The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the longitudinal, bidirectional relations between receptive and expressive Spanish and English language and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in a sample of 97 preschool children from Spanish-speaking, homes who were enrolled in a U.S. Head Start program. Eight cross-lagged path…

The current longitudinal study set out to investigate the development of working memory and English language skills of 5-6 year old English Language Learners. These English Language Learners are all in their first year of formal schooling and all attend the same school in South Africa. South Africa has a rich linguistic diversity which results in…

Canadian students enrolled in either French-immersion or English-instruction programs were followed from Grades 2 to 3 (M[subscript age] = 7.8 years to 8.9 years; N = 244; 55% girls). In each grade, students completed two mathematical tasks that required oral language processing (i.e., word-problem solving and number transcoding from dictation)…

The present study investigated the longitudinal effects of early exposure to L2-English on L1-Turkish language competence, narrative skills and executive functioning. We asked whether early immersion-like exposure to L2, starting around 3 years of age, would have reflections on L1 competence, L1 narrative skills and gains in cognitive flexibility.…

The present study examined the relations between teacher-child interactions, teachers' Spanish use, classroom linguistic composition, and the school readiness skills of low-income, Latinx, Spanish-speaking dual language learners (DLLs), controlling for home and teacher background characteristics, with a national probability sample of Head Start…

Working memory (WM) is a recognised component of executive function and has undergone scrutiny in terms of bilingual and monolingual performance comparisons. Research to date, however, has not consistently replicated the presence of bilingual advantage. The present study examined short-term (STM) and WM in immersion-educated children and a matched…

In this thesis, I present three related papers that collectively investigate the instructional supports on screen and in the media viewing context that influenced English and heritage language vocabulary knowledge in DLLs. In study 1, I examine how specific pedagogical approaches used in educational media might benefit DLLs. In study 2, I…

Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to examine the role that the first language (L1), Spanish, at Pre-Kindergarten plays in predicting second language (L2), English, word reading in first grade. In addition, it examines the role of conceptual vocabulary in predicting word reading in English. Method: As part of a longitudinal study of…

Using a nationally representative sample of dual language learners (DLLs) attending Head Start, this study investigated how the language used for instruction and the proportion of DLLs in the class was associated with English and Spanish receptive vocabulary development between the fall and spring (n = 531). Based on teacher report of the language…

This study explored receptive vocabulary size and early literacy skills (namely: letter naming, knowledge of phoneme-grapheme correspondences and early writing) in emergent bilingual Northern Sotho-English children. Two groups of Grade 1 learners were tested in both English and in Northern Sotho. Group 1 (N = 49) received their formal schooling in…

Students with significant cognitive disabilities may participate in states' alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). A growing number of students with significant cognitive disabilities are also English learners (ELs) whose family may use another language in the home. They may only be exposed to English in a school…

This article reports the outcomes of a multiyear study comparing the English and Spanish language and reading performance of Spanish-dominant children randomly assigned, beginning in kindergarten, to transitional bilingual education (TBE) or structured English immersion (SEI) for periods of up to 5 years. On the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and…

This study examined whether measurement constructs behind reading-related tests for struggling adult readers are similar to what is known about measurement constructs for children. The sample included 371 adults reading between the third-and fifth-grade levels, including 127 men and 153 English speakers of other languages. Using measures of skills…

A separate full report also was published. Austin Independent School District served 5,450 pre-K students in 2009-2010. Approximately 70% of sampled English-speaking pre-K students and 74% of sampled Spanish-speaking pre-K students had faster than the expected growth rate on an assessment of receptive vocabulary.

This is the full report, and a separate research brief also was published. Austin Independent School District (AISD) served 5,450 pre-K students in 2009-2010. Approximately 70% of sampled English-speaking pre-K students and 74% of sampled Spanish-speaking pre-K students had faster than the expected growth rate on an assessment of receptive…