- Date: April 29, 2026
- Time: 10:30-11:30 AM
- Location: ORCH 3016
This presentation describes innovations in practice and research within a university immersion program in Canada’s largest bilingual (French-English) university (Knoerr & Weinberg, 2020). The university immersion program at the University of Ottawa was implemented 20 years ago to promote the continued learning of French beyond high school, and applies the pedagogical principles of content-based language instruction or ‘CLIL’ - the teaching of a subject through the integration of a foreign or additional language (Dalton-Puffer et al., 2014; Brinton, Snow, & Wesche, 2003), or what is better known in Canada as "immersion” (Burger, Wesche, & Migneron, 1997). An immersion/content-based language learning approach in the nation’s capital helps to not only realize a political ideal (Séror & Weinberg, 2021), but also meets the needs of an increasingly diverse student population pursuing worthy academic, professional, and societal goals.
The presentation also outlines the University of Ottawa’s recent efforts to expand the scope of the program to accommodate not only French, but also English learners - both domestic and international francophone students, as well as international students. A case study approach (Duff, 2020) is used to present an in-depth description of examples of content and language integration as well as linguistically and culturally responsive instruction (Gallager & Haan, 2022) in disciplinary courses within the fields of Economics and Communications. Materials and examples of practices that promote integration, collaboration, interaction and engagement will be shared. Preliminary research findings on the new English immersion program will be discussed from the perspective of understanding student engagement (Kuh, 2008; Groccia, 2018) with immersion by examining quantitative data from student questionnaires, as well as qualitative data from student interviews, pedagogical documentation, and practitioner reflections. While the results suggest overall positive student engagement with immersion and bi/plurilingualism from a cognitive, behavioural, and socio-emotional perspective, the university immersion program could further strengthen both student and faculty engagement by addressing institutional challenges and cultures that compartmentalize or ‘dis-embed’ language learning from content learning. However, immersion remains a promising and innovative option for welcoming, supporting, and engaging both domestic and international students looking for an educational experience that values their linguistic and cultural identities, and supports their academic and professional aspirations within Canada’s bilingual and multicultural context.
Speaker bio:
Valia Spiliotopoulos, Associate Professor, Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute, University of Ottawa & Visiting Scholar, UBC.
Valia Spiliotopoulos is an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Canadian Centre for Studies and Research on Bilingualism and Language Planning. Her current research focuses on immersion/content and language-integrated learning, bi/plurilingualism, and the role of technology on advanced language and literacy development. Valia has over 25 years of experience teaching English, French, and in teacher education programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels across Canada, and she has also worked as an educational consultant in the areas of faculty development, curriculum innovation, and assessment. She has held numerous leadership positions as Coordinator of the French specialization for UBC’s teacher education program (2019 – 2021), as well as Director of SFU’s former Centre for English Language Learning, Teaching and Research (2015-2019), and as Coordinator of SFU’s Graduate Diploma in Education program (2013 – 2015). She has served on the board of directors for the Canadian Modern Language Review since 2021, and was on the executive board for the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics (2019 – 2024). Her recent publications have appeared in Higher Educational Research and Development, TESL Canada Journal, and in the Canadian Journal of Education.
