Children’s Literacy Development in Full- and Half-Day English and Second-Language Immersion Kindergarten Programs

• In Event: Young English Language Learners

Abstract

This paper investigates kindergarten children’s development of literacy skills in half-day and full-day English and French immersion (FI) programs. Participants are 73 kindergarten students in schools offering four different models of kindergarten: English full-day, English half-day, FI full-day, and FI half-day. Children’s scores on English and French (for FI students) measures of receptive vocabulary, word identification, word decoding, and early print are analyzed and discussed. Among other findings, it was revealed that full-day FI students experienced greater gains in all French measures compared to students in half-day FI, and significantly greater gains in French receptive vocabulary. This research will inform policy related to kindergarten language immersion programs.

Authors

• Nathalie Rothschild, Concordia University

• Janette P. Pelletier, University of Toronto