Educational reform efforts in Bolivia have created possibilities for teacher-training institutions to focus on bilingual intercultural education. How teacher trainers and future teachers embark upon this endeavor differs somewhat depending on the sociolinguistic, historical, and institutional contexts of each community. This article reports…

The present study is a corpus-based analysis of a selection of polysemous lexical verbs used to express modality in student argumentative writing. Twenty-three lexical verbs were searched for in three 100,000-word corpora of argumentative essays written in English by American, Filipino and Spanish university students. Concordance lines were…

According to the National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, one of the ultimate goals of studying a foreign language is to better understand different cultures. To this end, we implemented a project in an undergraduate foreign language course that promoted a systematic inquiry-based approach to learning about the Hispanic culture.…

This study investigates learners' knowledge of word classes (i.e. noun, verb, adjective) in their second language (L2). Although some L2 studies have examined the problem of word class indirectly through a focus on vocabulary and the teaching of derivational morphology (Morin, 2003, 2006; Schmitt & Zimmerman, 2002), little is known about learners'…

Using a quantitative approach, this study explores the use of textual elaboration as a modification option for literary texts in an intermediate-level Spanish as a second language (L2) course. The results suggest that, with elaborative modifications, literary texts could have an expanded role in L2 instruction for lower proficiency students, thus…

The purpose of this study was to examine within- and across-language relationships between lexical and grammatical domains by focusing on measures of lexical diversity and grammatical complexity in Spanish and English. One hundred ninety-six preschool and school-aged Latino children with different levels of English and Spanish proficiencies and…

Traditionally, mathematics has been considered easy for English language learners (ELLs) due to the belief that math is a "universal language." At the same time, reform-oriented mathematics curricula, designed to promote mathematical discourse, are increasingly being adopted by schools serving large numbers of ELLs. CMP, the Connected Math…

This study analyzes the variation of syllable- and word-final /s/ among two generations of Cubans in Miami, Florida (USA): older, early exile immigrants who arrived in Miami as adults in the 1960s and 1970s, and young Miami-born Cubans whose maternal and paternal grandparents immigrated to Miami from Cuba prior to 1980. Since sibilant weakening is…

Parental agency is examined in the creation of a dance performance by a group of Mexican immigrant mothers that combined a mixture of genres into an educational message. The "folklorico" performance resulted from a process of cultural appropriation involving linguistic, cultural, and experiential "translations." This process was concerned with…

This study explores the effects that the age of onset (AO) of second language (L2) acquisition exerts on the attrition of first language (L1) event conceptualization patterns. The subjects studied are L1 Spanish-L2 Swedish bilinguals living in Sweden. The specific research questions addressed in the study concern the role of AO in endpoint…

Reliable and valid assessment of individuals who are English language learners (ELL) has presented a dilemma to psychologists, and school psychologists in particular, as it is complicated by the small number of professionals qualified to serve as bilingual examiners. Some psychologists use ancillary examiners during testing when no bilingual…

This descriptive study investigated the levels of oral proficiency of candidates for initial PreK-12 teacher licensure in Spanish and French as reported by faculty and students in the teacher education programs at Ohio colleges and universities. The study was motivated by the adoption of the NCATE/ACTFL "Program standards for the preparation…

Research of language learning strategy (LLS) has provided insight for language learners from many international cultures since this branch of research began in the 1970s. Despite the urgent need for competence in the use of business English in Western Europe, LLS studies have not been conducted on Spanish adults who use English for business. The…

Unknown is the extent to which restrictions imposed on Latino students' first language undermines their ability to learn and how these limitations impact their attrition rate. The purpose of this study was to describe Latino students' lived experiences of acquiring English as a second language in the academic context. Five Latino students…

This dissertation examines the effects of service learning experiences on participants' attitudes towards the Spanish language and culture and their language proficiency. It was hypothesized that using the Spanish language outside the confines of the academic environment would affect participants' attitudes and have an impact on their language…