Article published in:
Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education
Vol. 5:1 (2017) ► pp. 30–57

Context-appropriate crosslinguistic pedagogy

Considering the role of language status in immersion education

| McGill University
| University of Regina
In the field of second language education, researchers increasingly call for crosslinguistic pedagogical practices meant to encourage bilingual learners to draw on all of their linguistic resources regardless of the focus of instruction or the status of the target language. These recommendations include a relaxation of the strict language separation common in many bilingual education programs. Specifically, some Canadian French immersion researchers suggest that it may be beneficial to allow immersion students to use English for peer interaction during instructional time allotted to French. In this position paper, we argue that researchers should proceed with caution in calling for increased majority language use in the minority language classroom. We use Canadian French immersion as a case in point to contend that until empirical evidence supports increased use of English in immersion, crosslinguistic approaches that maintain a separate space for the majority language may represent ideal pedagogical practices in these contexts.
Keywords: bilingual education, French immersion, translanguaging, crosslinguistic pedagogy, biliteracy instruction, language status


This article is currently available as a sample article.

Published online: 20 April 2017
https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.5.1.02bal

Full-text

Context-appropriate crosslinguistic pedagogy
References

References

Armand, F., & Dagenais, D.
(2012) S’ouvrir à la langue de l’autre et à la diversité linguistique [Becoming aware of others’ languages and of linguistic diversity]. Education Canada, 52(1). Retrieved from http://​www​.cea​-ace​.ca​/education​-canada​/article​/s’ouvrir​-à​-la​-langue​-de​-l’autre​-et​-à​-la​-diversité​-linguistique Google Scholar
Auger, J.
(2002) French immersion in Montreal: Pedagogical norm and functional competence. In K. Bardovi-Harlig, S. Gass, S. Magnan, & J. Walz (Eds.), Pedagogical norms for second and foreign language learning and teaching (pp. 81–101). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
August, D., & Shanahan, T.
(Eds.) (2006) Developing literacy in second language learners. (Report of the national literacy panel on language-minority children and youth). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Baker, C.
(2011) Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (5th ed.). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Ballinger, S.
(2013) Towards a cross-linguistic pedagogy: Biliteracy and reciprocal learning strategies in French immersion. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 1(1), 131–148. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2015) Linking content, linking students: A cross-linguistic pedagogical intervention. In J. Cenoz & D. Gorter (Eds.), Multilingual education: New perspectives (pp. 35–60). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ballinger, S., & Lyster, R.
(2011) Student and teacher language use in a two-way Spanish/English immersion school. Language Teaching Research, 15, 289–306.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Beeman, S., & Urow, C.
(2012) Teaching for biliteracy: Strengthening bridges between languages. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing.Google Scholar
Behan, L., Turnbull, M., & Spek, J.
(1997) The proficiency gap in late immersion (extended French): Language use in collaborative tasks. Le Journal de l’Immersion, 20, 41–42.Google Scholar
Berger, A.
(2015) Conceptualizing the interaction between language and mathematics: An integrated language and mathematics model of word problem solving processes in English as a foreign language. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 3(2), 285–313. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Blos Bolzan, D.
(2016) Colaboração na produção escrita em segunda língua: uma proposta de revisão por pares para a aula de Língua Inglesa em uma escola com currículo bilíngue [Collaboration in ESL writing: Peer review in the English class at a school with a bilingual curriculum]. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.Google Scholar
Bolitho, R., Carter, R., Hughes, R., Ivanič, R., Masuhara, H., & Tomlinson, B.
(2003) Ten questions about language awareness. ELT Journal, 57(3), 251–259. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bostwick, M.
(2001) English immersion in a Japanese school. In D. Christian & F. Genesee (Eds.), Bilingual education (pp. 125–138). Alexandria, VA: TESOL.Google Scholar
Bruner, J.
(1978) The role of dialogue in language acquisition. In A. Sinclair, R. Jarvelle, & W. Levelt (Eds.), The child’s concept of language. New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Calvé, P.
(1991) Vingt-cinq ans d’immersion au Canada 1965–1990 [Twenty-five years of immersion in Canada 1965–1990]. Études de Linguistique Appliquée, 82, 7–23.Google Scholar
Cameron, L.
(2001) Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cammarata, L., & Tedick, D.
(2012) Balancing content and language in instruction: The experience of immersion teachers. Modern Language Journal, 96(2), 251–269. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Canagarajah, S.
