The linguistic interdependence hypothesis (Cummins, 1979, 2000) states that children's second-language (L2) proficiency is, to some extent, a function of their first-language (L1) competence. Previous studies have examined this hypothesis with focus on a unidirectional relation from L1 to L2. In the present study, we examined…

This research study examined the process by which non-English speaking students, whose first language is Arabic, learn mathematics in English. Teachers' adaptation was investigated to reflect the effect of change in instructional methods. The effect of communication between teachers, and exchanging ideas about the efficient practice procedure to…

This viewpoint article provides a critical reflection on the gatekeeping and academic language practices of Anglophone universities, evaluating these in light of the promotional claims universities make about internationalization and global reach. I then consider the arguments put forward in each of the main articles in this special issue from…

There is a call for multilingual pedagogies including the use of literacy in several languages in early childhood education. However, many practitioners find it difficult to challenge the dominant language ideologies and are unsure of how to develop literacy practices in multiple languages. This paper is based in Luxembourg where a multilingual…

This study examined how language proficiency and age of acquisition affect a bilingual language user's reliance on the dominant language during lexical access. Two bilingual groups performed a translation recognition task: Mandarin-English classroom bilinguals who acquired their dominant language (Mandarin) from birth and their non-dominant…

Language in education for children and youth from low-income communities of color, including those learning English as an additional language, has been fraught for decades with ideological entanglements, conceptual ambiguities, and empirical limitations. Meanwhile, the teacher learning challenge to implement equitable teaching practices remains…

It has long been acknowledged that immigrant children who are originally exposed to home languages become rapidly socialized into using only English. Although many children ultimately develop receptive skills in their home language, they often become English dominant and rarely have the opportunity for literacy development. There is also a common…

Language is a contextual factor of an education system as it determines the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT). In order to provide for diversity in South Africa, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, makes provision for 11 official languages and the Language in Education Policy (LiEP) promotes respect for not only these…

Parents play a crucial role in shaping children's emergent literacy through shared book reading. Shared book reading can foster literacy acquisition, promote vocabulary development, and improve print awareness, phonological awareness, and story comprehension (e.g., Bus et al., 1995; De Temple & Snow, 2003; Mol et al., 2008; Snow et al., 1998).…

This paper aims to discuss how the emerging new language with its own developing socio-cultural foundation affects the existing L1-governed knowledge and pragmatic competence of "adult sequential bilinguals." It is assumed that these bilinguals already have an L1-governed pragmatic competence at place, which will be adjusted to…

Learning a second language for Iranian students may not be simple at all parts, and it may be difficult for them, especially in some parts that is different from their first language principles. One of these parts is Metaphor, which is different in most languages according to their culture and history. This article is a kind of comparative study…

This study examines several linguistic factors as possible contributors to perceived word difficulty in second language learners in an experimental setting. The investigated factors include: (1) frequency of word usage in the first language, (2) word length, (3) number of syllables in a word, and (4) number of consonant clusters in a word. Word…

Negative transfer is a difficulty for Arabic-speaking students of English. This study juxtaposes eight categories of Arabic-to-English transfer errors with equivalent and near-equivalent errors in Arabic. It compares their error gravity as rated by teachers and students to discover whether there are any differences between teacher and student…

Writing in English for academic purpose is a difficult task for many Jordanian postgraduate students (JPS) as English is a foreign language to them. This study aimed to explore academic writing problems encountered by JPS at a Malaysian university and to investigate how they address the problems. Employing a case study approach, a total of 182…

The current study investigates and compares communication apprehension (CA) of the first-year MA students majoring in English in an international program in Bangkok of the academic year 2017. The research questions are: a) Is there any difference between CA in L1 (Thai) and CA in L2 (English) among the students in the study, b) Is there any…