Canadian Immersion Education in an Evaluative Perspective : A Synthesis of Research Findings on the Efficiency of French Immersion Programmes (1)

The purpose of the present study is to synthesize research findings accumulated by numerous evaluation studies on the efficiency of French immersion programmes in Canada. The synthesis has been attempted in terms of the four different, but related perspectives; effects on French language skills, effects on English language skills, effects on general scholastic achievements, and effects on socio-cultural domains. Out of these four perspectives, the present paper, the first of the series of two, has focused on the first two perspectives of linguistic nature. Accordingly, it has focused, first, on research findings presented by those evaluation studies that compared students\u27 performance in French between French immersion programmes and regular English programmes, between French immersion programmes and programmes for French-speaking students, and between different types of French immersion programmes. Secondly, it has focused on research findings from those evaluation studies that compared students\u27 performance in English in a similar framework. A close examination of these research findings has revealed that in both perspectives the efficiency of French immersion programmes is well attested, endorsing the claim by supporters of French immersion programmes for the achievement of functional bilingualism in French and English among immersion graduates.国立情報学研究所『研究紀要公開支援事業』により電子化