of plurilingual education. EuroCLIC focuses on programmes which entail the use of a modern foreign language as the language of instruction or content and language integrated learning for non-language subjects. EuroClic publishes a journal and provides links to past articles on their website, along with other resources for advancing plurilingual education.

 

Ñandutí is a resource for foreign language learning in grades K-8 housed by the Center for Applied Linguistics. Ñandutí sponsors a listserv for school district personnel, superintendents, teachers, college and university teacher educators, and parents. Their website includes resources regarding program models, professional development, advocacy, and archives of listserv discussions on hot topics.

 

NABE is the only national organization exclusively concerned with the education of language-minority students in American schools and actively works to promote educational excellence and equity through bilingual education. NABE sponsors an annual conference and the organization publishes a journal and an online newsletter. The NABE website includes answers to frequently asked questions about bilingual education.

 

NNELL is an organization for educators involved in teaching foreign languages to children and provides leadership, support, and service to those committed to early language learning and coordinates efforts to make language learning in programs of excellence a reality for all children. The NNELL journal Learning Languages is published three times a year (fall, winter, and spring).

 

This site provides archived articles from past ACIE Newsletters in the following themes: The Bridge: From Research to Practice, Best Practices, Immersion ABCs, Points for Parents, School Profiles, Research Reports, and Guest Editorials. "Bridge" articles include The Importance of Sequencing and Planning When Integrating Language and Content (w/Lesson Plan), Integrated Curriculum: Designing Curriculum in the Immersion Classroom, and the Immersion Teaching Strategies Observation Checklist.

This free, interactive website is an online version of Elementary Immersion Learning Strategies Resource Guide published by the National Capital Language Resource Center. Users can follow the guide sequentially, skip to topics of interest, or jump directly to printable resources like lesson plans, charts, and worksheets. Topics covered include: definitions, descriptions, and examples of language learning strategies, teaching students to think about learning, teaching learning strategies using the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach, and selecting strategies to introduce to students in language and content areas at each grade level. The site also provides sample lessons for a variety of grade levels, languages, and subject areas, and a review of the literature on language learning strategies instruction. The appendices contain further resources for teachers: an annotated list of stories to help teach learning strategies, a model for developing a learning strategies lesson, and learning strategies lists and definitions in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Russian.

 

CPF houses many wonderful curricular resources for teachers of French and for parents of French immersion students.

 

CoBaLTT provides intensive professional development and online resources that help language teachers create content-based lessons/units using technology to enhance students' language proficiency and content or cultural knowledge. In addition to the online instructional modules, the CoBaLTT project has compiled helpful resources to support the instructional modules, including the lesson plans and units developed by project participants , graphic organizer templates , technology tutorials and ideas , discussion boards for module topics, rubrics and checklists, and others.

 

Immersion video training programs have been developed and produced by Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, Maryland, USA, with funding through a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Each program is available in 1/2" VHS (NTSC) format and is accompanied by a Teacher's Activity Manual. Programs and the supporting print materials may be used to provide inservice opportunities for one teacher or a group of teachers.

 

Available titles in this professional development series include:

 

What it Means to be an Immersion Teacher

Foreign Language Immersion An Introduction

Second Language Acquisition in Children

Negotiation of Meaning

Planning for Instruction in the Immersion Classroom

Reading and Language Arts in the Immersion Classroom: Grades K-2

Reading and Language Arts in the Immersion Classroom: Grades 3-6

Teaching Math and Science in the Immersion Classroom

Teaching Social Studies in the Immersion Classroom

Teaching Culture in the Immersion Classroom

Assessment in the Immersion Classroom

 

Requests should be addressed to:

Orders for these programs should be accompanied by a check for each video in the amount of US $25 (US $30 for international orders) per program.

The Two-Way Immersion Toolkit, developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) and The Education Alliance, is a resource for teachers, parents, and administrators involved with two-way immersion (TWI) programs, particularly those at the elementary school level. The Toolkit is designed to meet the growing demand from teachers, administrators, and parents for guidance related to the effective implementation of TWI programs. It is composed of three segments that address program design and planning, classroom instruction, and parental involvement, respectively.

 

This eight-module curriculum is designed to assist elementary and secondary teachers and administrators in developing, implementing, and assessing dual language programs (two-way immersion programs, developmental bilingual, and foreign language immersion).

 

This web site provides support and resources for families where one or both parents are speaking a foreign language (not their native language) to their children in an effort to raise them bilingually. The site features answers to frequently asked questions about raising children bilingually, a list of references and a listserv.

 

The Multilingual Children's Association focuses on the day-to-day joys and challenges of raising bilingual and multilingual children. This user-friendly website includes up-to-date information and useful resources for families seeking to raise multilingual children.

CPF is a national network of volunteers that values French as an integral part of Canada and is dedicated to the promotion and creation of French second language learning opportunities for young Canadians. CPF sponsors a newsletter and an annual conference, and offers a website with many resources for educators and parents of children in French immersion programs.

 

 

This 18-minute video documentary explores the immersion experience. A group of parents at St. Louis Park's Spanish immersion school committed their time and money towards documenting how language is acquired through the immersion using interviews with students, their parents, staff and experts to demonstrate its success and tell the story. It uses school and district data and research to communicate the educational benefits. It also covers the most commonly asked questions and concerns about immersion education. It can be used as a fundamental presentation tool on immersion, in both formal and informal settings.

 

Cost: $20 – VHS; $25 – DVD.

 

Requests to order the video training program should be addressed to:

 

 

Information on pinyn and history of Chinese characters.

 

Article on Starr Elementary in SF- Video on Mandarin Immersion

 

Chinese Language Teachers Association

 

The office of the Chinese Language Council International

 

Chinese character paper for practicing characters

 

Stroke order for Mandarin Characters

 

Singapore math site...textbooks in Chinese might interest parents

 

Award winning game to teach characters

 

CAIS support

 

resources such as books. video. dolls. art...

 

 

 

With partial funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Foreign Language Assistance Program Grant, this 20-minute video describes the development of Minnesota's first immersion program began in 1986 under the leadership of founder, Howard Hathaway, former World Language Supervisor for St. Paul Public Schools. Three schools currently house the K-12 Spanish Immersion Program and over 900 linguistically and culturally diverse students. These include: Adams Spanish Immersion Magnet School, Highland Park Jr. High, and Highland Park Sr. High. For more information about Saint Paul Public Schools K-12 Spanish Immersion Program or to learn how to get a copy of this video in DVD, contact grant coordinator, Maria Alicia Arabbo at [email protected]