This article compares metalinguistic awareness among emerging bilingual and multilingual learners of English in Norwegian primary school. Participants were 120 students in grades 5-7 (aged 10-13) attending mainstream English classes in Norway and were divided into three groups based on a linguistic background questionnaire: an L1 Norwegian group,…

International immigration creates economic, demographic, and cultural shifts worldwide. The process of migration entails steps beginning from the decision to migrate, the migration journey and experiences upon arrival to the host country. Factors such as age at time of migration, traditions, and beliefs of those who migrate inform various aspects…

In an era where the English language has become dominant in all fields and is the prevailing language worldwide, many Arab parents and intellectuals are wondering about the optimal age to start teaching their children English. Should they speak to their children in English at an early age? Should they enrol their children in a pre-school that…

Bilingual children, the majority of whom are Spanish-English learners, now constitute over a third of the preschool population in the United States (Migration Policy Institute, 2021). Bilingual children and their families face multiple barriers to high-quality early childhood education, which are largely due to the underutilization of culturally…

This descriptive psychological phenomenology investigated the experiences of newcomer youth who graduated from high school and transitioned to post-secondary education following migration to Canada. Ten individuals, between the ages of 18 and 30, completed a qualitative interview about their experiences of "school integration." Defined…

Drawing on semi-structured interviews with six Chinese migrant families with children aged 12-15 years old, this qualitative study uses a Bourdieusian lens to probe how the historically lived and migration experiences of Chinese internal migrant parents construct their paradoxical beliefs in children's English learning and informs their family…

In the past few decades, literature has consistently suggested that bilingual children are at risk for academic failure due to their limited language skills. However, many of these studies included underprivileged bilingual children, and few of them attempted to disentangle the effects of bilingualism from the effects of socio-economic status.…

In contemporary Western societies, parenting has become the subject of a substantial body of advice and self-help literature. Within this literature, questions of bilingual parenting have begun to add yet another dimension to parental anxieties. Against this background, we examine how parents in a general Australian online parenting forum discuss…

It is expected that all students in the United States learn to read English well. This task is more complex for emergent bilinguals (EBs), the majority of whom speak Spanish, who are simultaneously developing their English language proficiency. Although several syntheses have documented the positive effects of shared book reading (SBR) in school…

Although Singapore schools are English-medium, Mandarin is a compulsory subject for students of Chinese heritage. As young Singaporeans increasingly speak English at home, the required study of Mandarin has become a source of anxiety for families. Mandarin 'enrichment centers', which provide supplementary language classes, leverage this anxiety in…

More than a quarter of US children have at least one immigrant parent, but researchers and policymakers often do not have adequate data on these children's experiences in school, with far-reaching implications for instruction, student support services, and policy. Proxy factors that are reported by school--such as being designated as an English…

This mixed-method research explores how students (ages 12-15) describe dispositional qualities for belonging and fitting in one junior high school. Inductive coding of open-ended responses about perceptions of belonging in school shows candor about the emotional performances and management of emotions for belonging at school. Recommendations for…

The engaging profiles of "English Learners at Home and at School" offer access to a deeper and broader understanding of the lived experiences of English learners and their families. Such knowledge is essential for all educators in order to anticipate the needs of, and best support, English learners. In this highly readable volume, Joyce…

In order to effectively respond to the increased linguistic and cultural diversity in U.S. schools and close the consistently documented achievement gap between culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students and mainstream students, teachers need to take an asset-based approach and be able to draw on CLD students' entire funds of linguistic…

Teachers' attitudes towards children's languages and culture have been shown to be instrumental in children's developing self-esteem and academic achievement. Attitudes and the frequently attendant local policies about languages beyond English (LBE) in schools therefore need to be clear for children, as negative or contradictory discourses can…