This study examines how teacher leaders across the Central Valley support the implementation of the English Language Roadmap Policy (ELRP) utilizing a qualitative, multi-case study approach. Relying on semi-structured interviews and a series of project presentations, this study examines teacher leaders' perceptions and identifies the attributes of…

Studies on teachers' beliefs about vocabulary learning and teaching have focused, so far, on English as a second language (L2), or foreign language (FL), in different contexts but little attention has been given to other L2s and FLs. In this study, 15 Spanish L2 instructors at large universities were interviewed in order to better understand where…

Using mixed methods, we investigated (a) the association of the extent of English learner (EL) classroom-level segregation (proportion EL) and number of EL English proficiency levels with elementary EL academic achievement, using 2 years of administrative data, and (b) school staff--reported opportunity to learn-related advantages and…

Within California, there are high numbers of Multilingual Language Learners (MLLs) that populate California public schools that require special programs and services to ensure their academic, language, and social success. According to the Public Policy Institute of California (2023), nearly 25 percent or 1.4 million of the students in California…

This case study explored Spanish-speaking educators' perceptions and experiences of dual-language immersion (DLI) professional learning (PL). The study aimed to understand how PL offerings could best support and meet the needs of DLI Spanish teachers' best practices in the target language. The perceptions and experiences of seven Spanish DLI…

Teachers in a new school setting tend to display lower teacher efficacy, which negatively affects teaching performance and student learning. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of teacher efficacy in pre-service teachers and explore key factors influencing the perceptions as a result of pre-service training.…

At a time of heightened discourse on multilingual education in the United States, there is a need to question what is meant by the term and how its understandings may be perpetuating harmful power asymmetries. Specifically, California has declared its goal of supporting multilingual education from kindergarten through twelfth grade, yet the…

Language instruction at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), as it does at colleges and universities, focuses on developing linguistic competence. There is no textbook or teaching materials that explicitly and systematically teach students the pragmatic knowledge of the target language. Such knowledge is either…

International students, particularly international English as a Second Language (ESL) students who come to the United States with relatively lower levels of English oral language proficiency, are often reluctant to participate in academic discussions. In a graduate-level TESOL program with a majority of international ESL students, a video…

The stage is set for major change in California early childhood education (ECE). The State's requirements for Transitional Kindergarten instruction, teacher training, and professional development could lead to mandated integration of existing, impressive Dual Language Learner (DLL) resources, guidance, and best practices. In addition to more…

This study investigated whether collaboration between science teachers and ELD teachers would result in changes to teachers' perceptions about their role and responsibility to support English Learners in their science classes and whether professional learning opportunities provided would result in planned implementation of strategies and practices…

Using a large sample of longitudinal assessment data from children in publicly funded infant/toddler care, preschool, and kindergarten (analytic N = 453,468), this study modeled language and literacy trajectories from early infancy through kindergarten for dual language learners (DLLs) from homes representing many different languages and their…

In California, multilingual (ML) teachers seeking Bilingual Authorization or ongoing professional development must confront the field's sedimentary tensions. Cultivating culturally sustaining approaches to language learning in PreK-12 school communities requires embedding humanizing practices at the core of ML teacher education and professional…

All disciplines have particular ways of knowing, common practices, and means of using language that mediate and potentially support engagement with the discipline. For multilingual learners, language demands of a discipline can be a closed door or a facilitated entryway. Drama and theater arts, the focus of our article, are often marginalized in…

This essay explores a variety of ways California's English Learner (EL) Roadmap can be used as a tool to make significant and transformative changes to provide meaningful learning opportunities for students classified as English Learners. The EL Roadmap contains 4 principles: (1) Asset-oriented and needs-responsive schools; (2) Intellectual…