American Council on Immersion Education (ACIE) Newsletter Articles Online Archive

	The Bridge: From Research to Practice			School Profiles
	Best Practices			Research Reports
	Immersion 101			Guest Editorials
	Points for Parents			Techno Tips
	Student & Teacher Voices

Search the ACIE Newsletters

Become an ACIE Member
Download the ACIE membership application
(PDF format – requires free Acrobat Reader)

Contribute to the ACIE Newsletter...

Meet the Editorial Staff

Note: All of The Bridge and Thematic Issues articles are in PDF format (requires Acrobat Reader).

Thematic Issues

As of 2002, the ACIE Newsletter has published theme-specific issues each May. Theme issues facilitate the exploration of a topic from a variety of practitioner perspectives and in greater depth.

Mandarin Immersion (May 2008 Vol. 11) Membership is required to view the latest ACIE Newsletter. Download the ACIE Membership Application.

Thematic Issues Click to open

10th Anniversary Issue	May 2007	2.2 Mb
Writing Development	May 2006	704 Kb
Pathways to Bilingualism Conference	May 2005	1,582 Kb
Struggling Learners	May 2004	464 Kb
Secondary Immersion	May 2003	478 Kb
Immersion Education Down Under	May 2002	432 Kb

The Bridge:
From Research to Practice

Educational research is vital to validating effective practices, challenging ineffective ones, and encouraging innovations. Yet research is only valuable if teachers read and implement findings in their classrooms.

The Bridge feature is included as an insert to encourage teachers to collect them for future reference. We hope this pull-out insert will help immersion teachers stay abreast of the latest research and allow it, when applicable, to affect their own practice.

The Bridge Click to open

Total Immersion Programs: Assessment Data Demonstrate Achievement in Reading and Math	November 2007	Dr. Lysianne Essama	200 Kb
Top Ten Responsibilities of a Successful Immersion Administrator	May 2007	Nicole Boudreaux	156 Kb
Foreign Language Immersion Programs:Features and Trends Over Thirty-Five Years	February 2007	Ashley Lenker and Nancy Rhodes	216 Kb
The Peer Tutoring Literacy Program™: Achieving Reading Fluency and Developing Self-esteem in Elementary School Students	November 2006	Mary Chipman and Nicole Roy	144 Kb
Meeting the Challenges of Second Language Writing Development in the Immersion Classroom	May 2006	Mary Livant	904 Kb
Refining Curriculum in the Language Immersion Certificate Program: Using Improvisation	February 2006	Elizabeth Chaigne	313 Kb
Does Reading Approach Matter in Two-Way Immersion Programs?	November 2005	Barbara D. Acosta	174 Kb
Meeting the Challenges of No Child Left Behind in U.S. Immersion Education	May 2005	Mike Anderson	174 Kb
Instructional Scaffolding with Graphic Organizers	February 2005	Laurent Cammarata	181 Kb
Learning Centers: Meaningful Context for Language Use in the Primary Immersion Classroom	November 2004	Joanna Click	133 Kb
Strategies for Helping Underperforming Immersion Learners Succeed	May 2004	Katy Arnett	730 Kb
Standards for School Leaders: Implications for Leadership in Foreign Language Immersion Programs	February 2004	Brandon T. Locke	114 Kb
Methods for Promoting the Acquisition of Content and Language	November 2003	Fredricka L. Stoller & Diane J. Tedick	102 Kb
Implementing Two-Way Immersion Programs in Secondary Schools	May 2003	Christopher L. Montone & Michael I. Loeb	168 Kb
Maximizing Language Growth Through Collaborative-Creative Writing	February 2003	Tara W. Fortune & Concha Fernández del Rey	188 Kb
Improving Immersion Student Oral Proficiency by Fostering the Use of Extended Discourse	November 2002	Isabelle Punchard	201 Kb
Integrated Curriculum: Designing Curriculum in the Immersion Classroom	May 2002	Helen Warnod	229 Kb
Creating a Reflective Climate for Success	February 2002	Amy Egenberger	127 Kb
Teaching Learning Strategies in Immersion Classrooms	November 2001	Anna Uhl Chamot	150 Kb
Content-Based Language Instruction: The Foundation of Language Immersion Education	May 2001	Diane J. Tedick, Karen Jorgensen, & Terri Geffert	49 Kb
Help! They're Using Too Much English! The Problem of L1 vs. L2 in the Immersion Classroom	February 2001	Cindy LaVan	112 Kb
Immersion Teaching Strategies Observation Checklist	November 2000	Tara W. Fortune	408 Kb
Discovering Burkina Faso	June 2000	Maureen Curran-Dorsano	200 Kb
Using English Achievement Data to Promote Immersion Education	March 2000	David Downs-Reid	421 Kb
Bringing the Biodiversity of Ecuador to Spanish Immersion Classrooms	December 1999	Diane Tedick & Constance L. Walker	168 Kb
Developing Oral Proficiency in the Immersion Classroom	May 1999	Miriam Stein	124 Kb
Is Immersion Education Appropriate for All Students?	February 1999	Karine S. Gaffney	192 Kb
The Importance of Sequencing and Planning When Integrating Language and Content (w/Lesson Plan)	November 1998	Kathy Numelin	140 Kb
Research on Error Correction and Implications for Classroom Teaching	May 1998	Diane J. Tedick & Barbara de Gortari	96 Kb
Integrating Language and Content Instruction in the Immersion Classroom	February 1998	Elizabeth Graser	88 Kb
Developing Vocabulary Knowledge in the Immersion Classroom	November 1997	Teresa Belisle	120 Kb

