In the United States, research on reading difficulties is predominantly carried out by scholars who project findings on L1 English reading difficulty to generalized difficulty in learning a second language (L2; e.g., Galuschka et al., 2020; Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 2020; cf. Sparks, 2023). This research extrapolation creates a negative feedback…

Students who have problems comprehending textual material tend to experience failing grades, peer rejection, and even social isolation. Furthermore, students with poor reading comprehension demonstrate poor academic performance in all subjects, not due to difficulty in learning specific subject content (i.e., math, history, etc.), but rather their…

This three-manuscript dissertation attempts to answer the question: "How does students' English language proficiency (ELP) inform the availability, structure, and use of English language accommodations and intervention to support the academic achievement of English learner (EL) students?" The question is addressed using three independent…

Researchers have investigated the promise of unimodal and bimodal input in enhancing vocabulary learning from meaning-focused activities. Compared to unimodal input, the simultaneous presentation of written and aural input in bimodal input has been argued to direct L2 learners' attention to words and enhance the form-meaning links for new…

The tantalizing prospects of learning benefits from multimodal conditions on second language (L2) learning in general, and L2 vocabulary development in particular, have important implications. Indeed, opening a language learning app on any device provides the immediate experience of simultaneous input modalities, and a wide range of input types.…

The academic success of dual language learners (DLLs) has been studied extensively, but few studies have investigated the effectiveness of the Scott Foresman Reading Street (SFRS) program on DLL struggling readers. The purpose of this quantitative study, grounded in the linguistic interdependence theory, was to compare the Measure of Academic…

Second language (L2) writing has been determined to be influenced by what is read, with language learners tending to borrow words and short phrases from input texts while writing (e.g., Wang & Wang, 2015). This phenomenon is referred to as lexical alignment. Only one empirical study has investigated the influence that the linguistic complexity…

This study investigated Reading Recovery teacher understandings about language and early literacy acquisition by applying a constructivist grounded theory design. Participants were Reading Recovery teachers working across three varied districts in Massachusetts (N=33). The purpose of the study was to engage Reading Recovery teachers in surveys,…

Students who receive English Learner (EL) services at Forest Oak Elementary School in Newark, Delaware, do so through a pull-out model of instruction. They meet with an EL coach in a separate setting for instruction on reading, writing, speaking, and listening in English. A first-grade teacher at Forest Oak Elementary School participated in this…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental, mixed-methods study was to address the gap in understanding regarding second language (L2) comprehension of stories by using a taxonomical approach based on Anderson and Krathwohl's (2001) revised taxonomy that includes multiple levels of cognitive processing to provide insight into L2 learners' depth of…

The research problem for this study was teachers in grades 6-12 at a particular school district on the West Coast are not provided targeted professional development needed to support lower-performing English speakers of other languages (ESOL) students in their school districts. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore these teachers'…

The purpose of this single case design study was to examine the efficacy of a graphic organizer for improving the reading comprehension of middle school Spanish-English bilingual middle school students with learning disabilities. Students included two females and one male student. Using a multiple baseline across participants design, students were…

Teachers in Florida are tasked with the insurmountable job of teaching the curriculum, supporting their students socially and emotionally, and differentiating instruction and assessments for all students in inclusion classrooms. In Florida, students labeled as English language learners (ELLs) with varying English language proficiency are placed in…

Arabic orthography is mainly presented either in shallow orthography (with all diacritics) for novice students or in deep orthography (without diacritics) for superior readers. However, the shallow orthography is heavily loaded with diacritics which may burden the reading process, whereas deep orthography can cause ambiguity (heterophonic…

For Chinese students, studying in a country with different cultural components and language structures is challenging. Compared to English, the Chinese prefers shorter and simple sentence structure and allows for two sentences to be stated side by side. Different sentence structures in Chinese may influence native-Chinese readers' understanding of…