One in every six adults in the United States is an immigrant. These immigrant adults contribute to the vitality of local communities and economies across the country, but many also face barriers to integration and economic mobility, including limited English proficiency, varied levels of formal education, and persistent employment in low-wage…

The developments in the digital age are reflected in foreign language classrooms today, yet, teachers' incompetence resulting from insufficient training about various technologies during their previous education prevent them from integrating technology into their classrooms effectively. Especially with the sudden increasing demand of online…

This paper presents a four-year longitudinal study of student teachers' beliefs about language learning and teaching over the course of an English teacher education (ELT) program. The study attempts to track possible changes in the beliefs and to analyze the impact of an ELT pre-service program by taking the program itself as a dynamic variable.…

This study examines math and English standardized test score progress of students who participated in the 21st century program across 2 years of involvement with a focus on the learning trajectories of limited English proficiency (LEP) students. We find that math and English scores are highly associated with the school and program type--even…

Foreign language proficiency and learning are crucial parts of many study abroad programs; especially those whose host culture language is different than that of the native language of students electing to study in them. Indeed, how a program organizes itself regarding pre-departure language proficiency requirements, on site language learning, and…

In this paper, I argue that in-service language-teacher education programs should consider all elements of the linguistic, geographical and cultural context of the teachers the course is designed for, and respond to this context in a constructivist way in program design and implementation. Using qualitative case-study data, I focused on the…

The social nature of language learning and development has been widely acknowledged, as has the importance of family relationships in language learning processes. The role that the first language plays in the literacy development of English language learners (ELLs) and their families is irrefutable. Advocates of family literacy programs have…

Spanish heritage language (SHL) programmes in post-secondary institutions must continue to redesign their curricula to accommodate the needs of a growing Latino population with a broad range of bilingual competencies. Despite the proliferation of research in heritage languages, pedagogically based research that incorporates students' voices is…

For many decades now, applied linguistics studies have investigated the impact of second language acquisition on various aspects of the development of school children. Few studies, however, have focused on the simultaneous acquisition of two additional/second languages in the classroom. The present paper explores the impact of a spoken Arabic…

Research concerning the success factors in language immersion education is reviewed, focusing on five major schools of thought. First, the traditional model for immersion research, implemented in a Montreal (Canada) suburb is examined. Then three studies of the influence of affective variables in immersion program success are examined, and it is…

An examination of family literacy programs was made in this newsletter issue to reveal the trends and practices of these programs and their contribution to the development of children of refugee parents. The examination found that most effective and innovative programs recognize that literacy instruction is more effective when it is content based…

A discussion of the immersion approach to second language instruction contains: a description of the approach and its goals; a brief history of its introduction into public schools; a description of the most common immersion program designs (early total, early partial, middle or delayed, and late); a review of available information on program…

Results of a large-scale evaluation of early and middle immersion programs in the Toronto (Ontario) area, involving 4 districts and 26 grade 8 classes, suggest that middle immersion yields less consistent performance levels than early immersion. Overall, findings favor early immersion. (11 references) (Author/MSE)

The Carpinteria Preschool Spanish Immersion Project was developed to bring Spanish speaking children to a level in school readiness skills that matched English dominant children upon entrance to kindergarten. A description of the program and its effectiveness is offered. (DF)

A fact sheet on foreign language immersion programs, in which the regular school curriculum is taught partially or entirely in a foreign language, briefly discusses the following: (1) the structure and goals of immersion instruction; (2) the introduction of English instruction; (3) the eventual effect of immersion instruction on verbal and…