Best Practices

Sharing ideas that work is the emphasis of this regular feature. Program administrators can learn about school-wide initiatives that promote immersion principles. Classroom teachers can read about tried and true, practical instructional techniques that they might adopt for their classrooms.

Best Practices Click to open

Curriculum
Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum: FLAC	November 2000	Jolene Jacobson Barjasteh
K-12 Immersion Programs: Articulation and Implementation	May 1998	Pat Barr-Harrison
Immersion Incorporates Standards	February 1998	Marty Abbott
Instruction
Los Niños de Zihuatanejo Service Project: Hoy por ti, mañana por mi	November 2007	David Reid,
Ten Teacher Behaviors that Improve Proficiency	May 2007	Myriam Met
“¡Rin, rin, teléfono!”: A Vocabulary-building Classroom Activity	February 2007	Luisa J. Quintanilla
Weblogs in the Immersion Classroom	May 2006	Jennifer Lacey
Parallels Between Music Learning and Language Acquisition: From Fluency to Literacy	November 2004	Nyssa Brown & Deborah Lamb
Techno Tips: Minnesota to the World	February 2002	Robert Broecker
Teaching the Geography of Francophone Africa	February 2002	Pam Wesely
Doing Oral History in a Spanish Immersion Social Studies Classroom	November 1998	Martha Johnson
As Much Fun as Reccess! Using Drama for Form-Focused Primary Instruction	May 1998	Cathy Lundberg
Draw, Tell, Write, and Read	November 1997	Maureen Curran-Dorsano
Effective Teaching Strategies for Immersion Teachers	November 1997	Helena Curtain & Tara W. Fortune
Language and Literacy Development
Jumping into Literacy with Spanish Immersion Junior High Students	November 2007	Martha Johnson
Can First Grade Immersion Students Write in the Target Language?	May 2006	Mary Carmen Bartolini
NCLRC’s Elementary Immersion Learning Strategies Resource Guide	November 2005	Ephy Amoah-Ntim
Reading Support for Primary Immersion Students	May 2004	Terri Fisher & Priscilla Stoner
An Evening with Mimi Met! Discussing Language Growth in Immersion Classrooms	November 2002	Amy Egenberger
Proyecto LEE: Project Read	March 2000	Bonni Chan & John Geise
Getting Students to Read	February 1998	Michelle Broussard
Staff Quality and Professional Development
Top Ten Teaching Behaviors We Like to See When Observing in Dual Language Immersion Programs	May 2007	Tara W. Fortune and Diane J. Tedick
How Friendly/Unfriendly Immersion Practices	February 2004	Karen Pedersen
How Are We Doing? One School’s Experience with Self-Assessment	November 2003	Diana Fabas-Pirie
Peer Coaching: A Partnership for Professional Practitioners	May 1999	Teresa Belisle
Program Structure and School Culture
Assessment of Struggling Elementary Immersion Learners: The St. Paul Public Schools Model	February 2006	Aline S. Petzold
Enhancing Language Development through the Responsive Classroom's Morning Meeting	February 2005	Cindy LaVan & Laura Pezán
Equalizing the Status of Both Languages in a Dual Immersion School	November 2001	Megan Unger
Family and Community
Paradigms of Participation	November 2006	Gareth Zehrbach
Forest Glen Parent Education Conference: Preparing Students …Tomorrow’s World	February 2004	Jennifer Hope Nolden
Immersion Advocacy and the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana	February 2003	David Cheramie
International Exchanges: The Glennie School	May 2002	Michael Berthold
French in the "Real World"	May 2001	Chris Holden & Gerry Lukaska

