This article presents findings of a larger research project regarding effective leadership practices in language immersion programs. The purpose of this study was to discover actions, knowledge, and skills that immersion leaders of successful programs exhibit. Using a basic qualitative model, immersion leaders, teachers, and parents at three…

One Mandarin immersion programming model involves a pair of partner teachers switching cohorts of students. Many programs meet their staffing needs with international teachers that remain with the school district for 1-3 years. Due to transient staffing, many partner teachers find themselves as mentors to their immersion teachers and maintain the…

Arabic and Chinese are 2 of 13 languages designated as "critical" by the U.S. Department of State. There is an urgent need to expand the teaching force in these languages. Understanding how best to prepare critical language teachers from abroad is imperative. This study examined the perceptions of 16 pre- and in-service teachers (6 Arabic and 10…

This article presents three activities that have been used in a preservice teaching assistant orientation that addresses biases, stereotyping, and gender issues. (nine references) (JL)

Qualitative data obtained from teaching-assistant surveys, interviews, journal entries, and videotape critiques were analyzed to discover specific concerns of international teaching assistants (ITAs) about grammar and how these concerns influence their problems of language, cross-cultural communication, and pedagogy. Thematic summary of data and…

Although proficiency is a primary goal, the objectives of second language (L2) teaching are also to enhance learners' understanding of the nature of language and culture (National Standards, 1999). This study, based on interviews with 13 American women living in Venezuela, explores nonnatives' perspectives on factors that influence their…