Research on linguistic variation suggests that usage patterns are deeply embedded in native and non-native speakers' knowledge of grammar. This study explores the transfer of these variable sociolinguistic patterns at the initial stages of third language acquisition. We elicited narratives in Portuguese from two mirror-image groups of sequential…

This study qualitatively investigated students from a Mexican university and a U.S. university and how their intercultural competence (IC), the ability to appropriately and effectively communicate with others from countries and cultures other than one's own, was affected by a five-week telecollaborative exchange. To examine the ways in which…

This article examines the use of technology-mediated, task-based language teaching (TBLT) in a hybrid environment as an instructional approach in an intermediate-level Spanish course. It (a) evaluates elements of a hybrid course that was developed with computer-assisted language learning (CALL) materials to help learners improve their Spanish,…

This study employed phenomenological and semi-structured interviews as an action research approach, to explore participants' experiences around the Global Assembly for Knowledge Democracy (The Assembly) following the Conference of the Action Research Network of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia. We sought to promote the inclusion of the diverse…

The scholarship on foreign language (FL) learning and teaching shows various ways Web 2.0 technologies are used to promote and ease communication and gives access to and cultural exchange of information, which are the main purposes of language learning. Despite prolific examination of strategies and impact of Web 2.0 to enhance language learning,…

This secondary analysis explored longitudinal associations between the concentration of shared-language peers and the development of prosocial and problem behavior in dual language learning (DLL) preschoolers from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Mixed-effects regression models were used to analyze year-end outcomes of 212 Spanish-speaking students…

In primary-level German writing instruction, spelling discussions (German: "Rechtschreibgespräche") have become a well-established interactional method of teaching orthography, prompting the children to exchange their hypotheses about orthographic features of written words. Focusing on spellings of ambisyllabic consonants, this…

At a time when language programs around the United States are in crisis--the University of Rhode Island's Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures is realigning its curriculum to emphasize proficiency and intercultural competence within a strong liberal arts context. The result of the department's recent initiatives? More than…

In this study, we use microdata from 12 Florida county-level school districts and a regression discontinuity design to examine the effects of early grade retention on the short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes of English learners. We find that retention in the third-grade substantially improves the English skills of these students, reducing the…

This paper describes a project-based oral activity trialled with Year 1 and Year 2 students of the Spanish Degree Programme at the University of York. The objective of the activity aimed to develop students' speaking confidence through the completion of an authentic task based on the concept of authentic assessment. This task was implemented…

The following work tries to analyze the possible fossilization errors of the students when acquiring a second foreign language. For this purpose, two languages have been chosen: maternal (Spanish) and foreign (English). In the present work we have examined the effects of the Spanish language and the English language when learning another language…

This thesis examines whether native, heritage, and L2 speakers of Spanish engage a morphological layer of representation in the processing of inflected words, and whether they do so with both regularly- and irregularly-inflected words. Also examined is whether this tendency towards compositional (i.e. morphological rule-based) processing is…

This study explores how virtual exchanges can contribute to global awareness development and, consequently, how the increased global awareness can lead to emergence of global identity among foreign language learners. The participants (n = 84), who were divided into forty-seven virtual exchange groups, met synchronously with international peer(s)…

Purpose: The study examined the contributions of Spanish and English oral narrative skills to English reading among 95 early elementary dual language learners (DLLs) from Spanish-speaking homes in the United States. This sample of first- and third-grade DLL children attended Spanish-English dual language immersion programs and received language…

Purpose: This article aims to describe how exemplar variability can manipulate the word learning environment to maximize within- and cross-language generalization in Spanish--English bilinguals. Furthermore, we examined sources of individual variability that predicted word learning. Method: Nineteen Spanish--English bilingual children participated…