This paper investigates the impact of the teacher factors included in the dynamic model of educational effectiveness on student achievement in English as a second language. It also examines the extent to which student ratings and/or external observations can be used to measure the teacher factors and detect their effects on student achievement…

Input is considered one of the most important factors in the acquisition of lexical and grammatical skills. Input has been found to interact with other factors, such as learner cognitive skills and the circumstances where language is heard. Language learning itself has sometimes been found to enhance cognitive skills. Indeed, intensive contact…

This article analyzes how emergent bilinguals discursively support one another during literacy activities in a cross-aged peer-tutoring program in their elementary school. Drawing from Vygotskian sociocultural theory, we frame peer supports as developing a zone of relevance that fosters and sustains peer engagement in literacy discussions.…

In a classroom, obtaining active, whole-focused, and engaging learning results from a design is often difficult. In this study, we propose a self-observation model that employs an instinctive interface for classroom active learning. Students can communicate with virtual avatars in the vertical screen and can react naturally according to the…

In this paper, we present excerpts from ethnographic data collected when a diverse classroom of children, some of whom were multilingual and others monolingual in English, used iPads to make videos. We discuss the practices, social relations, objects and material conditions that emerged as the children engaged in this production, with special…

The article analyzes meaning-making practices in a two-way dual-language (TWDL) program on the U.S.-Mexico border among "transfronterizo" and Mexican-origin youth. In the article, we show that emergent bilingual learners and their teacher participate in activities that mediate understanding of science content knowledge. We show how the…

Educational outcomes across multiple countries show large gaps between children's grade level curricular expectations and the actual learning levels of children. This paper discusses findings from an early grades literacy study and attempts to explore factors that potentially improve the English language learning results of Grades 3 and 4 learners…

In Taiwan, English was only officially taught at the secondary and tertiary levels before 2001. Since 2001, English courses have been formally incorporated into the curriculum in primary schools. Research on teaching and assessing English in primary school education is relatively new compared with research on other levels of education in Taiwan.…

What happens in the first week of school could very well set the stage for the rest of the school year. Setting high standards for science activities based in inquiry can start on the first day of science class and develop as the year unfolds. With the use of simple, readily available, inexpensive materials, an efficient mystery box lesson can be…

The number of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States has increased dramatically. Given this increase it is vital for teacher education programs at the pre-service level and professional learning programs at eh in-service level to address the needs of ELLs. This article presents a teacher preparation model--"a language-based…

This study explores the way in which the European Language Portfolio (ELP) is used for teaching English as a foreign language to young learners with the aim of enhancing their involvement in the language learning process. The data for the study were collected through observations in a fourth-grade and a fifth-grade classroom (students' ages varied…

The study examined US elementary teachers' knowledge and practices in four key domains of science instruction with English language learning (ELL) students. The four domains included: (1) teachers' knowledge of science content, (2) teaching practices to promote scientific understanding, (3) teaching practices to promote scientific inquiry, and (4)…

The present study piloted a survey-based measure of Opportunity to Learn (OTL) and Academic Language Exposure (ALE) in fourth grade science classrooms that sought to distinguish teacher practices with ELL (English language learner) and non-ELL students. In the survey, participant teachers reported on their instructional practices and the context…

The current literature indicates a need for quality studies on how best to close the achievement gap between elementary English language learners (ELLs) and their English speaking peers. The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods research study was to determine the relationship between standards-based differentiated instructional…

Two-way immersion (TWI) programs teach English Learners (ELs) and native English speakers in the same classroom using both languages in an immersion approach. Studies suggest that TWI programs result in greater student integration, thus providing a promising alternative for Spanish speaking ELs, who are frequently concentrated in high poverty,…