Seventh International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education

Strand I: Pedagogy & Assessment

English and German

Elementary (K-5)

In Germany, most studies examining elementary school immersion (IM) programs have focused on students’ performance in the IM language (usually English) and the majority language German. IM students’ subject knowledge has, on the other hand, been examined in only a few studies. We compared the achievements of IM students taught science in the L2 English to the achievements of students taught science in the majority language German. All the students had to complete a test which examined their subject knowledge and which was administered in German. In contrast to most previous research we also used additional response opportunities to examine the IM students’ knowledge of science terms in the immersion language in more detail. Finally, classroom observations were carried out to determine to what extent the teaching strategies used by IM and non-IM teachers were comparable. In the session, we will discuss the major results of our study and their implications for classroom practice.