The National Capital Language Resource Center (NCLRC) focuses much of its research and training efforts on learning strategies instruction. One of the Center's current projects is the development of the Elementary Immersion Learning Strategies Resource Guide. This article describes the research basis and rationale for the production of the Resource Guide. It also describes the project and our progress thus far.

During the years 1993-1996, the NCLRC conducted a three-year study of the language learning strategies used by students in elementary language immersion programs (articles related to this study can be found in the May 1997 and January 1998 issues of The Language Resource). The students who participated in this study were in grades one through four and were enrolled in French, Spanish, and Japanese language immersion programs in Washington, DC area public schools. The study used think-aloud interviews in which children were asked to read and write in the foreign language while describing their thought processes.

The think-aloud transcripts indicated that the general pattern of learning strategies used by immersion children was similar to the pattern observed in children learning in their first language. Data also indicated that although children as young as six used learning strategies, there were differences between younger and older students and more- and less-effective students. Younger and less-effective students used a greater number of decoding strategies than did older and more-effective students. Older and more-effective students also used more global strategies than younger students, such as prediction and inference.

Through this study the NCLRC was able to identify strategies that most elementary children use when learning a foreign language. These strategies included, for example, predicting based on the picture, self-correcting, inferring based on picture, selectively attending to the picture, and elaborating on prior knowledge. Staff also identified a number of more advanced/less-frequently used strategies observed in think-aloud interviews with the older and more successful students. These included, for instance, asking if it makes sense, verifying predictions, predicting based on title, and inferring based on text.

The important conclusions drawn from the elementary immersion study prompted our staff to develop a project in which we could share the results of the study and the instructional implications with teachers. The project that was born was the Elementary Immersion Resource Guide Project. The Learning Strategies Resource Guide is designed to help elementary immersion teachers integrate learning strategies instruction into their current language and content curricula.

Year One of the three-year project has been dedicated to producing a pilot-test draft of the Resource Guide. In spring 2000, we recruited a team of teachers from local elementary immersion programs in three area school districts: Fairfax County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County. During the summer of 2000, a small team of teachers attended a summer institute on learning strategies instruction and wrote learning strategies lessons. During the summer, the team of teachers also provided feedback on the research data from the immersion study. With

their help we have developed a scope and sequence for learning strategies instruction in elementary immersion programs. The scope and sequence links the research to practical methodology. In the fall of 2000, we have planned for teachers to pilot test lessons in their classrooms and provided feedback. In Spring of 2001, the first draft of the Resource Guide, which will include instructional guidelines for integrating explicit strategies instruction, the scope and sequence, and sample lessons, will be pilot-tested by teachers. The NCLRC will collect evaluations and use the feedback to revise the guide. The final draft should be completed by fall 2001.

If you are interested in learning more about the project or in pilot-testing the guide, the NCLRC staff will be presenting a session about the project at the ACTFL conference in Boston, MA on Saturday, November 18 at 10:30 am. You can also visit our web site at www.cal.org/nclrc or contact us at 202-739-0607 or nclrc@gwu.edu.