Looking in the one-way mirror

Abstract

Since its inception in the late 1960s in St. Lambert, Quebec, Canada, one-way immersion has become a globalized phenomenon taking many forms and focusing on many target languages. In this paper, we will take a brief historical look at one-way immersion with regard to its program design and variants. We will then describe how immersion has evolved by focusing on five particular one-way immersion contexts: French immersion in Canada, French immersion in Louisiana, French immersion in Australia, English immersion in Hong Kong, and Chinese immersion in the U.S. We explore each of these programs by examining demographic issues as these relate to design and intercultural elements. Through these explorations, we will describe the changing face of immersion programs and the changing faces of teachers and learners. We will conclude with a discussion of what can be learned from the various models and suggest directions for future one-way immersion research.