Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education - Current Issue

Abstract

In bilingual education programs, students learn content knowledge through an additional language (L2). Their content knowledge is also assessed through their L2, which raises concerns about underestimating their actual learning. This study addresses such concerns by investigating the cognitive processes and strategies of bilingual learners when being assessed in their L2. 49 university students, divided into more proficient and less proficient L2 learners, participated in an eye-tracking experiment which captured their eye movements when attempting a biology assessment. They then reported their thinking processes and strategies during the assessment process in a stimulated recall. In general, the participants engaged in more cognitive processes when attempting questions that were more cognitively demanding and required productive language skills. The less proficient group had more and longer fixations and regressions than their more proficient counterparts, but the two groups reported similar strategies. These findings have implications for assessment design in bilingual education programs.

Abstract

Adjunct instruction (AI), a form of content-based instruction, can provide students with opportunities to learn disciplinary discourse in context. Few studies have explored the extent to which AI affects students’ written production over time. This study aims to analyze the impact of a 60-hour AI course in English on writing complexity, accuracy, fluency (CAF) and on holistic measures in two groups with different exposure to English. The participants were 51 first-year Dentistry students from two strands, English-Medium of Instruction (EMI) (n = 21) and first language (L1 Catalan/Spanish) (n = 30). After 60 hours of AI, the EMI+AI group improved lexical diversity, while the L1+AI group improved accuracy and some holistic measures. Correlations between CAF and holistic measures indicate defining features of second language writing in each strand. The benefits of adjunct instruction for writing development are discussed in the light of the two settings explored.

Abstract

Cognitive benefits have been reported in early bilinguals as well as in children attending a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) school programme. Recent findings, however, show divergent results. These inconsistent findings seem to be attributable, among other factors, to the divergent tasks applied. This study aimed to determine whether a two-year CLIL programme has positive effects by applying the same tasks for which advantages were shown previously and to examine whether potential gains might impact children’s academic performance. Thirty 7-year-old French-speaking pupils who had been enrolled in a CLIL programme since the age of 5 and 30 French-speaking monolinguals following a traditional school programme were compared on different attentional and executive tasks after being matched on potential confounding variables. No attentional and executive differences were observed, but a significant effect was observed in favour of monolinguals on a task assessing mathematical skills. The implications of these results are discussed.

Résumé

Des bénéfices cognitifs ont été rapportés chez des bilingues précoces ainsi que chez des enfants suivant un programme scolaire d’enseignement d’une matière par l’intégration d’une langue étrangère (EMILE). Cependant, des résultats récents montrent des divergences. Ces résultats incohérents semblent être attribuables, entre autres facteurs, aux différentes tâches appliquées. Cette étude visait à déterminer si un programme EMILE de deux ans a des effets positifs en appliquant les mêmes tâches pour lesquelles des avantages ont été démontrés précédemment et à examiner si les gains potentiels peuvent avoir un impact sur les performances scolaires des enfants. Trente élèves francophones de 7 ans inscrits dans un programme EMILE depuis l’âge de 5 ans et 30 monolingues francophones suivant un programme traditionnel ont été comparés sur différentes tâches attentionnelles et exécutives après avoir été appariés sur plusieurs variables confondantes potentielles. Aucune différence attentionnelle et exécutive n’a été observée, mais un effet significatif a été observé en faveur des monolingues dans une tâche évaluant les compétences mathématiques. Les implications de ces résultats sont discutées.

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between foreign language (FL) oral proficiency development and teachers’ pedagogical practices in content and language integrated learning (CLIL). A one-group pretest-posttest design was employed to analyze changes in Japanese university students’ FL proficiency over time, alongside classroom observations and interviews that captured their teachers’ classroom pedagogies in CLIL courses. The results generally indicated that students improved their capacity to achieve communicative goals but failed to exhibit progress in oral linguistic competence. The former outcome was attributed to predominantly meaning-focused instruction, the use of dialogic pedagogy, and ample opportunities to practice FL speaking. In contrast, the absence of explicit language instruction and limited practice of fluency development tasks was perceived to lead to the latter outcome. These findings not only contribute to understanding the effects of CLIL on FL learning, but also shed light on the specific pedagogy-related factors that contribute to FL proficiency development.

Abstract

Drawing on Activity Theory, this study is an attempt to explore and explicate learners’ emotions in a Chinese English-medium instruction (EMI) context. This paper detailed two cases of university learners to address two issues: how the relationship between EMI learners and their perceived sociocultural contexts shapes their foreign language enjoyment and anxiety and how the factors affecting the two emotions can be explained from an Activity Theory (AT) perspective. Qualitative content analysis was performed on data collected from in-depth, face-to-face interviews and journals. The findings illustrated that a diversity of sociocultural factors, ranging from the object of learning to the rules of learning, could influence learners’ emotions. Contradictions between these factors also influenced EMI learners’ two emotions. This study could inform educational language policy and the development of EMI curricula and pedagogy.

This article reviews Education for Sustainable Development in Foreign Language Learning: Content-Based Instruction in College-Level Curricula9781003080183GBP 130.00USD 164.00

This article reviews A Deeper Learning Companion for CLIL. Putting Pluriliteracies into Practice978-1-316-51728-4GBP 22.00USD 28.00978-1-009-04452-3GBP 69.00USD 88.00