An exploration of oral language profiles of students in early French immersion

Abstract This article describes an exploratory study of bilingual oral language profiles among a diverse group of students in Early French Immersion (EFI), in Ontario, Canada. Participants were 28 EFI students in Grade 4 (9–10 years of age). Oral language components were assessed with measures of comprehension (receptive vocabulary and following directions) and production (recalling sentences and mean length of utterance). Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to identify performance patterns in each language. There were substantial differences between English and French in terms of contrasts between, and consistency within the performance patterns, leading to identification of four bilingual profiles. The findings reinforce the importance of considering multiple language components in both languages in assessing bilingual students. A profiles approach may contribute to our understanding of variability in oral language skills and provide a broader perspective for the study of cross-linguistic interdependence by considering multiple components in both comprehension and production.