Authentic inquiry

In looking into different perspectives of the direction of innovative French Immersion practices in classrooms, I am seeing how there are many different viewpoints from teachers of different backgrounds and have different teaching philosophies. There are lots of influences on teachers that shape their perspective, including whether or not they are native French speakers or if they learned French through schooling. The process of learning a particular language isn't distinct for most people, especially if it's their native language. To me, having learned French through school makes it easier for me to understand and empathize with my students in what the process of learning language is like and what is helpful in supporting them. I've realized that proficiency in a language doesn't necessarily equate to proficiency in teaching that language. 
In an online article I read, "Authentic Communication in French Immersion Kindergarten Through Math Games" the authors outline the process of navigating the early years of second language learning in an authentic and meaningful way. To me previously, it seemed like we sacrifice some of the skill building in early year immersion programs in order to develop language. The article outlines different ways in which we can maintain development of deep understanding and critical thinking while in the process of developing language. 
They offer different principles in their method which they outline when they state, "We simultaneously explored two goals: that decreasing the cognitive load on students in their second language would allow for increased understandings in math, and that learning a second language in a cross-curricular manner would lead to more authentic understanding and use of the language, and thus to more proficient speakers". 
This resonated with me since I have seen students experience the cognitive overload in French, especially at the beginning of the year when they are adjusting to the language. I also know that a main principle in Immersion programs is that learning the second language is most efficient when it's cross-curricular and more authentic to our students as they make meaningful connections between language and their direct experiences. I think the most interesting part of their method is that the kids were motivated to use the language without teacher pressure since they were equipped with the language and were having an authentic, relevant, hands-on experience. 
I think these teachers' innovative practice is inspiring. They have assessed and evaluated an existing system, took what they know about early childhood learning and have adjusted and improved the system to better fit today's students and more modern educational philosophies.
They outline their strategy when the article states, "Our initial professional learning goal was to explore best practices around second language acquisition at the SK/Grade 1 level, more specifically, by using authentic experiences with math games. We wanted to research the best means for students to reach those deeper levels of understanding and critical thinking, all the while developing the language skills of an immersion program. As teachers, we wanted to determine how best to take our students to that level – finding a way to ask the probing questions that would facilitate deeper thinking." 

I want to be able to better incorporate these principles in my teaching in French Immersion, but even more I want to play a role in innovative teaching practices that support my teaching philosophy. There is a way to evolve the system of second language learning that steers away from the tradition model that is very teacher-led and sacrifices some aspects of creative expression and the development of critical thinking.