L1 grammar education is internationally criticised because of its pedagogy and its curriculum content. There is a gap between linguistic theory and school grammar in which the latter rarely makes use of possibly relevant insights from the former. At the same time, linguistics itself has never seriously undertaken attempts to identify the…

Despite the increase of Spanish heritage language (HL) courses in response to the linguistic needs of HL learners, these courses often combine this student population with advanced second language (L2) learners. This common scenario presents a challenge to many instructors who lack the training to negotiate intercultural and linguistic issues in…

Recent scholarship indicates several benefits of mother tongue education (MTE) in supporting student learning. Within one Mayan community in Guatemala, Ixil is the mother tongue spoken at home and faces extinction due to Indigenous oppression and genocide. This qualitative case study highlights efforts of 13 teachers and administrators at one…

In recent decades, the field of applied linguistics has witnessed a growth of interest in the study of multilingualism. A particular subset of studies in multilingualism is that of heritage languages (Montrul, 2010). A "heritage language" (HL) can be broadly defined as an ancestral language with which one feels a cultural connection (Van…

Exploring parent, student, and teacher language moves is essential to develop and implement strategies that cultivate Spanish use in support of dual-language engagement. We used Lareau's concerted cultivation framework to explore language use at a K-8 dual-language immersion school. A case-study design integrating content analysis was used to…

This opinion piece aims to grow awareness of a range of technological initiatives that are supporting Maori language regeneration. These initiatives have been chosen because they have communities of users. This piece could be useful to educators who want to learn about the options that are available in this area, or students of Maori language for…

Grammar; while originating from the natural structure of the language also is the system which makes it possible for different language functions meet within the body of common rules especially communication. Having command of the language used, speaking and writing it correctly require strong grammar knowledge actually. However only knowing the…

Whereas myriad studies have been published in the field of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in the past thirty years, research on the use and implementation of technology in the teaching and learning of Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) is very scarce. This study is aimed for those SHL instructors and researchers who are interested in…

Two major, inter-related issues are analysed in this paper -- mother tongue (MT) and early childhood care and education (ECCE). Evidence tells us that learning first in one's MT leads to better outcomes in the future -- for individuals, cultures, and nations. But MT is used rarely in ECCE programmes and the early grades of primary school so that…

Our personality develops gradually, and this process is influenced by various factors, with language being one of the most important. We need to communicate with other people, to speak as much, as we need occupation, and this need determines the development of our personalities. Language is deeply embedded in our conscious and subconscious.…

Background: South African learners have performed consistently poorly in reading assessments. This paper addresses two key components in improving reading literacy: vocabulary development and teacher knowledge and skills required for quality vocabulary instruction. Aim: This small-scale exploratory study reports on the English vocabulary teaching…

In the context of the Northwest Arkansas (NWA) regional setting, this study examines the effects of the Spanish for Heritage and Native Speakers (SHNS) model from multiple vantage points. Educational capital and biculturation approaches are employed to help theoretically frame post-secondary educational success and ethnic identity, respectively.…

Dual language (DL) programs propose to be vehicles of social justice and transformation by valuing an additional language other than the dominant one in a society and thereby contesting language hierarchies and the subordination of those who speak/use a non-dominant language (Flores, Flores, Educational Policy 30:13-38, 2016; Menken and García,…

Over 11 million students enter school speaking a language other than English. Due to their emerging English proficiency, many English Learners (ELs) struggle with English literacy, which impacts their overall achievement in school. However, there is evidence that ELs who have solid skills in their native language are able to apply their…

Anxieties about Chinese-Mongolian-English trilingual program in Inner Mongolia reflect three linguistic ideologies, that is, the instrumental and the essentialist among Mongolian elites and the assimilationist among Han elites. Mongolian ethnicity is on trial in front of an upsurge of Chinese nationalism. Both pro and con trilingual education…