Three program types for foreign student second language instruction in Canada involve sheltered subject-matter instruction at (1) a university, (2) a university adjunct or support program, and (3) a private "visa school" established solely to prepare foreign students for university or college entrance in Canada or the United States. The university-based programs represent the efforts of research- and practice-oriented academicians. The visa school does not result from any plan or method grounded in second language learning theory, and although it holds promise for language learning it may not achieve its potential. These schools offer an entire curriculum of sheltered subject-matter instruction, serve many good students, and occupy a strategic position as the first institution most foreign students have contact with in Canada. At the same time, they have a precarious, competitive existence and low social status, and are accountable to no permanent part of the local community. In this situation they cannot and do not implement program enhancements that would increase their instructional effectiveness. (MSE)