This study investigates the physical literacy environment of preschools in three Nordic countries. The environments were assessed using an observation protocol in a total of 131 classrooms with children aged between one and seven in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The results showed that children's books were common and accessible in all three…

The following qualitative case study examines the ability of three South Sudanese immigrant families residing in a medium-sized Northeast city in the U.S. to meaningfully transfer their heritage languages to their children. Using a pluriversal literacy lens, we conducted interviews with six South Sudanese parents about their literacy practices…

This article examines four Afghan refugee parents/guardians in Islamabad, Pakistan for their beliefs about literacy and language(s). Semi-structured interviews with each parent/guardian showed that they all highly valued reading and writing as essential life skills. However, while they viewed literacy as having instrumental value, they also…

It is hypothesized that variability found in the effects of family literacy programs results from differences in implementation by parents. In this study, the implementation and effects of a Dutch program were examined in a sample of 207 kindergarteners (mean age at pre-test: 64 months). No main intervention effects on children's literacy…

Background: The judicious use of worksheets ought to contribute to the establishment of literacy, with a special significance for multilingual classrooms where neither teachers nor learners are mother tongue speakers of the instructional language. Disparity between the pedagogical intention of the worksheet and learners' interpretation of the…

Authentic listening increasingly involves being able to pause or replay recordings as needed. In this study, we investigated differences in the reported use of listening strategies and listening anxiety between single-play and self-paced test administration. We also analyzed the interrelationships among first language (L1) literacy skills, second…

The abstract concept of time is conceptualized as moving linearly across space, known as the mental timeline (MTL). The direction of our MTL is consistent with reading direction. English speakers, who read left to right, think of past on the left and future on the right; the reverse is true of Hebrew speakers, who read right to left. However, it…

Malaysia is a multilingual and multiethnic country with a substantial population of ethnic Chinese, who use standardized languages such as Malay, English, and Mandarin, as well as various Chinese dialects in their daily lives within and beyond Chinese communities. Cantonese is a community language that significantly impacts the lives of local…

In 2018, Aotearoa/New Zealand increased its annual refugee quota to 1000. When refugees arrive in Aotearoa/New Zealand they spend six weeks in a resettlement programme. During this time, children attend an introduction to schooling. First language (L1) literacy support for children experiencing education in a medium that is not their Home Language…

This study investigates the links between the second-generation Chinese Australians' heritage language proficiency and perceptions of Chinese identity. Thirty 10--11-year-old children of Chinese immigrants took a Chinese proficiency test and participated in semi-structured interviews. The test revealed a wide range of performance levels in all the…

The idea of employing culturally and linguistically appropriate resources to address disparate literacy levels and to maintain the languages and cultures of communities in the Pacific has been presented by academics from different disciplines. In 2012, a National Language Policy was endorsed in Vanuatu, accommodating the endangered vernacular…

Literacy in a first language or in additional languages involves a set of complex cognitive, social, and linguistic skills that develop over time. However, pedagogical materials for low-proficiency English as an additional language (EAL) learners tend to target low-level literacy skills only, such as responding to fact-based questions. Materials…

This study employed the mixed method explanatory sequential design to investigate Japanese fourth grade students' reading motivation. A total of 102 students first completed the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) to investigate the differences in reading motivation among different dimensions in three categories (Competence and…

Current research on cross-language transfer has focused primarily on literacy development. The present study extends the scope of existing research by focusing on argumentative reasoning, an important but under-research academic skill. A single-case study with a reversal design was conducted with four Chinese-English elementary students with the…

Teaching for equity with bilingual learners means building on students' linguistic strengths. This critical qualitative self-study explored how pre-service bilingual teachers developed ideology and pedagogy through a structured, holistic approach to writing instruction. Seven bilingual teacher candidates implemented a strategic Transliteracy…