On day one the author sets up the expectation that her kindergarten Spanish language immersion classroom will be a 100% target language environment. To accomplish this, the author implements several structures, routines, and expectations to maintain the immersion environment. Getting to know the students, modeling appropriate behavior, promoting…

This study reviews the emerging studies on the topic of Chinese immersion programs in the U.S. The effectiveness of Chinese immersion programs has been proved to have positive impacts on students' language proficiency, academic performance, and cognitive development. However, challenges in curriculum and instructions, behavior management, and…

This study documents the notion of unilateral translanguaging--the configuration of translanguaging spaces to disproportionately privilege a dominant language or its speakers. We analyze four teachers' translanguaging practices in a Portuguese-English two-way immersion (TWI) program in the United States. Rather than focusing on whether and how…

Based on video recordings of five pre-k to grade 4 Chinese dual-language bilingual education (DLBE) teachers' classroom instruction, this article examines the Chinese DLBE teachers' target and first language use and pedagogical moves during their processes of learning to teach in immersion schools in the US. Conversational analyses of classroom…

Reading engagement is like a puzzle consisting of many pieces to emplace for successful engagement to occur. The author, a French Immersion teacher/researcher, found that many of her grade one reluctant readers--those students who could read but chose not to--approached reading with some pieces of the puzzle. They had strategies and knowledge but…

This paper describes some of the findings emerging from a small-scale pilot study investigating the potential of a tablet app, "Our Story (Ar Stòiridh)," to enhance language-learning opportunities for children in Gaelic-medium preschool playrooms. The intervention drew on design-based research, a methodology for investigating the…

The policy of strict separation of languages for academic instruction dominates dual language bilingual education programming. This article explores the dynamic bilingual practices of two experienced bilingual teachers in a two-way dual language public school in Texas and contributes to current research problematizing language separation. Data…

Motivation is a key aspect of second language learning. There is no doubt that abstract models are basic to gain theoretical insights into motivation; however, teachers and researchers demand comprehensible explanations for motivation that can help them to improve their everyday teaching and research. The aim of this book is to provide both…

Standardized tests have been selected as a key assessment factor in expanding the academic achievement of the national student population. However, these tests position immigrant students at the risk of academic failure, leading education experts to search for new strategies and teaching models. The "Handbook of Research on Assessment…

Using data from a large-scale, mixed-method study involving 222 K-12 foreign language (L2) teachers and their supervisors (see Kissau, Yon, & Algozzine, 2011), in this article the researchers explore differences in beliefs across four demographic groups: experienced and inexperienced teachers, teachers with L2 teacher training and those without,…

What is the role of the teacher in developing learner autonomy? The limited research in this area is seldom situated in theory and often based on self-reported data. This study is situated in sociocultural theory and draws on two constructs, the zone of proximal development and imitation, to explain the teacher's role in developing autonomy. The…

This study examines the social construction of proficiency and the discursive practices prevalent in linguistically diverse schools that afford or constrain participation in language learning communities. Drawing from discourse studies, positioning theory and a sociocultural framework, this study analyzed data from audio recordings and…

Code-switching is a natural part of being bilingual. Yet two-way immersion programs are known to insist upon separation of languages, discouraging both teachers and students from drawing on both linguistic codes at once. Drawing on Bourdieu's concept of symbolic power, I examine one second-grade classroom in which the teacher instituted a…

Examines the German version of an experiment to enhance the learning of a foreign language; specifically, the strategy requires not using any English at all in the classroom, but to use the target language in all matters concerning every lesson. (GLR)

Grounded in sociocultural theory, this study uses an ecological approach to examine how student interactions within a dual-language school context may offer affordances for increased linguistic and conceptual understanding. Using qualitative analysis of student discourse, this paper focuses on data from recorded interactions between pairs of…