This study examines a critical but understudied group in Massachusetts: immigrant newcomers in public high schools. We define newcomers as English learners (ELs) in their first 12 months of schooling in the United States and focus on those who arrive in grades 9-12. These students, many of whom are overage and with interrupted formal educational…

In L1 attrition research, it's recognized that a previously acquired language can transform under the influence of a newly acquired one. However, the precise L1-L2 relationship is intricate and warrants further study. Some research suggest that L2 mastery might reduce L1 proficiency, while others show that both languages can be maintained. Age of…

An important subgroup of English learner-classified (EL) students immigrate to the U.S., entering U.S. schools upon their arrival. Using growth models and statewide data, this study describes the incoming English proficiency and subsequent English language growth of newcomer students, including the student, program, and school characteristics that…

This empirical study examines the growth and characteristics of newcomer schools, as well as the associations between newcomer school characteristics and student outcomes. Newcomer schools are specialized schools for children newly arrived in the U.S. with limited English language proficiency and often interrupted education. To conduct this study,…

Striving for greater English proficiency and securing a job are common goals of newcomers to Canada. For newcomers in the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program, the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB)/Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) provide an indicator of their abilities and progress in their language…

Despite its status as a wealthy, developed nation, the United States is plagued by widespread deficiencies in adult literacy. The problem is quite severe among individuals who were born in country, yet the situation for the nation's immigrant population is nothing short of alarming. Using the U.S. portion of the data set for the international…

The category of "English as a Second Language" or "ESL" student is no longer a label of someone in the process of learning English. Rather, linguistic categorization is a complex social processes of ascribed identity formation that positions students as deficits and others, circumscribing them out of belonging to both academic…

Many Hispanic adult immigrants to the United States acquire sufficient English skills to enable them to function in daily life but are left feeling that their skills are inadequate for college work. The problem addressed by the study is that the factors that are predictive of successful acquisition of college-level English skills had not been…

Many U.S. schools now have adolescent students who are recent immigrants arrive throughout the school year--sometimes with little English or having had interrupted formal education in their home country. Teachers need strategies to involve such "newcomer" students in classroom work right away. The author describes a framework of…

Las Americas Middle School is a newcomer program within Houston Independent School District (HISD) that serves students in Grades 4 through 8 who have been in the U.S. for less than one year. As a non-zoned school of choice, Las Americas has no attendance boundary, meaning that students and families must opt to enroll in the school. This brief…

An important subgroup of English learner-classified (EL) students immigrate to the U.S., entering U.S. schools upon their arrival. Using growth models and statewide data, this study describes the incoming English proficiency and subsequent English language growth of newcomer students, including the student, program, and school characteristics that…

Previous research on the development of second language (L2) reading comprehension among adolescents and adults has looked at the relative importance of students' second language (L2) linguistic skills and home language (L1) reading comprehension skills in the development of L2 reading comprehension, with many studies finding a more important role…

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) ensures educational equity for multilingual learners through supporting school districts and charter schools to develop, implement and evaluate research-based language instruction educational programs (LIEPs) so that multilingual learners, including students with English learner (EL) status, attain…

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) ensures educational equity for multilingual learners through supporting school districts and charter schools to develop, implement and evaluate research-based language instruction education programs so that multilingual learners, including students with English learner status, attain academic language…

There are approximately 200,000 students in Houston Independent School District (HISD), and many of them are recent immigrants who have been in the United States for three years or less. In recent years, the number of immigrant students in the district has increased dramatically, with over 11,000 enrolled in each of the past seven years. In fact,…