In 2016, California voters approved state Proposition 58, repealing an almost 20-year ban on bilingual education for English Learners (ELs), who represent nearly 20% of the state's public school students. The state's reversal on bilingual education reflects a national trend of promoting bilingualism and expanding bilingual (also referred to as…

This paper explores the use of a Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), growth mindset infused, student partnership approach to language learning in a primary school context. Early success is important in language learning. Students may doubt their ability to learn a language, especially if they have had a non-positive experience of learning…

This dissertation investigates intuitions about Spanish syllable structure and whether or not word segmentation strategies are affected by these syllabic intuitions. The study utilizes monolingual Spanish speakers, L1 Spanish speakers who are L2 learners of English and L1 English speakers who are L2 learners of Spanish. For Spanish syllabic…

Background: Dual language learners (DLLs) -- young children learning and developing in two or more languages -- comprise a third of the U.S. preschool and early elementary student population (MPI Data Hub, 2020). Therefore, identifying the most promising, empirically informed practices to promote DLLs' development is of critical importance.…

The use of English in advertising across non-English-speaking countries is pervasive, often seen as a strategy to evoke prestige, modernity, and global appeal. However, its effectiveness may depend on factors such as text length, linguistic complexity, and local language use, which remain underexplored. This study investigates how Spanish and…

This study explores the ways diverse educators' lived experiences shape their understanding of dual language bilingual education (DLBE) goals, responding to calls for research to better understand how educator ideologies impact the equitable implementation of program goals. This qualitative case study highlights the voices of DLBE educators who…

In my research I examine the linguistic practices of Moroccans in Spain, many of whom speak Moroccan Arabic as well as Modern Standard Arabic, Tamazight, French, English and Spanish at varying levels of proficiency. As part of my research, I conducted a 10-month linguistic ethnography. I was able to rely on my native English and near-native…

This study employed qualitative methods to explore how the "UVA in Valencia Summer Program 2019/2021" approached instructional practices (e.g., in-class and out-of-class immersive learning activities, homestays, pre-program services, including use of L2 and culture learning strategies) to identify those features of the program design…

The research on language acquisition and retention has primarily focused on monolinguals and bilinguals, with comparatively few studies including trilinguals. To address this gap, the current study compares the acquisition and retention of a novel morphosyntactic rule in Spanish in twelve monolinguals, twelve bilinguals, and twelve trilinguals.…

Studies analysing the metatalk generated in collaborative writing (CW) tasks have primarily targeted secondary or adult students who wrote either in L1 or L2, and have seldom examined the process of their writing in two languages. Furthermore, these analyses have mostly focused on accuracy discussions and have ignored discussions aimed at making…

Using data from students in Grades 3-8 in school years 2018-2019 (N = 1,871) and 2021-2022 (N = 1,740), we examined the strength of fall math screening using Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) for predicting end-of-year state math assessment performance levels and whether this prediction varied across English language proficiency (ELP). In…

This article argues in favour of higher education studies in sign language (SL) related disciplines, more specifically, sign language interpreting and translation (SLIT) -- focusing on the Spanish, and Basque, academic situation and societal needs. Firstly, we offer an overview of higher education SL teaching and SLIT training in Europe and Spain.…

In this theoretical paper, we aim to (re)imagine and (re)conceptualize biliteracy as an anti-colonial endeavor to destabilize colonial projects that continue to permeate how language and literacy are conceptualized in schools. We build on previous scholarship that has theorized Spanish-English biliteracy and extend this scholarship by centering…

This qualitative case study explored the shifting landscape of literacy learning and instruction in an early childhood program in an agricultural community in the U.S. Midwest. The author traces the impact of deficit thinking and English-only curriculum on the literacy education of young Spanish/English emergent bilinguals, and describes the…

Purpose: Elementary-age dual language learners (DLLs) from Spanish-speaking homes in the United States are often characterized as at risk for low vocabulary in both Spanish and English. This longitudinal study examined conceptually scored receptive and expressive vocabulary development among DLLs from Spanish-speaking, low-income homes and…