The feel good factor: comparing immersion by design and immersion by default models

Abstract

This article presents findings from an exploratory research project entitled Gaelscoileanna and Multicultural classrooms: the potential for transfer to enhance L2 learning experiences. The project focussed on two language immersion contexts in Ireland which, despite obvious differences, share a range of significant commonalities. One context was that of the Gaelscoil, where instruction is through the medium of Irish, and the other that of the mainstream English-medium school, where learners from migrant backgrounds often experience a form of language immersion which is referred to here as ‘immersion by default’. The views of teachers and principals are described in this article. Data from this cohort illustrate how each school type approached the celebration of language per se in relation to learners for whom the language of instruction is not the L1. This raises two key issues: (1) the extent to which the school can see itself as a site of and for multilingualism, and (2) the extent to which learners in all immersion contexts can also be affirmed as language learners. Findings point to how immersion contexts, regardless of whether they are ‘design’ or ‘default’ in nature, can inform each other. We argue that each has the potential to approach Language in additive ways.