(2011) Translanguaging in the classroom: Emerging issues for research and pedagogy. Applied Linguistics Review, 2, 1–28. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Candelier, M.
(2003) L‘éveil aux langues à l‘école primaire: Evlang: bilan d’une innovation européenne [Language awareness at primary school: Evlang: Evaluation of a European innovation]. De Boeck Supérieur.Google Scholar
Celic, C., & Seltzer, K.
(2012) Translanguaging: A CUNY-NYSIEB guide for educators. New York, NY: CUNY-NYSIEB.Google Scholar
Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D.
(2011) Focus on multilingualism: A study of trilingual writing. The Modern Language Journal, 95, 356–369. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Chow, P., & Cummins, J.
(2003) Valuing multilingual and multicultural approaches to learning. In S. Schecter & J. Cummins (Eds.), Multilingual education in practice: Using diversity as a resource (pp. 32–61). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Christian, D., Montone, C., Lindholm, K. & Carranza, I.
(1997) Profiles in two-way immersion education. McHenry, IL: Delta Systems and Center for Applied Linguistics.Google Scholar
Council of Europe
(2000) Common European framework of references for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Language Policy Division. Strasbourg. Retrieved from http://​www​.coe​.int​/t​/dg4​/linguistic​/Source​/Framework​_EN​.pdf Google Scholar
Creese, A., & Blackledge, A.
(2010) Translanguaging in the bilingual classroom: A pedagogy for learning and teaching? Modern Language Journal, 94(1), 103–115. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cummins, J.
(1998) Immersion education for the millennium: What have we learned from 30 years of research on second language education? In M. Childs & M. Bostwick (Eds.), Learning through two languages: Research and practice. Second Katoh Gakuen International Symposium on Immersion and Bilingual Education (pp. 34–47). Katoh Gakuen, Japan.Google Scholar
(2007) Rethinking monolingual instructional strategies in multilingual classrooms. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10, 221–241.Google Scholar
(2014) Rethinking pedagogical assumptions in Canadian French immersion programs. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 2(1), 3–22. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Dagenais, D., Walsh, N., Armand, F., & Maraillet, E.
(2008) Collaboration and co-construction of knowledge during language awareness activities in Canadian elementary schools. Language Awareness, 17(2), 139-155. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
de Bot, K.
(1996) The psycholinguistics of the output hypothesis. Language Learning, 46(3), 529–555. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
de Jong, E. & Howard, E.
(2009) Integration in two-way immersion education: Equalising linguistic benefits for all students. International Journal of Bilingual Education Bilingualism, 12(1), 81–99. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
DeKeyser, R.
(2007) Skill acquisition theory. In B. VanPatten & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction (pp. 97–113). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Fairclough, N.
(1992) Critical language awareness. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Faltis, C.
(1989) Code-switching and bilingual schooling: An examination of Jacobson’s new concurrent approach. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 10(2), 117–127. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
French, L.
(2007) Brazilian bilingual education: Another language, another soul. New Routes, September issue, 28–30.Google Scholar
Fortune, T.
(2001) Understanding immersion students’ oral language use as a mediator of social interaction in the classroom. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.Google Scholar
Fortune, T., & Tedick, D.
(2015) Oral proficiency development of K–8 Spanish immersion students. The Modern Language Journal, 99(4), 637–655. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
García, O.
(2009) Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.Google Scholar
(2013) Theorizing translanguaging for educators. In C. Celic & K. Seltzer (Eds.), Translanguaging: A CUNY-NYSIEB guide for educators (pp. 1–6). New York, NY: CUNY-NYSIEB.Google Scholar
García, O., & Wei, L.
(2014) Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism, and education. London: Palgrave MacMillan. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F.
(2006) Bilingual first language acquisition in perspective. In P. McCardle & E. Hoff (Eds.), Childhood bilingualism: Research on infancy through school age (pp. 45–67). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Genesee, F., & Lindholm-Leary, K.
(2013) Two case studies of content-based language education. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 1(1), 3–33. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Germain, C.
(1991) Le point sur l’approche communicative en didactique des langues [Update on the communicative approach to language teaching]. Montreal, QC: Les Éditions CEC.Google Scholar
Gierlinger, E.
