Editing Language immersion (section)

== Background ==
Bilingual education has taken on a variety of different approaches outside the traditional ''sink-or-swim'' model of full submersion in an L2 without assistance in the L1. According to the [[Center for Applied Linguistics]] (CAL), in 1971, there were only three immersion programs within the United States. As of 2011, there were 448 language immersion schools in the US, with the three main immersion languages of instruction being [[Spanish language|Spanish]] (45%), [[French language|French]] (22%), and [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] (13%).<ref>Center for Applied Linguistics. (2011). ''Directory of foreign language immersion programs in U.S. schools''. Retrieved April 1, 2017, from  http://webapp.cal.org/Immersion/.</ref>

The first French-language immersion program in Canada, with the target language being taught as an instructional language, started in Quebec in 1965.<ref>Zuidema, J. (2011). French-Speaking Protestants in Canada : Historical Essays. Leiden: Brill NV.</ref><!-- Can this "fact" that "[t]he first language immersion program in which target language was taught as an instructional language started in Quebec, Canada, in 1965" be corroborated with more than one accredited source? --> Since the majority language in Quebec is French, English-speaking parents wanted to ensure that their children could achieve a high level of French as well as English in Quebec. Since then, French immersion has spread across the country and has led to the situation of French immersion becoming the most common form of language immersion in Canada so far. According to the survey by CAL in 2011, there are over 528 immersion schools in the US. Besides, language immersion programs have spread to Australia, Mainland China, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Hong Kong, which altogether offer more than 20 languages. The survey also showed that Spanish is the most common immersion language in language immersion programs in US. There are over 239 Spanish-language immersion programs in the US because of immigration from Spanish-speaking countries. The other two common immersion language programs in the US are French and Mandarin, which have 114 and 71 language immersion programs, respectively.<ref>Center for Applied Linguistics. (2011). Directory of foreign language immersion programs in US schools. from http://www.cal.org/resources/immersion/</ref>