A Comparative Study Of English Immersion Teaching In Universities

As the most widely used language, English plays an important role in the international cooperation and communication. After decades of development and improvement, French Immersion originated in Canada becomes more and more mature. It greatly influences the field of international foreign language teaching, and is considered the most effective and most significant reform on second language education in the recent 20 years. The achievements and successful experience of French Immersion at hand can be used as references to change the"waste too much, gain too little"situation of English teaching in China. With this purpose and compared with the"Sheltered Program"in Canada, this paper presents a close observation of an Immersion-like Program in the College of International Education of a university in Chongqing, aiming to have a clear picture of what immersion teaching is like under Chinese circumstances.After a three months'data collection through classroom observation, interview and questionnaire, this author investigated the details of this program, including the pedagogical strategies, evaluation system and students'attitude toward immersion, and compared the researching results with Sheltered Programs in the University of Ottawa. The following conclusions are drawn:1. The pedagogical strategies that foreign teachers have employed are effective in creating rich environment for second language learning, but they seldom correct the language errors in students'oral and written English.2. The evaluation system is effective in monitoring the quality of assignment, the operation of center and the quality of teachers'delivery of courses; however, there is no evaluation for teacher's quality of specialty. 3. Most students are positive to Immersion Program; however some students feel exhausted with heavy loaded subject courses in English.4. There are misunderstandings about immersion teaching in China on different perspectives, including teachers, managers, and parents.Based on the discussion on the findings, the author gives some pieces of practical suggestions on the localization of immersion.