Immersion 101

If we peel back the layers that currently envelop immersion schools, what might we find at the core? In this column we will share with readers basic principles behind successful immersion programs, and show how challenges have been met at the classroom, school, and district level.

Immersion 101 Click to open

Top Ten Considerations to Successfully Implement a New Immersion Program	May 2007	David Bernhardson
A New Revolution in China: English Immersion	February 2007	Philip Hoare
ACIE Articles Make Versatile Training Aids	November 2005	Michele Anciaux Aoki
Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire: Reflections of a First Year Immersion Teacher	November 2004	Molly Anderson
Starting an Immersion Program: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back	February 2004	Shannon Peterson
ACIE News: First Stop: Alaska! CARLA Immersion Workshops on the Road	February 2003	Diane J. Tedick & Tara W. Fortune
Special Issue: Immersion Education Down Under	May 2002	Michele de Courcy
How do I Become an Immersion Teacher	February 2001	Kara Schuft
Standardized Testing: Overcoming the Threat to Immersion Education	March 2000	Daunna Minnich
What Immersion Research Has Taught Us	December 1999	Kimerly Miller
Hawaiian Immersion: Revitalizing a Cultural Heritage	May 1999	Emily 'Ioli'i Hawkins
Choosing an Immersion Model: The Moorhead Experience	February 1999	Carol Ann Pesola Dahlberg
Types of Immersion Education: An Introduction	February 1998	Jack Brondum & Nancy Stenson
Key Concepts of Successful Immersion	November 1997	Todd Chowan, Helena Curtain-Anderson & Carol Ann Pesola

Points for Parents

Parents often are looking for a place to access ideas about how to support their children’s education. Immersion parents who may or may not be fluent in the language their child is learning at school have many questions and concerns.

In this regular feature, we offer concrete suggestions for extracurricular support of language learning. In addition, we address specific parent concerns and invite parents to share their experience and expertise.

Points for Parents Click to open

Top Ten Answers for Parents about Immersion Education	May 2007	Canadian Parents
MAIN Parents	February 2006	Rachel Richardson
Wanted: Parents with Time for School	February 2005	Kimerly Miller & Gloria Polanco-McNealy
Dyslexia in the Immersion Classroom	May 2004	Mona Anton
Organizational Pointers for Secondary Immersion Parents	May 2003	Martha Johnson
Parent Activism: A Critical Component for Secondary Immersion	May 2003	Martha Johnson
Sibling Preference? By All Means!	February 2003	Daunna Minnich
Unifying a School Community: Parents of Immersion and Non-Immersion Students	February 2002	Teresa Filbert
Channeling Involved Parents	May 2001	Carla Berkey
Why Immersion?	February 2001	Julie Sweitzer
Parent Advocacy in Milwaukee	June 2000	Kelly Guthery
The Changing Role of the Parent-Teacher Organization in an Immersion School	March 2000	Paul Nelson
Homework in an Immersion Classroom: Parental Friend or Foe?	December 1999	Lezley Lewis
Changing Parental Concerns	May 1999	Kathy Bredesen & John Bredesen
A Dozen Activities for Promoting the Use of Spanish Outside of School	November 1997	David Downs-Reid & Laura Pezan

