Balancing Content and Language in Instruction: The Experience of Immersion Teachers

Research on immersion teaching has consistently shown that immersion teachers tend to focus on subject matter content at the expense of language teaching. The response to that research has often entailed suggestions for teachers on how better to integrate language and content in their instruction. H...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Modern language journal (Boulder, Colo.) Vol. 96; no. 2; pp. 251 - 269
Main Authors CAMMARATA, LAURENT, TEDICK, DIANE J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.06.2012
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Wiley-Blackwell
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Subjects
Bilingual students
Content Area Instruction
Educational Change
Elementary School Teachers
Immersion Programs
Language
Language for Special Purposes
Language immersion programs
Language instruction
Language Teachers
Multilingualism
Nonnative languages
Phenomenology
Professional Development
Second Language Instruction
Second Language Learning
Secondary School Teachers
Self Concept
Social Studies
Spanish
Teacher Attitudes
Teacher Education
Teacher Improvement
Teachers
Teaching
Teaching Experience
Teaching Methods
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Summary:Research on immersion teaching has consistently shown that immersion teachers tend to focus on subject matter content at the expense of language teaching. The response to that research has often entailed suggestions for teachers on how better to integrate language and content in their instruction. However, missing from the discussion are rich descriptions of the actual experiences that immersion teachers have as they attempt to balance language and content in their teaching. This phenomenological study aims to address this gap by exploring teachers' lived experience with content and language integration. In this article, authors report on findings suggesting that immersion teachers' experience with balancing language and content is a multifaceted struggle involving issues related to teacher identity, stakeholder expectations, and understandings regarding the relationship between language and content. Implications for school-based support for immersion programs as well as calls for reform in immersion teacher preparation and professional development are shared.
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ISSN:0026-7902
1540-4781
DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2012.01330.x