In September 1998, the Education Department of the fledgling Hong Kong Special Administrative Region implemented a controversial medium-of-instruction policy which compelled around three-quarters of the territory's hitherto English-medium secondary schools to switch to Chinese-medium teaching in Forms 1-3 (years 7-9). Only 112 schools were…

The obligatory use of the preposition a with animate, specific direct objects in Spanish ("Juan conoce a Maria" "Juan knows Maria") is a well-known instance of Differential Object Marking (DOM; Torrego, 1998; Leonetti, 2004). Recent studies have documented the loss and/or incomplete acquisition of several grammatical features in Spanish heritage…

This article examines the oral proficiency in French of students in core French, intensive French (IF), and post-IF to determine the effectiveness of these programs. Between 2003 and 2009, students in nine jurisdictions were assessed using the New Brunswick Middle School Scale (MSS). Students were tested prior to beginning IF (multiple grade…

Brownsville Independent School District in Texas garnered the Broad Prize for Urban Education in 2008 by narrowing the gap between its largely immigrant Hispanic enrollment and other low-income children in the state. Its efforts are notable for the district's ability to move English language learners to proficiency in a few years by its reliance…

This study describes English language learner (ELL) student enrollment and achievement trends in Delaware public schools from 2002/03 to 2008/09. Two research questions guide this study: (1) How did the enrollment of ELL students in Delaware public schools change between 2002/03 and 2008/09?; and (2) How did performance (the percentage scoring at…

This study describes English language learner (ELL) student enrollment and achievement trends in Delaware public schools from 2002/03 to 2008/09. Two research questions guide this study: (1) How did the enrollment of ELL students in Delaware public schools change between 2002/03 and 2008/09?; and (2) How did performance (the percentage scoring at…

Content-Based Instruction (CBI) may result in improved proficiency in language skills due to the meaningful combination of subject matter and foreign language as a means of communication. This paper shows how university students improved their level of English by means of a content methodology as they attended a course called Topics in Molecular…

Science classrooms in the United States have become more diverse with respect to the variety of languages spoken by students. This qualitative study used ethnographic methods to investigate the discourse and practices of two ninth grade science classrooms. Approximately 44% of students included in the study were designated as English learners. The…

This volume builds on Fortune and Tedick's 2008 Pathways to Multilingualism: Evolving Perspectives on Immersion Education and showcases the practice and promise of immersion education through in-depth investigations of program design, implementation practices, and policies in one-way, two-way and indigenous programs. Contributors present new…

Despite skyrocketing growth in its English Language Learner (ELL) population, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has been remarkably effective in improving outcomes for ELL students across the district. Achievement has increased, and gaps between ELL students and their native English-speaking peers have decreased. This success is intentional.…

We tested the hypothesis that syntactic and narrative comprehension of a natural sign language can serve as the linguistic basis for skilled reading. Thirty-one adults who were deaf from birth and used American Sign Language (ASL) were classified as skilled or less skilled readers using an eighth-grade criterion. Proficiency with ASL syntax, and…

This article presents an interview with Professor Kenji Ohtomo who retired in March 2006 from the post of Dean, College of Applied International Studies, Tokiwa University, Mito, in Japan. Professor Ohtomo is currently a Professor Emeritus at the University of Tsukuba and Honorary President of the Japan Language Testing Association, of which he…

Hulstijn and Laufer (2001) proposed a motivational-cognitive construct of task-induced involvement to account for variation in effectiveness among different vocabulary learning tasks. Building upon their original research, this study consisted of two experiments investigating the involvement load hypothesis in vocabulary learning. Experiment 1…

Intelligibility has been widely regarded as an appropriate goal for second language pronunciation teaching. Yet there is no universally accepted definition of intelligibility, nor any field-wide consensus on the best way to measure it. Further, there is little empirical evidence to suggest which pronunciation features are crucial for…

The unique needs, goals, and constraints of heritage language learners in U.S. higher education and the multiple ways that they differ from those of second and foreign language (L2) learners have been well documented (Brisk, 2000; Chevalier, 2004; Grosjean, 1982; Kagan & Dillon, 2003). Each population uses its two languages in diverse ways, for…