(2015) ‘You can speak German, Sir’: On the complexity of teachers’ L1 use in CLIL. Language and Education, 29(4), 347–368. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Gort, M., & Sembiante, S.
(2014) Navigating hybridized language learning spaces through translanguaging pedagogy: Dual language preschool teachers’ languaging practices in support of emergent bilingual children’s performance of academic discourse. International Multilingual Research Journal, 9(1), 7–25. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Gullifer, J., Kroll, J., & Dussias, P.
(2013) When language switching has no apparent cost: Lexical access in sentence context. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 248. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Haque, E.
(2012) Multiculturalism within a bilingual framework: Language, race, and belonging in Canada. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Harley, B.
(1992) Patterns of second language development in French immersion. Journal of French Language Studies, 2, 159–183. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hawkins, E.
(1999) Foreign language study and language awareness. Language Awareness, 8(3-4), 124–142. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hesson, S., Seltzer, K., & Woodley, H.
(2014) Translanguaging in curriculum and instruction: A CUNY-NYSIEB guide for educators. New York, NY: CUNY-NYSIEB.Google Scholar
Hickey, T.
(2007) Children’s language networks and teachers’ input in minority language immersion: What goes in may not come out. Language and Education, 21(1), 46–65. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hoshino, N., & Thierry, G.
(2011) Language selection in bilingual word production: Electrophysiological evidence for cross-language competition. Brain Research, 1371, 100–109. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jiménez, R., García, G., & Pearson, D.
(1996) The reading strategies of bilingual Latina/o students who are successful English readers: Opportunities and obstacles. Reading Research Quarterly, 31(1), 90–112. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, R., & Swain, M.
(1997) Immersion education: International perspectives. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jorgensen, J.
(2008) Poly-lingual languaging around and among children and adolescents. International Journal of Multilingualism, 5(3), 161–176. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Krashen, S.
(1985) The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. New York, NY: Longman.Google Scholar
Kristmanson, P., & Dicks, J.
(2014) Looking in the one-way mirror: Reflections on the changing face(s) of immersion in North America and beyond. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 2(2), 273–287. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kroll, J.
(2008) Juggling two languages in one mind. Psychological Science Agenda, 22(1). Retrieved from http://​www​.apa​.org​/science​/about​/psa​/2008​/01​/kroll​.aspx Google Scholar
Kroll, J., Bobb, S., & Hoshino, N.
(2014) Two languages in mind: Bilingualism as a tool to investigate language, cognition, and the brain. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 159–163. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lambert, W.
(1975) Culture and language as factors in education. In A. Wolfgang (Ed.), Education of immigrant students (pp. 55–83). Toronto, ON: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.Google Scholar
Lambert, W., & Tucker, R.
(1972) Bilingual education of children: The St. Lambert experiment. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers.Google Scholar
Lapkin, S., Hart, D., & Swain, M.
(1991) Early and middle French immersion programs: French language outcomes. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 48(1), 11–40.Google Scholar
Lightbown, P.
(2014) Focus on content-based language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lizee, H.
(2014) Is English really necessary in French Immersion classrooms: A case study. Unpublished MA thesis. University of Regina, Saskatchewan.Google Scholar
Luk, J., & Lin, A.
(2015) Voices without words: Doing critical literate talk in English as a second language. TESOL Quarterly, 49, 67–91. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lyster, R.
(2007) Learning and teaching languages through content: A counterbalanced approach. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2016) Vers une approche intégrée en immersion [Towards an integrated approach in immersion]. Montréal: Les Éditions CEC.Google Scholar
Lyster, R., Collins, L., & Ballinger, S.
(2009) Linking languages through a bilingual read-aloud project. Language Awareness, 18, 366–383. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lyster, R., Quiroga, J., & Ballinger, S.
(2013) The effects of biliteracy instruction on morphological awareness. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 1(2), 169–197. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lyster, R., & Sato, M.
(2013) Skill Acquisition Theory and the role of practice in L2 development. In P. García Mayo, M. Gutierrez-Mangado, & M. Martínez Adrián (Eds.), Contemporary approaches to second language acquisition (pp. 71–92). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mackey, W.
(2010) History and origins of language policies in Canada. In M. Morris (Ed.), Canadian language policies in comparative perspective (pp. 18–66). Montreal & Kingston: McGill–Queen’s University Press.Google Scholar
