Van Lier's [2004. "The Ecology and Semiotics of Language Learning: A Sociocultural Perspective." Boston: Kluwer Academy] concept of ecology of language learning is applicable to our focus on children's active engagement in bilingual preschool classroom activities, which are conducive to language learning. The aim of this study was to…

In comparative studies focusing on context of learning, the main contexts under investigation have been study abroad (SA), at-home formal instruction (AH), and domestic immersion (IM). With the global status of English and its burgeoning popularity as a medium of instruction in countries where English only holds the status of a lingua franca, a…

With U.S. classrooms increasingly characterized by linguistic diversity, policies mandating teacher training around English learning have proliferated. Recent federal oversight prompted Massachusetts to implement an initiative to endorse its 70,000+ teachers in Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). While policy research has productively emphasized…

This article starts with definitions of bilingualism with a focus on the analysis of bilingual competence. Then the aims and types of bilingual education in developing bilingual competence are introduced with focus on analyses of immersion and content-based instruction. Subsequently, the contextual settings of the study are briefly presented.…

This article explores the beliefs about second language (L2) sociolinguistic competence of four university-level advanced L2 learners. It places particular emphasis on 1) how these university learners conceptualized L2 sociolinguistic competence; 2) how they thought about two different language learning contexts (viz., the L2 classroom versus…

This study compares the frequency and distribution of different types of corrective feedback (CF) (recasts, prompts and explicit correction) and learner uptake in 43 hours of classroom interaction at the 4th-5th grade level across three instructional settings: (1) two content and language integrated learning (CLIL) classrooms in Spain with English…

The proliferation of English-medium instruction (EMI) in nonnative English-speaking (NNES) contexts has compelled researchers to explore the challenges students face in such environments. Mostly quantitative in nature with foci on language-related difficulties in one type of institution or curriculum, these studies obscure the complexity of NNES…

Using data from a large-scale, mixed-method study involving 222 K-12 foreign language (L2) teachers and their supervisors (see Kissau, Yon, & Algozzine, 2011), in this article the researchers explore differences in beliefs across four demographic groups: experienced and inexperienced teachers, teachers with L2 teacher training and those without,…

This study investigates the cross-cultural realization of request patterns. The goal of the study is to compare the realization of requests produced by adult American English speaking learners of Russian (NNS) to that of native speakers of Russian and native speakers of English to identify the similarities and differences between native and…

This study of 1,338 Spanish-speaking 1st graders examined contextual effects of bilingual programs on reading comprehension and the effect of language of instruction within these contexts. The study included 128 classrooms in 32 schools located in border Texas and in urban Texas and California. These classrooms used either English immersion or…

Focuses on how learners perceive the experience of their linguistic development, and particularly how contextual factors in the learning environment and individual issues such as linguistic goals, self confidence, and friendship patterns interact with their perceptions of progress and performance in Spanish. Data consists of reports from advanced…

To investigate the role of context in reading development, a comparison of reading comprehension and processes was conducted between learners of Japanese as a second language in study abroad (SA; n = 15) and intensive domestic (in the United States) immersion (IM; n = 15) contexts. A significant difference was found between contexts in pretest to…

This article is one among a series of studies on the acquisition of patterns of linguistic variation observable in the speech of native speakers of Canadian French by French immersion (FI) students. The present study is centered on deletion of the central vowel schwa, a widespread feature of casual spoken French. In this study, FI students are…