Second‐Language Acquisition Through Subject‐Matter Learning: A Follow‐up Study at the University of Ottawa*

Abstract

The present article describes a study of second‐language (ESL and FSL) acquisition in which Anglophone and Francophone university students took Introduction to Psychology / Introduction à la psychologie in their second language in a special, sheltered class taught by regular psychology professors. The questions serving as a basis for this study are: (1) Did the experimental subjects successfully master the psychology subject matter? (2) Were there measurable improvements in the second‐language proficiency of the experimental subjects? (3) Did the self‐confidence of the experimental subjects increase as reflected in their self‐reported gains in proficiency, second‐language use anxiety and intention to use the second language outside the classroom? Results provide an affirmative answer to the first two questions. In addition, comparison with control groups in language and psychology suggest that sheltered classes are at least as effective as traditional psychology and language classes, and sometimes even better. Results did not provide a definitive answer to the third question although experimental subjects consistently perceived improvements in their second‐language skills and those in the FSL study showed a decrease in French use anxiety.