At present, Whole Language (WL) teachers DO teach reading as a part of their curriculum. However, the new common core learning standards set the stage for Foreign Language in Elementary Schools (FLES) teachers to take a more active role, if not lead the way in developing important reading skills in children. Although this new challenge may at…

Word age-of-acquisition (AoA) affects reading. The mapping hypothesis predicts AoA effects when input--output mappings are arbitrary. In Spanish, the orthography-to-phonology mappings required for word naming are consistent; therefore, no AoA effects are expected. Nevertheless, AoA effects have been found, motivating the present investigation of…

This article reports on an action research project that proposes to improve the reading comprehension and vocabulary of undergraduate students of English for Specific Purposes--explosives majors, at a police training institute in Colombia. I used the qualitative research method to explore and reflect upon the teaching-learning processes during…

We investigated the factors that may help understand the differential rates of language development in the home language (i.e., Spanish) of Latino preschoolers with specific language impairment. Children were randomly assigned to either bilingual or English-only small group interventions and followed from preschool to kindergarten. Predictors of…

The DAPPLE (Dynamic Assessment of Preschoolers' Proficiency in Learning English) is currently being developed in response to a clinical need. Children exposed to English as an additional language may be referred to speech and language therapy because their proficiency in English is not the same as their monolingual peers. Some, but not all, of…

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the mediational function of the gesture-speech interface in the instructional conversation that emerged as teachers attempted to explain the meaning of English words to their students in two EFL classrooms in the Ukraine. Its analytical framework is provided by Vygotsky's sociocultural psychology…

A study was conducted in 26 Head Start classrooms with 264 children to compare the effect of a read aloud plus extension activities intervention over a control group to the effect of a read aloud only intervention over a control group on preschool children's vocabulary. Children were assessed before and after the intervention on target vocabulary…

This article presents a model for culturally responsive instruction (CRI) that represents a synthesis of research on effective literacy and content instruction for diverse middle grades learners.The article discusses the various elements of the Culturally Responsive Instruction Observation Protocol (CRIOP) model. It then examines these elements by…

Students of English as a second language who major in science and technology use English-language textbooks to ensure that they can read English materials upon graduation. Research indicates that teachers spend little time helping these students on the linguistic complexity of such textbooks. Vocabulary, grammar, and article structure are elements…

Explicit strategy instruction combined with student-directed self-regulation in conjunction with cognitive strategies has proven effective in supporting low-achieving students' reading comprehension. Experts have extended 1 such approach, self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) for the expository reading comprehension Think before reading,…

This quantitative, causal-comparative study examined the possible cause and effect relationship between educational programming, specifically one-way Spanish immersion and traditional English-only, and native English-speaking fifth graders' vocabulary and reading comprehension. Archival data was used to examine students' reading achievement as…

The purpose of this qualitative study--"Culture and Early Language Development: Implications for Assessment and Intervention"--was to explore and describe the perceptions and beliefs of Salvadoran mothers of low socioeconomic status regarding the language development of their young children in order to identify cultural variations in…

It should come as no surprise that digital video technology is of particular interest to English language learners; students are drawn to its visual appeal and vibrant creative potential. The seven original case studies in this book demonstrate how video can be an effective and powerful tool to create fluid, fun, interactive, and collaborative…

Reading aloud to students is an important topic in educational research. Previous research clearly identified effective components and benefits of reading aloud to elementary students; however, very little data addresses the exact wording of the kinds of questions teachers ask and the responses that students give during a read aloud. This study…

A variety of research has pointed to the interdependent linkage among vocabulary knowledge, reading comprehension, and level of literacy. With this point in mind, the present study addressed the question of whether student vocabulary acquisition could be accelerated by using a multi-part, semantic word-family-oriented learning strategy to…