Consequences of transfer out of early French immersion programs

Abstract

ABSTRACT Former French immersion students who had transferred to an English program because of academic difficulty and poor adjustment were assessed after their first year of total English education. Their cognitive, academic, linguistic, and social psychological status was compared to that of children who had remained in the immersion program despite academic difficulty. Academically, both groups showed similar improvement. Behaviorally, the transfer children continued to be deviant and to show poor attitudes and motivations. After one year out of French immersion, the transfer children maintained previously acquired second language skills. The data suggest that the child's basic cognitive and affective characteristics rather than factors associated with language of education influence academic achievement as well as school- and language-related attitudes and motivations.