School Profiles

There has been dramatic growth in the number of immersion programs during the last decade. More and more communities have chosen to support this educational option, whose benefits to students are well documented. In this feature we spotlight immersion schools and explore factors that make each one unique.

School Profiles Click to open

Twin Cities German Immersion School: Educating Children for Bilingual, Informed, & Active World Citizenship	November 2005	Marcy Zachmeier-Ruh
Partial Spanish Immersion Program Expands by Offering Academic Excellence for All	February 2004	Gerald Arthur
Continuing Spanish Immersion at Lawrence North High School	May 2003	Mary Carr
Forest Glen Elementary School: An International Studies Magnet Program	November 2002	Nikki Cholena Woodson
Camberwell Primary School Profile	May 2002	Helen Warnod, Victoria & Michèle de Courcy
Two-Way French Immersion in Rural Maine	November 2001	Mary Lunney, Tom Scott & Tim Doak
East Meets West: Dual Track Immersion at International School of the Peninsula..	May 2001	Heather Levinsky
Dual Language Immersion: Profile of Chicago's Early Childhood Program	November 2000	Sonia White Soltero
A French Immersion Charter School: Kansas City's Academie Lafayette	February 2001	Paul A. García
Milwaukee German Immersion School	June 2000	Helena Curtain & Mary Buchert
Park Spanish Immersion School: A Budding Program of Academic Excellence and Language Learning	March 2000	Ursina Swanson
Cincinnati: Over Two Decades of Immersion Education	February 1999	Norma Kearney

Research Reports

In an effort to push the edge of what we currently know about learning, researchers continue to design and publish new studies on issues important to immersion education. Keeping up to date with current research is a time-consuming task.

This regular feature will help inform the immersion education public about recent research by providing our readers with brief summaries of selected studies.

Research Reports Click to open

Top Ten Most Consistent Findings from Research on Foreign Language Immersion	May 2007	Fred Genesee
Top Ten Research Findings on Minority Language Learners in Two-way Immersion Programs	May 2007	Kathryn Lindholm-Leary
Top Ten Items on the Research Agenda for Two-Way Immersion	November 2006	Julie Sugarman and Elizabeth R. Howard
Assessing the Effect of Foreign Language Immersion Programs on Intercultural Sensitivity	November 2006	Philippe Corbaz
Evaluating Vancouver’s Peer Tutoring Literacy Program	November 2006	Monique Bournot-Trites
What Happens to Pre-service Teachers After They Graduate from a University Immersion Program?	February 2006	Tony Erben
Spanish Immersion and the Academic Success of Alamo Heights Students	November 2005	Cordell T. Jones
Recognizing Multilingual Immersion Students	May 2005	Diane Dagenais
Comparison Contexts: African-American Students, Immersion and Achievement	May 2005	Michelle Haj-Broussard
Attrition in Four U.S. Elementary Immersion Schools	May 2005	Peggy Rigaud
Underachieving Students and the Child Study Team: Determining Eligibility for Special Education Services	May 2004	Kristine M-W. Woelber
French Immersion Support Document: Possible Factors Influencing Student Performance in French Immersion	May 2004	Vancouver School Board
Student Roles in Two-Way Immersion: Superordinate or Subordinate?	November 2003	Esther L. Larocco
A Case Study on Reading Instruction in Early Foreign Language Immersion	February 2003	Tiia H. Korppi
Towards Enhancing Academic Language Proficiency in a Fifth-Grade Spanish Immersion Classroom	November 2002	Andrew Cohen & Tania Gómez
Text Comprehension Strategies of Children in an Indonesian Bilingual Program	May 2002	Michèle de Courcy
Student Language Use Tells an Interesting Story	February 2002	Tara W. Fortune
Brain Research: Implications for Second Language Learning	November 2001	Fred Genesee
English and Spanish Use by Three Fifth Graders in a Full Immersion Classroom	June 2000	Maggie A. Broner

