A promising source of insights into heritage language learning comes from the broader study of the role of input in language acquisition. We concentrate here on the possibility that qualitative differences in the proficiency of heritage and monolingual language learners can be traced to a qualitative difference in the input available to each…

Drawing together the work of two researchers engaged in ongoing, longitudinal research with practitioners in early years and bilingual complementary settings, this article argues that bilingual learners in the early years need and are entitled to particular kinds of "safe spaces" to succeed in their education. Historical and policy contexts, and…

Increasing attention paid to learner-centered pedagogy in recent years has highlighted the examination of intelligence and language learning strategies (LLSs) among others. This study explores EFL learners' perceived use of language learning strategies across various intelligence types as reflected in Gardner's 1983 Multiple Intelligences Theory.…

Characterized by both cultural and gender-based barriers to English language learning, language learning is a continual process of identity renegotiation, as several theorists have argued. While this identity renegotiation has been explored for women who assume the roles of wives, daughters, and employees, less attention has been directed to the…

In language teaching, emphasis is usually placed on grammatical competence rather than metaphorical competence to improve a learner's proficiency in the target language. Research has shown that figurative language poses a problem for second language learners whether it is in their ability to interpret, process, or produce metaphors. This affects…

The experience of initiating and sustaining a research-based dialogue on social justice and intercultural education in Europe requires both flexibility and focus. This article highlights the challenges facing convenors of one network, who wish to include researchers from diverse backgrounds, while at the same time enhancing the academic quality of…

Previous studies have emphasized the relationship between students' engagement and learning performance, and yet the context in which students and the teacher interact to engage each other has been ignored. In order to engage college students who are learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in the context of a big class, this study developed a…

Mothers' spontaneous teaching of their 4-year-olds was observed during block play in 230 dyads from low-income African American, Mexican, Dominican, and Chinese backgrounds. Blocks contained graphics that could be used to teach concepts in literacy, math, construction, or body/color. Coders noted how often mothers taught each of the concepts,…

The current government in Korea, in order to encourage more fluent use of English, has shifted the focus of the English curriculum from language accuracy to language fluency by encouraging English teachers to use English as a classroom language. However, many English teachers in Korea feel burdened by this policy, mainly because they themselves…

Multilingualism is an international fact of life and increasing in the United States. Multilingual families are exceedingly diverse, and policies relevant to them should take this into account. The quantity and quality of a child's exposure to responsive conversation spoken by fluent adults predicts both monolingual and multilingual language and…

This study examines a lesser-known population of students, called "long-term English language learners" (LTELLs) in the USA, who now comprise one-third of all English language learners in New York City secondary schools. A major finding from our research, which explores the characteristics and educational needs of this student…

In this chapter, the authors present a synthesis of the small, but growing, body of literature examining what some teacher educators are already doing and what all teacher educators need to do to prepare mainstream classroom teachers to teach English language learners (ELLs). While the discussion applies to teachers of immigrant and refugee…

This paper adopts an automated frequency-driven approach to identify frequently-used word combinations (i.e., "lexical bundles") in academic writing. Lexical bundles retrieved from one corpus of published academic texts and two corpora of student academic writing (one L1, the other L2), were investigated both quantitatively and qualitatively.…

In this article, I analyze how a group of multilingual students at a university in British Columbia, Canada, go through the process of "re-becoming ESL" during their first year of university. I highlight a central contradiction. Despite bringing a diverse and rich range of languages and cultures to the university, multilingual students…

By means of a phraseological identification method, this study provides a general description of the use of conventional sequences (CSs) in interviews at four different levels of spoken L2 French as well as in interviews with native speakers. Use of conventional sequences is studied with regard to overall quantity, category distribution and type…