Two for One

"Two for One" refers to language teaching that is content-based. The expectation of this approach is that students can get "two for one", learning the subject matter and a new language at the same time (page 155).

Canadian French immersion programs are a popular example of "Two for One". Studies have found that students develop high levels of listening comprehension and confidence using their second language. Students also seem to be able to achieve academic success comparable to their peers who stayed in course taught in English. Cr tics claimed that over time, these students failed to achieve proper French grammar and that students didn't have enough opportunities to engage in language production because courses were teacher-centered.

Late immersion programs were analyzed in Study #26. Late immersion refers to programs where students are taught in their native language at the primary level and then switch to an immersion program at the secondary level. These "late immersion" programs were popular in Hong Kong during the 1960's when Chinese parents began to push their children to learn English in order to prepare them for the international community. Although the programs were popular, research found that students didn't seem to have the English proficiency the needed to follow the curriculum successfully. As a result, teachers spoke mostly in Chinese, or a "mix" to try and help students comprehend the subject matter.

In Study #27, the authors of our book, Nina Spada and Patsy Lightbrown observed children in content-based programs in an aboriginal community in Canada. The children were educated in their first language, Inuktitut from kindergarten to Grade 2. From that point on, children were taught in either French or English. L&S found that nearly all students struggled with the subject matter when it was taught in their second language. Teachers tried to help students comprehend the subject matter in many ways, but because students lacked knowledge of the necessary vocabulary, L&S found the program to be unsuccessful (page 159).

Conclusion
The findings in "Two for One" surprised me because I had assumed that students who were proficient in their first language would be able to transfer their knowledge to the content they learned in the second language. However, I can see how content-based vocabulary could be a problem for many students and teacher-centered classrooms may not provide enough time for interaction. As our class has discussed during our "Wednesday Chats", a balance of structured language teaching with time for natural interaction seems to be the key for successful long term language acquisition.