Teachers' beliefs and practices concerning the use of French and English in grade 7 late French immersion

This is a qualitative study, the main goal of which is to provide insight into three Grade 7 late French immersion (LFI) teachers' perspectives on their use of the target language (TL) and of their students' first language (L1); the researcher himself is one of the three participants. A review of the literature for and against L1 use in second language teaching is presented. Pre- and post-interviews were conducted, along with classroom observations and follow-up interviews using stimulated recall techniques. Two research questions were addressed: What are the beliefs and practices of three Grade 7 LFI teachers regarding TL and L1 use? What factors shape LFI teachers' belief systems and practice concerning their use of the TL and the students' L1? All three teacher-participants provided students with exposure to large amounts of rich TL input and opportunities to communicate in the TL. However, while one of the three teachers used the TL almost exclusively, the other two believed that they could enhance student comprehension of TL input and TL production by using the students' L1 in certain situations. A re-thinking of the current TL-only guidelines in LFI is recommended and a model for professional development is proposed through which teachers can develop a personalized yet pedagogically-principled approach to TL and L1 use.