PEI ELA French Immersion key terms

The ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words, such as blending or segmenting /ʃ/ and /a/. It is a foundational oral skill that supports later decoding in both English and French.

The mapping between written letters or letter groups and the sounds they represent. In French immersion, learners must learn French mappings such as 'eau' for /o/, which differ from English ones.

Dividing words into syllables, either orally or in print. French syllable boundaries and vowel patterns differ from English, so explicit teaching helps immersion students decode unfamiliar words accurately.

Applying knowledge of letter-sound relationships to pronounce printed words. Fluent decoding frees working memory for meaning-making, which is especially important when immersion students read in their second language.

Reading with appropriate accuracy, rate, and expression. In immersion, fluency bridges word recognition and comprehension, and oral rereading practice in French supports it.

The rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech or oral reading. French prosody differs from English, so teachers model phrasing and intonation to support both comprehension and expressive reading.

The study of word parts that carry meaning, such as prefixes, roots, and suffixes. Teaching French morphology, including verb endings and derivational affixes, builds vocabulary and spelling knowledge.

A prefix or suffix that changes a word's meaning or grammatical category, as when French '-ment' turns an adjective into an adverb. Recognizing these patterns helps immersion students expand vocabulary systematically.

A word in two languages that shares a common origin and often similar form and meaning, such as English 'nation' and French 'nation'. Cognates are a powerful bridge for comprehension when taught explicitly.

A word pair that looks similar across languages but differs in meaning, such as French 'actuellement' (currently) versus English 'actually'. Teachers must flag these to prevent comprehension and production errors.

The level of formality or social appropriateness in language use, ranging from casual speech to academic writing. Immersion students need explicit modeling of French registers for different audiences and purposes.

The rules governing how language is used in social context, including politeness, turn-taking, and implied meaning. Immersion learners benefit from explicit instruction in French pragmatic norms.

The vocabulary, grammar, and discourse patterns used in school subjects and texts. Immersion students need scaffolded exposure to disciplinary French, since everyday conversational fluency does not automatically transfer.

Spoken or written language slightly beyond the learner's current level that can still be understood through context and support. It is a core principle for building French proficiency in immersion classrooms.

The idea that producing language, not just receiving it, pushes learners to notice gaps and refine accuracy. Immersion classrooms therefore need structured opportunities for speaking and writing in French.

Interaction in which speakers clarify, repeat, or rephrase to reach mutual understanding. These exchanges give immersion learners feedback and make input more comprehensible during content tasks.

A learner's evolving internal language system, which blends first-language patterns with developing second-language rules. Teachers treat errors as evidence of this system rather than as simple failures.

Influence of the first language that causes errors in the second, such as English word order appearing in French sentences. Identifying interference helps teachers target corrective feedback.

Carrying knowledge or strategies from one language to another. Positive transfer supports reading comprehension and academic skills, while negative transfer produces errors in pronunciation or grammar.

The persistence of an incorrect language feature even after further exposure and instruction. Early, focused feedback in immersion settings can reduce the risk of entrenched errors.

A teacher's response that signals or corrects a language error, ranging from recasts to explicit explanation. In immersion, feedback must balance accuracy needs with maintaining meaningful communication.

An implicit correction in which the teacher restates a learner's utterance correctly without stopping the flow. Recasts model accurate French while preserving the communicative focus of a lesson.

Temporary supports, such as sentence frames, visuals, or modeled steps, that help learners complete tasks they could not yet do alone. Supports are gradually removed as competence grows.

The range between what a learner can do independently and what they can do with guidance. Immersion teachers plan tasks within this range to stretch French proficiency without overwhelming students.

Teaching subject matter through the target language so that content and language are learned together. In French immersion, curriculum objectives and language objectives are planned in tandem.

A stated language demand of a lesson, such as using comparative structures to explain an experiment. Pairing it with a content objective makes language growth visible and intentional.

