This dissertation delves into second language acquisition, sociophonetic variation, and speech perception, investigating how prior linguistic experiences and exposure to regional variations in a second language influence the decoding of dialectal linguistic cues. It aims to enhance the understanding of words pronounced with different phones and…

Evidence shows individual variation in lexical acquisition as a function of socioeconomic status and linguistic input. Research has primarily involved English-speaking populations and considered only mothers' child-directed speech. This study analyzes the effects of socioeconomic status on quantitative and qualitative properties of linguistic…

This study examined bilingual preservice teachers' self-efficacy in the context of lesson differentiation for multilingual learners in Spanish. Thirty-six bilingual preservice teachers across three California State University programs participated in a quantitative methods study of lesson plan analysis. Findings showed that preservice teachers…

School attendance and engagement were crucial to students' academic success and well-being before the pandemic but were severely disrupted when schools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study examines the research question: What do linguistically diverse caregivers perceive as multilevel facilitators and barriers to school…

Purpose: Children with hearing loss (CHL) who use hearing devices (cochlear implants or hearing aids) and communicate orally have trouble comprehending sentences with noncanonical order. This study explores sentence comprehension strategies in Spanish-speaking CHL, focusing on their ability to integrate morphosyntactic cues (word order,…

Purpose: To understand the ways in which autistic Latinx children experience disparities in diagnosis, healthcare, and receipt of specialty services. Methods: 417 individuals who identified as Latinx caregivers of autistic children who were members of the same integrated healthcare system in Northern California were surveyed. Responses were…

The paper discusses the interpretation of adversative clauses introduced by "pero" and concessive clauses introduced by "aunque" in Spanish. Specifically, the discussion centers around structures that exhibit the forms: (i) "A, pero B," (ii) "A, aunque B-INDICATIVE," and (iii) "A, aunque…

Contemporary Spanish literature continues to be informed by the 2008 economic crisis and neoliberalism. Dystopia is relevant to this discourse, but the dystopian fiction of the Spanish author Guillem López has not been considered extensively in the academy. This paper considers López's "La polilla en la casa del humo" and "El último…

This chapter examines the lexical availability of students of Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) and observes how their semantic networks change as their proficiency in Spanish increases. The analysis focuses on 150 students with different levels of proficiency and the two centres of interest: "acciones y actividades habituales"…

Background: Mental health (MH) problems are more common in people with intellectual disabilities (ID), yet under-diagnosis persists, which may be partly due to a lack of appropriate assessment tools. This study presents a systematic review of instruments used to assess MH problems in Spanish-speaking adults with ID. Method: Following PRISMA…

The present study examines the lack of representation of minority communities in the existing literature by examining the representation of Afro-Latinxs in texts and visuals in seven Spanish as a Heritage Language (SHL) textbooks, and the ideologies behind these representations. Drawing upon Norman Fairclough's (1995) model for conducting Critical…

This longitudinal study - conducted in the Midwestern United States - examines the child-level factors that promote Spanish-English bilingual toddlers' (n = 47; M[subscript age] = 18.80 months; SD[subscript age] = 0.57) productive vocabulary skills from 18 to 30 months of age. At 6-month intervals, caregivers reported on toddlers' Spanish and…

This article draws on qualitative data from a Two-Way Immersion Spanish environment classroom to explore how African American students lived experiences, language, and cultural practices are regulated and/or constrained. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Bahktin's heteroglossia and raciolinguistics, the authors present two distinct…

This paper discusses Texas Examinations of Educator Standards Program Languages Other Than English -- Spanish exam (TExES LOTE - Spanish) and its potential bias, particularly against teacher candidates with Spanish as a heritage language (HL) background. In Texas, most teacher candidates, or college students of Spanish preparing for secondary…

Accurately identifying developmental language disorder (DLD) in students who speak a home language other than English has proven to be an enduring challenge. Consequently, students with DLD miss out on critical interventions, and those who are acquiring their two languages in a typical manner are placed in settings that do not meet their…