Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education

JICB editors welcome submissions of the highest quality that report on empirical research and/or offer theoretical discussions, and we seek innovative submissions that push the field forward and generate new knowledge. We encourage work that aims to break down barriers that have isolated language education from other disciplines. The content of each JICB issue is expected to be geographically broad and multidisciplinary (pedagogy; applied linguistics; sociology; psychology; speech, language, hearing sciences; language policy and planning; etc.). JICB supports the use of a wide range of research methodologies (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods), including action research.

Immersion programmes are school-based, subject-matter driven programmes that aim for academic achievement, additive bilingualism and biliteracy (multilingualism/multiliteracy) and cultural pluralism through increased intercultural competence. They incorporate high language intensity (i.e., at least 50% of subject matter instruction through the medium of the “immersion” language). JICB targets a wide range of immersion/bilingual programmes including:

• second or foreign language immersion (e.g., Swedish immersion in Finland, French immersion in Canada, Mandarin Chinese immersion in the U.S., English immersion in Hong Kong)
• bilingual immersion (e.g., Korean/English “two-way” immersion programmes in the U.S., French/English programmes in Canada)
• double immersion programmes (e.g., French-Hebrew-English programs in Canada, English-Hebrew-Portuguese programmes in Brazil)
• developmental bilingual programmes (e.g., Spanish/English programmes in the U.S.)
• indigenous/aboriginal language immersion programmes that aim for language and culture revitalization (e.g., Māori immersion in New Zealand, Hawaiian immersion in the U.S.)
• immersion programmes in minority autochthonous languages (e.g., Irish immersion in Ireland, Basque immersion in Spain)

Content-based language education (non-immersion) is also subject-matter driven and includes, for example, language across the curriculum (LAC) initiatives at the post-secondary level, CLIL (content and language integrated learning) programmes, sheltered second language instruction [in English as a second language (ESL) programmes in the U.S., Australia, the UK, e.g.], language for specific purposes, and so on.