Language is inherently variable, and learner language is particularly variable. The variationist paradigm considers learner language a heterogeneously variable yet inherently rule-governed system. Specifically, learners' alternation between native-like and nonnative-like variants of a variable or invariable target native speaker (NS) form…

This study was undertaken to discover how fourth-and fifth-grade teachers implemented the systematic Focused English Language Development (FELD) program with English Language Learners (ELL) students. ELL students are not reaching proficiency at a higher rate because of the gap in teachers' understanding of effective teaching practices and…

A qualitative study was conducted to understand how building-level and world language department leaders characterize and respond to underperforming world language teachers, and how such leaders work together as a team to address this problem. Ten such leaders from Long Island, New York were interviewed as matched pairs and their responses were…

Syntactic (i.e., grammatical) complexity refers to the range and the degree of sophistication of the forms that appear in language production (Ortega, 2003). This concept has long been regarded as an important construct of language proficiency and has been actively investigated in the field of second language (L2) writing. Syntactic complexity is…

The problem was that Hispanic English Second Language (ESL) students enrolled in the ESL program had consistently failed the California High School Exit Examination (CASHEE) in greater numbers than their cohorts. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to explore the life stories of Hispanic ESL students in identifying the factors…

This case study highlights the social-cultural relevant pedagogical impact a bilingual teacher has on the middle school ESL classroom through her Latina identity and lived experiences. Data gathering occurred over six months through the principal participant's in-depth interviews, classrooms observations, and document analysis of classroom…

The purpose of this study is to examine how English as a foreign language pre-service teachers develop their identities through the process of learning to teach in a university microteaching class and a student teaching practicum within a multilingual Indonesian context. A sociocultural theoretical lens incorporating activity theory as well as a…

This ethnographic case study aims to examine second language socialization (SLS) in a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) called "Stronghold Kingdoms" (SK). To explore the affordances of this community for SLS, the social dynamics in a faction community during 4 life-time periods, namely, war, post-war peace and life in exile, end…

Online foreign language course offerings have grown exponentially in secondary and post-secondary schools during the last two decades. Although numerous instruments and surveys exist to assess readiness for a student to take online courses, insufficient research has dealt with the particularities of learning a foreign language online. This study…

Given the ongoing demographic transformations of U.S classrooms, knowledge of the strategies teachers use to address the vocabulary needs of English language learners (ELLs) is central for improving student outcomes. The problem in a Georgia school system was that ELLs were not building grade-level appropriate vocabulary at a pace comparable to…

Dual Language Learners (DLLs) with special needs have, historically, faced many cycles of integration and segregation. The formal educational system, in turn, has the potential to perpetuate exclusion or create inclusion and equitable spaces. This research looks at the individualized education programs' (IEPs) language goal outcomes of DLLs with…

In recent years, university-based Intensive English Programs (IEPs) have expanded to serve the growing population of international students who wish to earn their degrees at U.S. universities. Many of these IEPs have shifted their focus to assist these academically bound international students by functioning as a bridge to enrollment in American…

This dissertation explores the identity enactments (Bucholtz & Hall, 2005) of 14 multilingual university writing center tutors and multilingual student writers who use English and Putonghua to negotiate their interactions. The study is situated within sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978) and uses ethnographic methods such as observation,…

This story explored the educational experience of a 20 year-old man who came to California from Michoacan, Mexico with his parents and siblings when he was 10 years old. Using qualitative research methodology and testimonio, he and his parents were interviewed to hear and document their stories of his academic journey from the early years in…

While the academic and social success of two-way immersion programs in the public school sector is widely documented, little research has been conducted on how US Catholic school leaders have managed this whole school reform. Through an exploratory case study, the motivations and perceptions of 28 Catholic school administrators and change…