Teaching in a French Immersion Setting: A Review of the Who, the What and the How

Abstract

The French immersion (FI) program has been offered for over 50 years in Canada. Given that more than five decades brings changes to context and understanding, this scientific review focuses on the foundation of the program and its present iteration. In particular, the authors focus on and identify past and current student populations (the who), program design (the what), and approaches and practices (the how) in FI programs in Canada. Research used for the development of this literature review was limited to Canadian-based empirical studies published in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters between 2012 and 2022 as identified through the use of ERIC-EBSCO and éRUDIT databases, with the exception of certain foundational articles (Cummins & Swain, 1986) to the study of FI in the Canadian educational context which surpass the 10-year parameters set out for this literature review in addition to the inclusion of more dated references to support statements.