Conference Sessions

This session will explore the role of technology in providing meaningful authentic language experiences to secondary immersion students. The goals of this session are to highlight experiences from secondary immersion classrooms, address the technological and financial hurdles of implementing the use of technology, and provide participants the opportunity to collaborate.

Presentation Slides (PDF)

I will summarize the findings of a five-month mathematics vocabulary action research project in a fourth grade full-immersion program and share strategies used. Participants will be engaged in discussions around best practice strategies of vocabulary instruction in immersion programs and how to adapt these to their own setting.

Vocab Games (PDF) / Snapshot Camera (PDF)
Steps to Present New Vocab (PDF)

The benefits of immersion/dual language programs have been well-documented in the research. However, the problem remains how to communicate to the public the academic and ethical benefits of such immersion programs in ways that will be heard. Through the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis and Social Semiotics, this paper explores media discourse by examining linguistic strategies and use of metaphor/metonymy to understand how information about immersion programs is being communicated to the public.

This talk presents findings of an ethnographic case study involving heritage-language students in French immersion, outlining how children navigate and prioritize a plurilingual/pluricultural school experience, develop intercultural sensitivity, and construct their identity. Self-assessment language diaries are presented, and interview and observational data are analyzed for key events.

In this presentation we summarize the results of a qualitative case study whose purpose was to investigate how a linguistically heterogeneous group of fifth grade students responded to "counterbalanced" instructional strategies designed to enhance their Spanish language development (use of preterit and imperfect) in the context of a biography unit.

In addition to its role as a method of language acquisition, immersion programs also provide a meaningful opportunity to internationalize the core curriculum, by challenging educators to rethink not only how languages are taught, but also what is taught as part of the immersion experience.

This presentation will detail our journey to provide immersion education K-12 by getting the right people involved in the planning, including a variety of stakeholders in the process, and responding to questions and concerns of decision makers and the public. We will discuss lessons learned and what lies ahead.

Early English immersion programs have been implemented in many elementary schools in Xian, China. Six hundred and sixty students from two public primary schools were tested in speaking, vocabulary, and reading. Sociocultural differences were also explored. The way in which these programs evolved in response to local constraints will be discussed.

This presentation is intended for school and district personnel who support teachers in dual language immersion programs. The Utah Dual Immersion Team of Instructional Specialist will share strategies used to support teachers with special attention to international guest teachers. We will give strategies used to address the teachers' needs and concerns.

Presenters share an action research consultancy project with a K-12 Hawaiian language immersion school. The major issue focused upon will be providing a culturally appropriate means of defining success for Hawaiian immersion education. Utilizing a mixed methods design, data from surveys, interviews, and case studies of the school's graduates tell their stories.

Presentation Slides (PDF)

Last year, Utah began requiring a specific endorsement for immersion teachers. This presentation details the efforts of one university to prepare students for the immersion endorsement. We will address challenges associated with creating a minor in immersion teaching, including the development of the necessary expertise in university faculty members.

Presentation Slides (PDF)