In the United States, research on reading difficulties is predominantly carried out by scholars who project findings on L1 English reading difficulty to generalized difficulty in learning a second language (L2; e.g., Galuschka et al., 2020; Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 2020; cf. Sparks, 2023). This research extrapolation creates a negative feedback…

Guided by Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) and multidimensional perspectives on individual differences (IDs) in instructed second language (L2) learning (e.g., Larsen-Freeman, 2014; Sun & Zhang, 2020), this longitudinal mixed-methods study focuses on three conceptually different categories of L2 learners' IDs: working memory (WM), motivation, and…

This dissertation examines the social process of language study abroad in a multilingual West African setting, paying attention to how language learners mobilize multiple linguistic resources to navigate the superdiverse linguistic landscape and the ideologies that drive their practices. Study abroad is generally believed to be an ideal space for…

In the United States, adult education for emergent multilingual language learners (EMLL) is governed by the American Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA). The AEFLA defines literacy as an individual's ability to read, write, and speak in "English." This definition erases the multilingual and multicultural assets that adult EMLLs…

This mixed methods study explored the development of technological, pedagogical, content knowledge (TPACK) of Chinese teachers who attended the STARTALK Chinese Teacher Institute, a 10-day residential summer professional development program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A sequential explanatory design was adopted in which quantitative and…

This dissertation is a historical case study that focused on the founding and continuation of the GSSch to define the term, academic resilience and to determine how the GSSch had impacted "academic resilience." I examined qualitative data from interviews alongside research published during the founding (i.e. mid-1970s) and continuation…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the STARTALK language programs on the internationalization of higher education in the United States. The study focused on the 11 STARTALK language programs offered to high school students in the summers of 2013, 2014, and 2015 on various university campuses in the U.S. Such programs enabled…

Already academically at risk, students in the rapidly growing English Language Learner (ELL) student population in the United States face additional challenges due to regression of English language acquisition over the average ten-week agrarian summer break when they return to homes in which Spanish was the primary language spoken. While the…

This study investigates the cross-cultural realization of request patterns. The goal of the study is to compare the realization of requests produced by adult American English speaking learners of Russian (NNS) to that of native speakers of Russian and native speakers of English to identify the similarities and differences between native and…

The purpose of this study was to describe perceptions of stakeholders (leadership of Concordia Language Villages, staff members and villagers of "Lac du Bois", the French Language Village of Concordia Language Villages), related to achievement of the mission statement. The research question was: How do stakeholders in "Lac du…

This mixed methods study investigated the English verbal interactions of seven 3rd-6th grade beginning level English language learners across three different instructional settings: the mainstream grade level classroom, the sheltered English classroom, and the ELL pullout group. The quantitative component of the study documented significant…

Over the last 15 years, the Latino population has expanded at a rapid pace in the United States. This national trend has been mirrored in Indiana. As a result, school districts within the state have developed structures and supports for the growing number of Latino students arriving in their schools. This study highlights some programs developed…

Summer reading setback is a phenomenon that occurs over the summer break when students lose the skills they gained over the school year. While school-year gains are similar for disadvantaged and more-advantaged students, the achievement gap widens over the summer months. Lack of print access and less time spent reading result in greater summer…

Research in both the anthropology and sociology of education has increasingly come to consider the institutional effects of migration, globalization, and transnationalism on learning environments. Yet, most studies examining transmigration and education have only looked at migrant children in schools rather than at the "transitions" they…

The concept of cultural competency, its application, and impact on K-12 learning have not received much attention in the literature. Teachers need to understand the connection between culture and pedagogy when teaching minority and underrepresented students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine whether the skill sets in…