The subject-matter learning goal of a lesson, such as explaining the water cycle. In immersion planning, it is written alongside a language objective so both are assessed.

The central idea or insight about life that a literary work conveys, often implied rather than stated. Students support theme claims with textual evidence and analysis of character and conflict.

The methods an author uses to develop a character, through description, dialogue, actions, and others' reactions. Analyzing it helps students interpret motive and theme in French-language texts.

The organization of a story, including exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution. Recognizing structure supports retelling, summary writing, and comprehension of longer French texts.

The way information is organized in a text, such as cause-effect, comparison, or chronology. Teaching common structures in French informational texts improves comprehension and note-taking.

Specific quotations or details from a text used to support an interpretation or claim. Citing evidence in French requires taught sentence frames and close-reading practice.

Careful, repeated reading of a short passage to analyze word choice, structure, and meaning. In immersion, it combines comprehension strategy instruction with vocabulary and grammar noticing.

A deliberate technique such as predicting, questioning, or summarizing used to construct meaning. Explicit strategy instruction in French helps students monitor understanding across content areas.

Awareness and regulation of one's own thinking and learning. Immersion students use it to notice when French text no longer makes sense and to select a repair strategy.

The recursive stages of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Immersion teachers allocate time for each stage so students can attend to ideas and French accuracy separately.

Reworking content, organization, and clarity in a draft, distinct from correcting surface errors. Separating revision from editing helps immersion students improve ideas before polishing French grammar.

Correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage in a piece of writing. In French immersion, editing checklists target frequent errors such as agreement and accent marks.

A brief, focused conversation between teacher and student about a piece of writing in progress. Conferences allow individualized feedback on both content and French language features.

A published text used as a model for structure, style, or language features. French mentor texts give immersion students accessible examples before they attempt similar writing.

The classification of French nouns as masculine or feminine, affecting articles, adjectives, and pronouns. It is a persistent challenge for immersion learners and needs systematic, contextual practice.

The matching of grammatical features such as gender and number between related words, for example adjective-noun and subject-verb agreement. French agreement rules require explicit, recurring instruction.

The rules for arranging words into phrases and sentences. Comparing French and English syntax helps immersion students avoid word-order errors in speaking and writing.

A learner's ability to speak the target language with accuracy, fluency, and appropriateness across situations. It develops through purposeful interaction, modeling, and feedback in immersion classrooms.

Understanding spoken language by processing sounds, vocabulary, and meaning in real time. Immersion teachers support it with visuals, repetition, and clear, purposeful oral input in French.

Classroom discussion in which students build on, question, and justify one another's ideas with evidence. Structured French sentence starters make this rigorous talk accessible to immersion learners.

Ongoing checks of learning used to adjust instruction, such as exit tickets, observations, and quick quizzes. In immersion, these reveal both content understanding and French language growth.

An evaluation of learning at the end of a unit or term, such as a project or test. Immersion summative tasks should separate content mastery from language accuracy when appropriate.

A scoring guide that describes levels of performance on specified criteria. French immersion rubrics often include separate criteria for content, language accuracy, and communication.

Adapting content, process, or product to meet varied learner readiness, interests, and profiles. In immersion, differentiation addresses both content understanding and varying French proficiency levels.

A tiered system of increasingly intensive supports based on student progress data. Immersion teams must distinguish language-acquisition delays from possible learning disabilities before referring students.

Frequent, brief measurement of a student's growth in a targeted skill. It helps immersion teachers judge whether intervention in French reading or oral language is working.

A visual framework such as a Venn diagram or story map that structures thinking and information. It reduces language load while supporting comprehension and planning in French.

Planning that begins with desired outcomes and acceptable evidence before designing activities. It keeps immersion units aligned to curriculum standards and language goals.

Ensuring that objectives, instruction, and assessment match provincial or program standards. In French immersion, alignment also considers target-language expectations and content-area outcomes together.