With the population of English learners (EL) entering Texas public schools increasing, it is essential to understand how the current school system supports these students. This study investigated the language used in school handbooks as a predictor of English Language Learners' (ELL) academic outcomes in Texas independent school districts. Student…

Intermediary organizations play an increasingly important role in public policy related to higher education, particularly related to the completion agenda. This study addresses strategies employed by intermediary organizations to communicate to policymakers regarding college completion. Using rhetorical analysis, we examine 72 documents to…

How are linguistic and cognitive practices shared among individuals (and more broadly) populations and cultures? Further, how are cognitive strategies shared at the local level? Li and colleagues (Li & Gleitman 2002; Li et al 2011; "inter alia") suggest that the variation observed in reference frame practices among populations of the…

Highly explicit language use is prized in scientific discourse, and greater explicitness is hypothesized to facilitate academic achievement. Studies in the mid-twentieth century reported controversial findings that the explicitness of text differs by the income and education levels of authors' families. If income-related differences in…

This paper reports on an investigation into the reactions of 147 participants of various ethnicities to a language practice in the USA that has been characterized as Mock Spanish, a special register in which Spanish words or phrases are used to evoke humor by indexing an often unflattering image of Spanish speakers. Research questions include…