LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 11 : 4 April 2011
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.

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Immersion Program: The Indian Context

Shaban Barimani, Ph.D. Candidate
Islamic Azad University, Sari Branch

Abstract

Second language acquisition (SLA) has always been a concern and a field of interest to the theorists, practitioners, and learners. This concern and interest paved the way for the emergence of a number of methods and approaches such as 'immersion program' from time to time. In Indian educational context, immersion program has been implementing for a long time.

In this paper the rationale of learning English as a second language by Indian students and the peculiarity of the implementation of immersion program in Indian context is presented. To find the effect of immersion program on incidental second language acquisition statistically, two immersion schools in Mysore, India were studied. The results confirmed the success of immersion program in second language acquisition in Indian context.

Keywords: immersion program, second language, acquisition, teaching method, SLA

1. Introduction

Throughout the history of second language teaching/learning, various methods and approaches have been applied to help students in learning / acquiring a second language. One of them which have been recently developed is immersion program that tries to integrate target language (i.e., English) as a second language instruction with subject matter or content - area instruction. This important innovation provides opportunities for students to learn regular school subjects while developing competence in a language. The subject matters are determined based on the curriculum which may consist of maths., science, and other course materials students are currently studying.

2. Immersion Program

2.1. Definition

Immersion program is defined as a method of foreign or second language instruction in which the regular school curriculum is taught through the medium of the target language. The most commonly used definition of immersion comes from Fred Genesee of Mc Gill University, one of the world's leading authorities on immersion education. In his book "Learning Through Two Languages: Studies in Immersion and Bilingual Education" (1987, Newbury House), he provides the following definition of immersion: "Generally speaking, at least 50 percent of instruction during a given academic year must be provided through the second language for the program to be regarded as immersion. Programs in which one subject and language arts are taught through the second language are generally identified as enriched second language programs." (p. 1)

Unlike a traditional language course where the target language is the subject material, language immersion uses target language as a tool. In other words, in this program the target language is not the subject of instruction, but it is the vehicle for content instruction as well as the object of instruction. For example, in English immersion program, English is not the subject of instruction; rather it is the medium through which a majority of school's academic content is taught.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Shaban Barimani, M.A., Ph.D. Candidate in EFL
Lecturer
Department of English and Literature
Islamic Azad University
Sari Branch
Iran
sh_barimani45@yahoo.com

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