Second language proficiency may be related to first language acquisition (Ganschow & Sparks, 1991), but relatively little is known about the relation between first and second language grammatical proficiency in primary school children who are in their first stages of foreign language learning. This study aims to determine whether differences…

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of teaching intervention for Chinese learners, who were English speakers who tended to focus on phonemic awareness, in learning Chinese. It also tried to examine the impacts of Chinese phonological and morphological awareness on their English language development. The study was conducted in…

This article examines the visibility of an African language, isiZulu, in the public domain of education in South Africa. It explores synergies and disjunctures in language use and exposure for children across the continuum from home to ECD centre and early primary school, and how they affect children's competence in reading in two languages by…

The knowledge relating to the effect of learning a second language (L2) on the mother tongue (L1) is relatively limited. Most studies focused on linguistic and reading skills, but we did not find studies relating to handwriting performance. Our study focused on the transfer effect of handwriting performance from Hebrew L2 to Arabic L1. The sample…

The current study examines the effects of the sociocultural context of primary school reading among Arabic- and English-speaking students in the UAE. Using a sample of 16,391 fourth graders (English: n = 10,507; Arabic: n = 5,884) from the 2016 Process in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), results revealed that while early language…

Academic language has been shown to significantly contribute to success across school subjects. However, to date, there are no empirical studies addressing its development across primary school age. The present study investigated the growth of academic vocabulary and influential conditions from Grades 2 to 4 based on a newly developed and…

Language acquisition is used for the process where a language is acquired as a result of natural and largely random exposure to language, whereas the term language learning refers to the exposure structured through language teaching. Children acquire language from 18 months to puberty. The child's grammar is semantically based. Children reflect…

This is an empirical study in which we explore child foreign language learners' interactional strategy use, uptake, and lexical acquisition in synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). The study was carried out with 16 10-year-old Spanish English as a foreign language learners paired with age- and proficiency-matched English native…

It is essential for learners to develop foundational literacy skills, ideally, in the first grade of formal education. These skills are then firmly entrenched and can be expanded in the following grades to form a basis for all future academic studies. Appropriate assessment practices and tools to aid this process can inform the achievement of…

School accountability has funnelled educational practices into a path where teaching practices are heavily centred in Language Arts instruction. Focusing learning almost exclusively in the aforesaid area develops a one-dimensional process that could hold back certain students from a well-balanced education. This article presents a model of…

This highly practical resource for K-6 teachers is packed with 25 classroom-tested, step-by-step strategies for developing word knowledge. The emphasis throughout is not only on teaching new words, but also on strengthening students' comprehension and long-term vocabulary acquisition. Especially valuable are guidelines for how to differentiate…

Often, English-language development (ELD) is taught during a dedicated time of the school day. There is often a mismatch between the content of ELD and the lessons taught during core instruction provided during the remainder of the day. During core instruction, teachers use specially designed academic instruction in English strategies to ensure…

Recent currents in language learning research highlight the social and emergent aspects of second language (L2) development and recognize that learners need opportunities for interaction in meaningful contexts supported by explicit attention to language itself. These perspectives suggest new ways of conceptualizing the challenges faced by children…

This quantitative correlational study examines the role of African American English (AAE) and literacy for Black American students who speak AAE. No previous research regarding Black American students who speak AAE has set out to determine whether or not viewing Black students who speak AAE as English second language learners (L2) would improve…

This paper presents findings from a study investigating young Swedish learners' extramural (out-of-school) contact with English. In contemporary Sweden, the influx of English is great and research has shown that extramural contact with English correlates positively with students' proficiency in English (Olsson, 2011; Sundqvist, 2009; Sylvén,…