This paper reports on a writing programme I started at Bronx Community College to improve academic success among recently immigrated Spanish-speaking students by linking ESL courses to Spanish academic literacy courses within the framework of a learning community. My reflection begins by articulating the pedagogical rationale for looking beyond…

This article compares Spanish proficiency assessments across three states (Texas, Arizona, and California) in relation to four overarching themes: (a) verification methods of proficiency; (b) test-task authenticity; (c) impact of pedagogical content knowledge in test performance; and (d) conceptions of language 'correctness' on the scoring…

In two artificial language learning experiments with four groups of highly proficient Basque-Spanish bilinguals and two groups of Spanish monolinguals, we examine the cues that allow adult listeners to parse new input into phrases. In addition, we investigate which factors lead bilinguals to switch between the segmentation strategies…

Speaking in a foreign/second language is a challenge for many learners, even when they have linguistic knowledge. Drawing on González-Lloret and Ortega's (2014) framework for technology-mediated tasks and MacIntyre's (2007) framework for willingness to communicate in a second language, this mixed methods study investigated the impact of…

This paper investigates the attitudes towards English of autochthonous and immigrant students in Catalonia (Spain) by focusing on their region of origin and their language competence. The research examines the individual and the joint effect of both variables in the development of language attitudes. A questionnaire was administered to 954…

There is strong controversy over the application and effects of the Linguistic Immersion Policy in Catalonia, a policy that established that the Catalan language should constitute the only vehicular language during the different levels of compulsory schooling. While some of the effects of this policy have been determined, the evidence on other…

This study examined and compared language ideologies and attitudes among dual language program (Spanish-English) graduates regarding their use of Spanish and perceptions of their bilingual education experience through surveys and semi-structured interviews. Drawing from the theory of ideology, data was analyzed using both quantitative and…

The study compares the uses of the native-speaker concept as a legitimizing resource in language-standard ideologies and normative discourse in five languages of European origin. Much research and international discussion has focused on the native speaker of English, a symbolically international language. We aim to show how the native-speaker…

This article examines Andalusian teachers' ideologies towards migrant students' bilingualism and, the way teachers perceive the home language maintenance and its use in the school context. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews to two types of teachers--specialist language and regular teachers--in Andalusia (Spain). Findings…

This dissertation research examines the acquisition of second language vowels. For second language learners, learning a new languages' sound inventory, particularly its vowels, presents a challenge perceptually and in terms of production. Incorrectly perceiving and producing sounds in a second language results in a foreign accent in many adult…

This paper is based on the data collected during fieldwork in the northern part of Mexico's state of Puebla in 2018-2019. During that period, there was a need to gather information that would serve as a starting point for the participatory-action research project in San Miguel Tenango, a village where the majority of people speak Nahuatl as their…

This article takes the plurilingual repertoires of foreign language teachers -- and thus the teachers' linguistic diversity -- as a starting point for exploratory research into the potential of visual methods in teacher education for changing mind-sets. Describing and reflecting on the ubiquitous manifestation of a monolingual habitus in foreign…

Purpose: Situated within a complex social-political and developmental context marked by racialization and identity formation, this research aims to illuminate the nuanced ways Latinx youth navigate their bilingual experience amidst varying educational models and linguistic environments. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to investigate…

This paper analyses the language attitudes of autochthonous and immigrant families living in Catalonia towards Spanish and Catalan. The research is intended to assess the possible differences in the language attitudes of students and their parents towards the two languages spoken in Catalonia. The investigation takes a sample of 476 students and…

This research project sought to explore the influence of English L2 on Spanish L1 in an environment where the L1 (Spanish) is the dominant language. Participants were recruited through voluntary response sampling at the University of Puerto Rico Secondary School (UHS). They completed a language survey on Google Forms that collected general…