Discovering Successful Second Language Teaching Strategies and Practices: From Programme Evaluation to Classroom Experimentation

Abstract

This paper analyses the immersion system of education that has now been practised in Canada for over 25 years. It first describes the immersion system, examining findings from evaluation and research, and then provides a retrospective account of how immersion education in Canada has progressed from its original format to its present status. This development is analysed in terms of a cycle which has been guided by the interplay between theoretical understanding of classroom second language acquisition and actual classroom practice.