Macintyre, P., Burns, C., & Jessome, A.
(2011) Ambivalence about communicating in a second language: A qualitative study of French immersion students’ willingness to communicate. The Modern Language Journal, 95(1), 81–96. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mady, C.
(2015) Examining immigrants’ English and French achievement in French immersion. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 3(2), 268–284. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mady, C., Arnett, K., & Muilenburg, L. Y.
(2016) French second-language teacher candidates’ positions towards Allophone students and implications for inclusion. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 20(1), 1–14. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Manyak, P.
(2004) “What did she say?” Translation in a primary-grade English immersion class. Multicultural Perspectives, 6, 12–18. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
May, S.
(Ed.) (2013) The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Norton, B.
(2013) Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Otheguy, R., García, O., & Reid, W.
(2015) Clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: A perspective from linguistics. Applied Linguistics Review, 6(3), 281–307. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Palmer, D., Martínez, R., Mateus, S. & Henderson, K.
(2014) Reframing the debate on language separation: Toward a vision for translanguaging pedagogies in the dual immersion classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 98, 757–772. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Perregaux, C., De Goumoëns, C., Jeannot, D., & de Pietro, J. F.
(2003) Éducation au langage et ouverture aux langues à l‘école [Language education and language awareness at school] (EOLE). Neuchâtel: Secrétariat général de la CIIP.Google Scholar
Pessoa, S., Hendry, H., Donato, R., Tucker, G. R., & Lee, H.
(2007) Content-based instruction in the foreign language classroom: A discourse perspective. Foreign Language Annals, 40(1), 102–121. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Potowski, K.
(2007) Language and identity in a dual immersion school. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Rebuffot, J.
(1993) Le point sur l’immersion au Canada [Update on immersion in Canada]. Montreal, QC : Éditions CEC.Google Scholar
Roy, S.
(2010) Not truly, not entirely…pas comme les francophones [not like the Francophones]. Canadian Journal of Education, 33(3), 541–563. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Schecter, S., & Cummins, J.
(Eds.) (2003) Multilingual education in practice: Using diversity as a resource. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Segalowitz, N.
(2010) Cognitive bases of fluency development. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Soltero-Gonzalez, L., Escamilla, K., & Hopewell, S.
(2012) Changing teachers’ perceptions about the writing abilities of emerging bilingual students: Towards a holistic bilingual perspective on writing assessment. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 15(1), 71–94. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Storch, N., & Aldosari, A.
(2010) Learners’ use of first language (Arabic) in an EFL class. Language Teaching Research, 14(4), 355–375. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Swain, M.
(1985) Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 235–256). New York, NY: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S.
(2000) Task-based second language learning: The uses of the first language. Language Teaching Research, 4, 251–274. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2005) The evolving socio-political context of immersion education in Canada: Some implications for program development. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 15, 169–186. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2013) A Vygotskian sociocultural perspective on immersion education: The L1/L2 debate. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Education, 1, 101–129. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Tarone, E., & Swain, M.
(1995) A sociolinguistic perspective on second-language use in immersion classrooms. The Modern Language Journal, 79, 166–178. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Turnbull, M., Cormier, M., & Bourque, J.
(2011) The first language in science class: A quasi experimental study in late French immersion. The Modern Language Journal, 95, 182–198. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wei, L.
(2011) Moment analysis and translanguaging space: Discursive construction of identities by multilingual Chinese youth in Britain. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(5), 1222–1235. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Williams, C.
(1996) Secondary education: Teaching in the bilingual situation. In C. Williams, G. Lewis, & C. Baker (Eds.), The language policy: Taking stock (pp. 39–78). Llangefni, UK: CAI.Google Scholar
Wong Fillmore, L., & Valadez, C.
(1986) Teaching bilingual learners. In M. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp. 648–685). New York, NY: MacMillan.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 22 other publications

