Immersion Kindergarten Research Articles

Envisioning Two-Way Immersion Language Learning in China: An Initial Kindergarten Curriculum Plan

This article describes the practical application of an innovative bilingual preschool program that involves two-way immersion of both English and Chinese in classrooms. This has not been written about extensively, especially in the context of early childhood classrooms in Asian countries. The primary goal of the two-way immersion kindergarten is to offer children aged 3 to 5 the opportunity to achieve their maximum potential in all aspects of personal growth by using an enriched bilingual education model and an integrated learning curriculum. This initial curriculum plan has been developed for a two-way immersion kindergarten in Beijing, China. This framework articulates the goals of the program, program planning, implementation and design, as well as the expectations for these children. Samples of preschool and kindergarten schedules, Kindergarten Year 1 (K-1) curriculum projects, and Kindergarten Year 2 (K-2) curriculum maps are included in Supplementary A, B, and C. A detailed description of different type of activity centers is given in Supplementary D.

From Shared Interaction to Shared Language: Learning a Second Language in an Immersion Kindergarten

From Shared Interaction to Shared Language: Learning a Second Language in an Immersion Kindergarten

The Ups and Downs of a French Immersion Kindergarten Teacher: My Journey Toward an Inquiry-Based Approach to Teaching

Drawing on her lived experiences, and using the metaphor of a Snakes and Ladders game, the author reflects on her teacher practice related to using an inquiry approach in her French Immersion Kindergarten classroom. Looking backward while moving forward in time, she makes visible her process of change, foregrounding how her beliefs about children, teaching, and learning—her educational philosophy—paired with a new understanding of learning theories—in particular, constructivism—shape a pedagogical approach centered in inquiry-based learning. She stories her move from being structured and teacher-directed in her pedagogical approach to embracing an emergent curriculum and a student-centered pedagogy.

Readiness for school of children having attended language immersion kindergarten in their teachers' and parents' opinions

In multicultural societies, much attention is given to children's language learning possibilities. In Estonia, the early language immersion programme for kindergarten children was started in the year 2000. The programme, while considered to be successful, has raised the question of whether the children participating in it are adequately prepared for school. The objective of the present study is to observe the readiness for school of those children who have participated in the early language immersion programme, taking into consideration the objectives of the curriculum and their teachers' and parents' assessments. The method of this study was a questionnaire employed over a three-year period (2009–2011) involving the teachers and parents of those children who were beginning their primary school education. The results of the study revealed that, according to the assessments of their teachers and parents, the readiness for school of the children having completed the early language immersion programme was very good. Data prove that language immersion programmes provide children with enough preparation to make a smooth transition from kindergarten to school life.

Meeting the objectives of the curriculum at the first stage of basic school by the child having left the language immersion kindergarten

Year after year, the interest in early learning of the state language by non-Estonian children has increased. In Estonia, the course has been directed that non-Estonian learners have to reach functional bilingualism by the time they leave basic school and thus to become competitive in labour and education markets in Estonia. The objective of the present study is to explain – based on the teachers’ assessments – meeting the objectives of the curriculum at the end of the kindergarten period and at the first stage of basic school by the children having participated in the early language immersion programme. The method of this study was a questionnaire. The results of this study showed that the children having been taught by the language immersion methods were well prepared for school, and their knowledge, linguistic skills and the capacity of self-expression were appropriate for their age in both languages.

Bilingual experience and executive functioning in young children

Advanced inhibitory control skills have been found in bilingual speakers as compared to monolingual controls (Bialystok, 1999). We examined whether this effect is generalized to an unstudied language group (Spanish-English bilingual) and multiple measures of executive function by administering a battery of tasks to 50 kindergarten children drawn from three language groups: native bilinguals, monolinguals (English), and English speakers enrolled in second-language immersion kindergarten. Despite having significantly lower verbal scores and parent education/income level, Spanish-English bilingual children's raw scores did not differ from their peers. After statistically controlling for these factors and age, native bilingual children performed significantly better on the executive function battery than both other groups. Importantly, the relative advantage was significant for tasks that appear to call for managing conflicting attentional demands (Conflict tasks); there was no advantage on impulse-control (Delay tasks). These results advance our understanding of both the generalizability and specificity of the compensatory effects of bilingual experience for children's cognitive development.

Language Policy in a Korean-English Two-Way Immersion Setting

The purpose of this paper is to examine a language policy in a two-way immersion programme and to explicate the dimensions as well as dynamics involved in the teacher's interpretation and implementation of the policy. The Korean-English two-way immersion kindergarten classroom where this research was conducted, adopted a 70: 30 language distribution policy: Korean was used as the language of instruction during 70% of class time and English was employed as the language of instruction during the remaining 30% of time. However, despite the teacher's strict implementation of the policy, both the ethnically Korean children and ethnically non-Korean children chose to maintain most of their communication in English, reluctant to use Korean in both official and unofficial school settings. Within this setting, I ask questions related to the principles that affected the implementation of the policy by the teacher, specifically, the process by which certain interests became prioritised and the other became marginalised. I provide description of the teacher's value systems and experiences that affected this process.

Query

My daughter's five now, and she just started school. She's in French immersion kindergarten and has learned the words for all the primary colours, how to count to vingt , and she knows the word for family. School happens only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She's in day care on the off days. She

Multiple Embedded Scaffolds: Support for English Speakers in a Two-way Spanish Immersion Kindergarten

The present research focuses on opening activities in two bilingual Spanish immersion Kindergarten classrooms in northern California, Creekside and Seaside, in which similar numbers of native Spanish speakers and native English speakers were instructed primarily through Spanish. This study analyzes ways in which teachers structured opening activities to ensure comprehension and participation by children when the youngsters had little or no knowledge of the language of instruction, Spanish. Routines are analyzed in terms of scaffolding provided, with the concept of multiple embedded scaffolds proposed to explain how native English speakers are supported in language acquisition and content learning through a language that is new to them. Analysis revealed specific communication strategies such as functional repetition and the use of non-verbal cues to meaning that scaffolded comprehension. In addition, the teachers modeled language use themselves and structured events so that native Spanish speakers would model appropriate responses for non-Spanish proficient children to emulate. Finally, in the curriculum routines, teachers increased the conceptual and linguistic complexity of the content placed in the slots created by the routine, continually challenged children to higher levels of language performance, and engaged their participation in their zones of proximal development.

Environmental Scaffolds and Learner Responses in a Two-Way Spanish Immersion Kindergarten

Environmental Scaffolds and Learner Responses in a Two-Way Spanish Immersion Kindergarten