The present investigation consists of two studies examining the effects of cross-language transfer on the development of phonological awareness and literacy skills among Chinese children who received different amounts of English instruction. Study 1 compared Chinese students in regular English programs (92 first graders and 93 third graders) with…

This study examines heritage-language (HL) experience and identity of 12 adults of mixed-heritage backgrounds through in-depth autobiographical interviews. Each participant has an English-speaking American parent and an HL (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, or Vietnamese)-speaking immigrant parent. The interviews explored each participant's…

The goal of this study is to describe the acquisition rate for gender acquisition in Spanish and to show whether individual variability and language contact may affect this rate. The participants were intermediate second language Spanish (first language English) learners in the study abroad and at-home contexts over a 4-month period. The…

The current concern about low levels of English proficiency among international students who graduate from degree courses--that students' English language skills are not being developed during their higher education experience--reflects negatively on the quality of Australian higher education and its graduates. More careful selection of students…

Recent studies of heritage speakers, many of whom possess incomplete knowledge of their family language, suggest that these speakers may be linguistically superior to second language (L2) learners only in phonology but not in morphosyntax. This study reexamines this claim by focusing on knowledge of clitic pronouns and word order in 24 L2 learners…

The current study addresses the challenge of investigating the SLA of "estar" with adjectives when highlighting two specific contextual meanings: comparisons within an individual frame of reference and speaker reactions as a result of immediate experience with the referent. "Estar" is examined within these contexts using a picture-description task…

Using a self-paced reading task, the present study explores how second language (L2) German speakers at different proficiency levels use case-marking information when processing subject-object ambiguities in German. Results indicate that advanced L2 German speakers rapidly integrated case-marking information during online processing, exhibiting a…

English Learners, students who are not proficient in English and speak a non-English language at home, make up more than 10 percent of the nation's K-12 student body. Achieving proficiency in English for these students is a major goal of both state and federal education policy, motivating the provision of bilingual education policies. Using data…

This quantitative study examined the effects of planning time and high and low language levels on the task-based language performance of 51 first and second grade English language learners. Language performance during the task was assessed in terms of accuracy, complexity, and fluency. Quantitative analysis made use of four 2 x 2 factorial ANOVAs…

Introduction: This study explores the relationship among three variables--cognitive load, foreign language anxiety, and task performance. Cognitive load refers to the load imposed on working memory while performing a particular task. The authors hypothesized that anxiety consumes the resources of working memory, leaving less capacity for cognitive…

Although research in the area of listening processes and strategies is increasing, it still remains the least understood and least researched of the four skills (Vandergrift, 2007). Based on research in listening comprehension, task design and strategies, this article uses a mixed methods approach to shed light on the development of four…

Researchers have shown that the maintenance of a minority language has positive effects on the minority students' view of self, educational attainment, and career opportunities (Cho 2000; Wright and Taylor 1995). In the research for this article, however, we found that such a focus on the effects of heritage-language education on the students is…

GLASPORT first convened in October 2009 with funding provided by a Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant. The grant proposal was submitted by then Glastonbury Assistant Superintendent of Schools (and former Foreign Language Director) Christine Brown. The committee was charged with two ambitious objectives: (1) to aid in the development…

This qualitative study addresses the issue of the cultural transition of Arab women who for the first time leave their secluded villages and traditional society in the Northern Galilee to access Western-style Israeli institutions of higher education located in the region in which they will study in Hebrew, their second language. This study uses…

This mixed-methods study explored the influence and applicability of the Perry Scheme to students from mainland China studying in the U.S. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the intellectual and ethical development of students from mainland China enrolled in a U.S graduate engineering program using the Perry Scheme of…