This mixed-methods explanatory sequential study aimed to identify the most commonly used World Language curriculum models in New Jersey high schools, assess the level of curriculum coherence in Spanish programs, and examine their impact on student learning. Surveys and interviews with high school Spanish teachers revealed that, while theoretical…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to uncover how high-achieving university Spanish instructors engage in the core practice of building a classroom discourse community at a doctoral-level university in the southwestern United States. The second goal of this study was to determine whether student performance on reading and writing…

As the popularity of short-term teacher-facilitated language study abroad (SA) programs grows, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how classroom language-teaching methods can best be adapted to meet learners' overseas needs. However, adapting one's methods places high cognitive demands on teachers who may already be overburdened…

Portuguese is the fifth most-spoken language in the world, with about 260 million speakers (and growing to an expected 400 million by 2050), the third most spoken in the West, the most widely spoken in the Southern Hemisphere, an official language in 9 countries and other regions. It is present in Europe, South America, Africa, and parts of Asia.…

This study serves as a follow-up to VanPatten's (2015a) demographic report including the makeup of many university language departments. The present study investigates what some literary and cultural studies experts self-report regarding their training in SLA/language pedagogy, term familiarity, perceptions of Communicative Language Teaching, and…

While studies have shown benefits of plurilingual pedagogies on students' experiences learning languages, more research is needed to examine how these pedagogies can be enacted in foreign language programmes in digital environments. Moreover, prioritising oral engagement has been an urgent need among teachers who use synchronous platforms such as…

Recent scholarship in professional development (PD) has advocated for solid conceptual frameworks and understanding of the complex process involved in how language educators may continue to develop and fulfil the current challenging teaching demands. However, specific relationships underlying departmental cultures and how language educators relate…

In contrast to the waning interest in learning languages other than English (LOTEs) worldwide, mainland China is pursuing to diversify LOTE education because of the 'Belt and Road Initiative.' In response to language policy shifts, individual stakeholders in local contexts such as universities have to take actions to initiate LOTE programs or…

Concurrent enrollment access is expanding across the country, policies and practices are evolving, and data-driven studies examining every measurable element are being undertaken, yet the role of the relationships among concurrent enrollment partners and participants is too often just mentioned in passing. This case study of a concurrent…

This study presents the analysis of a translanguaging by design activity I conducted with students finishing an EFL program at a Costa Rican university, for which I showed them pictures of graffiti in Spanish and encouraged them to discuss these, using their entire linguistic repertoire. I recorded their discussions, selected instances of…

Since 1970, higher education in general, and Spanish departments in particular, have experienced a seismic shift, with skyrocketing student enrollment and dramatic increases in the numbers of non-tenure-track faculty. While contingent faculty numbers have continued to rise since 2000, over the past several years, enrollments in college-level…

Despite the foreign language community's historical interest in employing technology to support language learning, few research studies have linked its use to instructional outcomes and most have failed to address whether technology enhancements lead to increased proficiency gains. This article examines the relationship between technology use and…

There is a growing interest in the quandary of literacy and proficiency amongst K-12 students in the United States. Similarly, because of uncharted research about biliteracy amongst African-American students in urban schools and benefits of Spanish fluency, communicative gaps are increased and fluency is breached. If advantages are properly…

I emigrated from Peru to the United States in the mid-1980s. More than 20 years later, a short trip to Latin America helped me come full circle personally and professionally and close the gaps that I had felt developing over the past two decades. This opportunity was provided by a Fulbright Senior Specialist Program award at the University of…

Total enrollments (undergraduate and graduate) in languages other than English dropped by 9.2% between fall 2013 and fall 2016, as reported in the Modern Language Association's twenty-fifth language enrollment census. Despite the overall drop, there were gains in nearly half of all language programs (45.5%) that mitigate somewhat the downward…