Guest Editorials

This features provides anyone interested in immersion education with an opportunity to voice your thoughts and concerns.

Guest Editorials Click to open

Learning Cross-Cultural Competencies: An Interview with a Cross-Cultural Trainer	November 2006	Kimerly Miller
Why Bother with Immersion Language Proficiency Assessment?	February 2006	Maria Alicia Arabbo
Immersion Learning and Language Rights in France: The Case of the Diwan Schools	November 2004	Lois Kuter, Secretary
Challenging Choices: Immersion in One School or Mulitple Sites	February 2005	María Roldán & Dan Leclerc
Bilingual Reflections of an Immersion Student	February 2004	Annie Heideman
Planning for Articulation: One Principal’s Experience	May 2003	Ursina Swanson
Why Do We Reinvent the Wheel All the Time?	November 2001	Daniel D. Demers
To Find the Best Teachers one Has to Look	May 2001	Karen Terhaar
A Look at ACIE: Past, Present, and Future	February 2001	Karin Larson
Social & Cognitive Challenges of Middle School Japanese Immersion	February 1998	Carl Falsgraf
Saving What?	November 1997	Lyle Gerard

Techno Tips

Technology and second language education are a natural match, as both enable us to explore our multilingual world more directly. In this column, Techno Tips, we highlight successful applications of technology in and around the immersion classroom

Techno Tips Click to open

Top Ten Techno Tips For Immersion Teachers from the ACIE Archives	May 2007	John Peacock
Using Keypals with Post-Secondary Immersion Students	May 2006	Thomas Robb
Immersion Learning Unplugged	November 2004	Gary Leatherman
Creating Independent Learner of Japanese via the Internet	May 2004	Michael Bacon & Atsuko Ando
Sleepless in Maryland: Teacher Surfs Web for French Gold	November 2003	Angie Loomis
Immersion Teacher Education Through Audiographics	May 2002	Tony Erben
Immersion Teachers in CoBaLTT	February 2001	Kimerly Miller
CoBaLTT (Content-based Language Teaching Through Technology)	November 2000	Marcy Zachmeier-Ruh
Webquests: Learning in the 21st Century	June 2000	Maureen Curran-Desano
Integrating Technology Into Your Immersion Classroom	December 1999	Terri Geffert & Laura McManus
Teachers Teaching Teachers Tech!	May 1999	Gabriela Sweet
Jump In, The Water's Fine!	November 1998	Greg Anderson
LIM-A Listserv Samples	May 1999	Tara W. Fortune

Student & Teacher Voices

Immersion teachers often look to research and experiences of other educators to inform their curriculum planning and instruction. In this feature we hear what students and teachers think about immersion learning and teaching

Student & Teacher Voices Click to open

Ten Reasons to Become an Immersion Teacher in an Indigenous Language	May 2007	Keiki K.C. Kawai‘ae‘a
Ten Things I Wish I’d Known as an Immersion Teacher	May 2007	Mandy Fleming
Ten Quotes from Early French Immersion Students	May 2007	Merrill Swain & Sharon Lapkin

American Council on Immersion Education (ACIE) Newsletter Articles Online Archive

Thematic Issues

The Bridge: From Research to Practice

Best Practices

Curriculum

Instruction

Language and Literacy Development

Staff Quality and Professional Development

Program Structure and School Culture

Family and Community