Meet a Trent Student

Exploring Immersion Education Questions in Canada

As a parent in a bilingual country, fourth-year Psychology student Raheleh Saryazdi knows the uncertainty endured by parents when contemplating immersion education for their children.

Her interests in this issue, combined with a natural affinity for statistics, have led Ms. Saryazdi down an interesting academic path during her time at Trent University Durham. Undertaking an expansive meta-analysis—a challenging task for experienced academics rarely undertaken by undergraduates – her thesis project, “Learning a New Language: A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Immersion Education” picks up where the last forty years of scientific research in the field left off. 

Although most research to date indicates that bilingualism is positive, Ms. Saryazdi’s study digs deeper to examine the specific effects of additive (elective) immersion education taught to fluent English-speaking students.

Her thesis also poses two additional questions examining the magnitude of effect of immersion education on cognitive and academic performance; and whether impact is influenced by total or partial immersion and the grade level in which the program is implemented.

Knowledge to alleviate anxiety
Driving her research is the hope Ms. Saryazdi has to alleviate anxiety amongst parents when deciding to enrol their child in French immersion.  

“People are still not sure and question if immersion is beneficial or not,” explains Ms. Saryazdi. “My goal is to give a conclusive summary of the research that has been done over the years and assist with this vital decision.”

Her extensive unbiased, statistical analysis of research encompassed articles, dissertations and studies dating back to 1975. Informed that meta-analysis of this scale is rare for an undergraduate student, Ms. Saryazdi jump-started her research last summer.  She has sorted through 12 000 documents and works eight to ten hours daily on her thesis.

Unique undergraduate research experience
Ms. Saryazdi credits her professors at Trent University Durham including her thesis supervisor Dr. Nancie Im-Bolter and Dr. Fergal O’Hagan for their guidance throughout the extensive process. She also relied on the in-house expertise of Trent’s librarians, particularly Ellen Olsen-Lynch, whose knowledge of systematic reviews proved invaluable. Additionally Ken Field and Johns Wales, fellow librarians at Trent University Durham, were instrumental in her success.

“The librarians have been amazing," says Ms. Saryazdi. “At Trent you have this opportunity to work with supervisors every step of the way. It’s a big deal to do a meta-analysis as an undergraduate. I am only on track because I have had amazing guidance and help from faculty, librarians, as well as my fellow lab members."

Ms. Saryazdi will present her thesis to faculty and students this spring and hopes to publish her work. She plans to complete a second study on immersion in the U.S. She will begin her master’s degree this fall and plans to pursue a Ph.D. Her ultimate goal is to become a professor and continue research in language and cognition.