The definitions of "academic language" available to teachers and teacher educators often invoke generalized assumptions about the supposed gap between complex, discipline-specific forms of language and the everyday language of Latina/o/x students. In this article, we advance an alternative hypothesis -- that Latina/o/x students boast…

Following the appraisal framework (Martin & White, 2005), in particular the two discourse-semantic systems of Engagement and Attitude, this study examines the extent to which second language learners in a US-Spain telecollaborative project (a) engaged with their own ideas and those of their partners and (b) expressed their attitude towards…

There is growing interest in including service-learning courses in higher education, and abundant literature exists on this subject. Less researched is binomial service learning, specifically related to civic learning and legal translation. Studies on the goals of combining foreign language instruction with civic participation in the Hispanic…

Teacher training programmes have often ignored the new multilingual paradigm and, consequently, educators may hold some misconceptions about how additional languages are learnt and should be taught in multilingual contexts. A number of recent studies have investigated language teachers' beliefs regarding multilingual education [Arocena-Egaña, E.,…

This paper reports math and reading academic achievement and growth in grades 2 to 8 for Hispanic participants and nonparticipants of a Spanish-English dual language program. I apply a piecewise multilevel growth model to administrative data from a large school district that enrolls a substantial English Learner student population. Dual language…

Prior research suggests that Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learners (DLLs)--young children who must master two languages simultaneously, their home language and English (Espinosa, 2013)--differentially benefit from quality Early Childhood Education (ECE), and in particular from Head Start, compared with children of other subgroups and…

Digital storytelling (DST) is an innovative narrative practice based on the creation of multimodal stories, which promotes communicative as well as digital competences. This research verifies teachers' perception about the progress in communicative and digital competences in primary education children (N= 201) participating in a collaborative…

Purpose: We compared novel word learning in 2nd-grade children with typical development who were Spanish-English bilinguals to English monolinguals to understand word learning in bilingual children. Method: Children (monolinguals n = 167, bilinguals n = 76) engaged in 5 computer-based tasks that assessed word learning in 6 different contexts. The…

Students' attitudes in first-grade dual language immersion (DLI) classes were compared with those of similar students in mainstream English classes. Results for the sample of 81 Latinx students indicated that for attitudes toward activities in Spanish, including reading and speaking in public and with relatives, both ELLs and non-ELLs in DLI had…

This study examined the impact of teaching students to provide and incorporate peers' feedback on their partners' second language (L2) writing. Sixty-five participants enrolled in Spanish composition classes were assigned to one of three conditions: trained peer review (n = 21), untrained peer review (n =21), and a non-peer-review comparison group…

The incorporation of literary texts in advanced beginner and intermediate level language classrooms (high school Spanish, years 2-4; university Spanish, semesters 2-4) can seem intimidating. The thoughtful exploration of literary texts takes time away from other content, specifically grammar and vocabulary, which often seem more straightforward to…

While humour and laughter create conditions that are conducive for learning, different forms of children's humour have been given little attention in research on digital media, literacy learning, and multimodal design. Applying a Bakhtinian lens, we analyse carnivalesque videos created by elementary students as part of the formal curriculum. We…

The purpose of this pilot study was to better understand the training experiences of bilingual school psychologists (BSPs) and identify their training needs in the provision of psychological services to English language learner students. The secondary aims of the study were to determine how school psychology programs can better prepare BSPs and…

The language de jure in Jamaica is Jamaican English (JE); however, the language de facto of most nationals is Jamaican Creole (JC). As such, there are many students who enter the tertiary level without fully acquiring JE. As a CARICOM nation, it is mandatory that foreign languages are taught beginning at the primary level of education. Although…

This study explored the experiences of eight Latina heritage speakers (HSs) who were enrolled in world language teacher preparation programs at two higher education institutions. Using data from interviews, classroom observations, and other documents, the qualitative multiple-case study investigated their educational experiences and the challenges…