Ballinger, Susan, Sunny Man Chu Lau & Claude Quevillon Lacasse
2020. Cross-Linguistic Pedagogy: Harnessing Transfer in the Classroom. The Canadian Modern Language Review 76:4 ► pp. 265 ff. Crossref logo
Kim Bower, Do Coyle, Russell Cross & Gary N. Chambers
2020.  In Curriculum Integrated Language Teaching, Crossref logo
Annick De Houwer & Lourdes Ortega
2018.  In The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingualism, Crossref logo
Díaz Pérez, Wendy, Donna Lee Fields & David Marsh
2018. Innovations and Challenges: Conceptualizing CLIL Practice. Theory Into Practice 57:3 ► pp. 177 ff. Crossref logo
Fortier-Fréçon, Naomi & Leia Laing
2019. L’enseignement des traités autochtones dans une classe d’immersion française. L’apprentissage des thèmes reliés à la réconciliation dans un contexte français minoritaire. Cahiers franco-canadiens de l'Ouest 31:1 ► pp. 109 ff. Crossref logo
Hamman-Ortiz, Laura
2019. Troubling the “two” in two-way bilingual education. Bilingual Research Journal 42:4 ► pp. 387 ff. Crossref logo
Hamman-Ortiz, Laura
2020. Becoming bilingual in two-way immersion: patterns of investment in a second-grade classroom. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism ► pp. 1 ff. Crossref logo
Jakonen, Teppo, Tamás Péter Szabó & Petteri Laihonen
2018.  In Translanguaging as Everyday Practice [Multilingual Education, 28], ► pp. 31 ff. Crossref logo
Lightbown, Patsy M. & Nina Spada
2020. Teaching and learning L2 in the classroom: It's about time. Language Teaching 53:4 ► pp. 422 ff. Crossref logo
Lyster, Roy
2019. Making research on instructed SLA relevant for teachers through professional development. Language Teaching Research 23:4 ► pp. 494 ff. Crossref logo
Lyster, Roy
2019. Translanguaging in Immersion: Cognitive Support or Social Prestige?. The Canadian Modern Language Review 75:4 ► pp. 340 ff. Crossref logo
Lyster, Roy & Fred Genesee
2019.  In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, ► pp. 1 ff. Crossref logo
Payant, Caroline
2020. Exploring Multilingual Learners’ Writing Practices during an L2 and an L3 Individual Writing Task. The Canadian Modern Language Review 76:4 ► pp. 313 ff. Crossref logo
Sato, Masatoshi & Isidora Angulo
2020.  In Languaging in Language Learning and Teaching [Language Learning & Language Teaching, 55], ► pp. 42 ff. Crossref logo
Sato, Masatoshi & Neomy Storch
2020. Context matters: Learner beliefs and interactional behaviors in an EFL vs. ESL context. Language Teaching Research ► pp. 136216882092358 ff. Crossref logo
Séror, Jérémie & Guillaume Gentil
2020. Cross-Linguistic Pedagogy and Biliteracy in a Bilingual University: Students’ Stances, Practices, and Ideologies. The Canadian Modern Language Review 76:4 ► pp. 356 ff. Crossref logo
Tedick, Diane J.
2020.  In Curriculum Integrated Language Teaching, ► pp. xi ff. Crossref logo
Turner, Marianne
2019.  In Multilingualism as a Resource and a Goal, ► pp. 1 ff. Crossref logo
Turner, Marianne
2019.  In Multilingualism as a Resource and a Goal, ► pp. 19 ff. Crossref logo
Turner, Marianne
2019.  In Multilingualism as a Resource and a Goal, ► pp. 45 ff. Crossref logo
Turner, Marianne
2019.  In Multilingualism as a Resource and a Goal, ► pp. 251 ff. Crossref logo
Turner, Marianne
2020. Drawing on students’ diverse language resources to facilitate learning in a Japanese–English bilingual program in Australia. Language Teaching Research ► pp. 136216882093882 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 03 january 2021. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.