This case study explores patterns of L1 and L2 use by second graders attending an early total Chinese immersion program in the U.S. as they carry out classroom tasks with different interlocutors. Whereas much research has been carried out to examine immersion students’ L1 and L2 use in upper elementary grades (Broner, 2001), we know little about patterns of code-switching among younger children, who are at a different cognitive and social level. Additionally, previous research on immersion students’ language use are almost exclusively focused on linguistically and culturally related languages (e.g. English as L1, French/Spanish as L2). Little research has been done on the immersion language and the home language that are radically different (e.g. English as L1, Chinese as L2). These factors may have an impact on younger children’s language use in Chinese immersion classroom. This study is shaped by two research questions: 1. Which languages (English/Chinese) are used by students in peer-peer and peer-teacher interaction in a second-grade Chinese immersion classroom? To what extent do interlocutor factors influence the choice between Chinese and English 2. Which languages (English/Chinese) are used by students while carrying out academic content tasks in this classroom? To what extent do task factors influence the choice between Chinese and English? Qualitative data were collected in one semester, including fifteen hours of audio-recorded speech of three student participants, audio-recorded student interviews, and fieldnotes of context of interactions. Student speech were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using a sociolinguistic framework of SLA (Broner, 2001). Preliminary findings suggest that diglossia is the norm of this classroom. Students use Chinese almost exclusively with teacher, and become English-dominant with peers in discussing academic and non-academic topics. These findings can be explained by the children’s own developmental stage, and the teacher's set-up of classroom instruction and implementation of classroom language policy.
