The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence American music immersion (AMI) in Taiwanese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners and to determine if AMI is a predictor of vocabulary acquisition and American lifestyle literacy improvement during online, multimedia music study. The results of this study suggest that…

This article reports the findings of a study on the experiences of a small but growing population of Latino students in a small-town secondary school. All teachers and administrators were surveyed regarding their impressions of Latino students. All students in the school (95% White, 5% Latino) were surveyed regarding their impressions of…

The study explored English as a Second Language (ESL) learner development. In particular, it focused on investigating learners' understanding of reading and their willingness to be engaged in strategic reading in participatory classroom activities. It also examined possible effects of such pedagogy on reading performance. The context was a…

This study highlights the complexities associated with learning a heritage language (HL) abroad, specifically with regard to identity, expectations, and beliefs about language and language learning, by examining the ways that HL learners talk about themselves. These are important topics to study because perceptions of language learning have been…

The issue of identifying reading difficulties and disabilities in English language learners (ELLs) is a complex one. It is an area that draws on the diverse disciplines of first- and second-language acquisition, literacy, English language learning, and reading, including differences and disabilities research. This literature review aims to…

This appendix focuses on the descriptive statistics of the middle study schools that participated in the "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better. A Large-Scale Study of Middle Grades Practices and Student Outcomes. Initial Research." This appendix contains the following figures: (1) Student…

In its recent report, the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence proposes a major restructuring of California's school finance system, replacing most of the separate programs through which revenue now flows from the state to local school districts with a base program and a targeted program. The base program would serve the educational needs…

This article reports on findings obtained from an online survey answered by 97 foreign language department chairs. The Web survey was pilot tested for validity and reliability and obtained a Cronbach's reliability coefficient of .80. The results suggest that student learning outcomes assessment in American undergraduate foreign language education…

This paper explores the influence of symbolic or representational learning materials on pupil engagement or learning outcomes, when 14-16 year old pupils use common types of science simulations. The project pilot phase involved three (15-16 year old) male pupils and a main phase involved twenty-one (14-15 year old) pupils. A retrospective accounts…

Background: There is limited research on the FL/SL reading comprehension of Non-native speakers of English at the post-graduate level at university. Purpose: This study investigated the knowledge of and the attitude towards FL/SL reading comprehension through (1) the effect of (a) post-graduate specialization, and (b) nationality, (2) the…

The aim of this paper is two-fold: (a) to investigate scaffolding strategies employed by two EFL teachers in the process of instructing more and less proficient learners, and (b) to explore the most effective strategies used by teachers with students. Two elementary school English teachers were invited to take part in this study. Both were asked…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study designed to assess the progress made by UK foreign language undergraduate students during the residence abroad (RA) component of their degree. The article first of all places the study within the international research context, and then describes the data collation procedures and methodology employed. It…

This study examined the association between English language proficiency and health outcomes in a regional probability sample (n = 205) of elderly Chinese and Korean immigrants. Data support that these two Asian ethnic subgroups differ in English proficiency and health-related quality of life. Chinese and Korean elders had poorer health than the…

The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) has recently moved from norm-referenced to standards-referenced assessment, including the incorporation of a substantial school-based summative oral assessment component into the compulsory English language subject in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE). Starting in…

The Hispanic population of the United States is quite diverse and with each passing year, due to (im)migration patterns, more and more students are entering language classrooms with some degree of familiarity with the language. However, because of the tendency toward intergenerational loss of Spanish, the linguistic proficiency covers the…