Dual-language books' (DLBs) two-language format could support biliteracy development, but little is known about how children read them. Fifty-four third and fifth graders read aloud DLBs with English or Spanish first on each page to determine DLBs' potential affordances. Although there were no significant differences in oral reading fluency or…

This study aimed to compare the performance on the state assessment STAAR Reading between BLs in a one-way dual language program compared to the average scale scores of ELs in the state of Texas. The results of these data points taken in three different grade levels from the same group of bilingual learners demonstrate the beginning of positive…

Writing is a critical dimension of literacy that is grounded in language and intimately connected to reading. However, instruction to support writing remains understudied, particularly among bilingual students. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the CLAVES intervention specifically on argument writing. The CLAVES intervention…

This study examines how three bilingual education teachers engaged with a transitional bilingual policy while balancing the demands of monolingual high-stakes assessments in ways that contributed to advocacy on behalf of their bilingual learners. The consequences of high-stakes accountability can be exacerbated in bilingual settings, because in…

Given the multilingual population of the United States, dual-language books (DLBs), or books with the complete text written in two languages, are often recommended for teachers to use in their classrooms to validate students' language and culture, facilitate language learning, and support (bi)literacy development. These recommendations are based…

Latinos comprise a significant portion of the total school enrollment in the U.S., and an increasing share of Latinos are pursuing higher education today. However, Latino students still face many educational barriers, and research has repeatedly demonstrated that Latino children lag their peers in terms of their academic achievement. In addition,…

Employing a mixed methods approach, this study examined the reading motivations of dual language learners (DLLs) in Grades 3-5 in a suburban Title I school in which the student population was predominantly Hispanic. Twenty-one students completed self-report surveys and participated in interviews focused on two intrinsic motivations (involvement…

Employing a mixed methods approach, this study examined the reading motivations of dual language learners (DLLs) in Grades 3-5 in a suburban Title I school in which the student population was predominantly Hispanic. Twenty-one students completed self-report surveys and participated in interviews focused on two intrinsic motivations (involvement…

Students are expected to comprehend and produce increasingly complex texts in upper elementary school, and academic language and literacy skills are considered critical to meeting these expectations. Notions of academic language are also controversial and require careful deliberation when applied to traditionally minoritized populations, including…

Two-way immersion (TWI) programs in the U.S. integrate learners with different home languages and varied proficiencies in Spanish and English. Although both English home language (EHL) and Spanish home language (SHL) TWI students succeed academically in English, they often experience incomplete acquisition (Montrul 2011. "Morphological Errors…

The author looks at bilingual first language acquisition Spanish-English Mexican American bilinguals across an elementary school in Colorado. Based on classroom observations, and small group and one-on-one interviews with student participants, their teachers, and immediate family members, these bilinguals reveal how their identity is compromised…

The primary aim of this study was to explore the relationship between teachers' instruction and students' vocabulary and comprehension in grades 3-5. The secondary aim of this study was to investigate whether this relationship differed for English monolingual and Spanish-English bilingual students. To meet these aims, we observed and…

Language immersion students' lexical, syntactic, and pragmatic competencies are well documented, yet their phonological skill has remained relatively unexplored. This study investigates the Spanish vowel productions of a cross-sectional sample of 35 one-way Spanish immersion students. Learner productions were analyzed acoustically and compared to…

Jeniffer, a self-proclaimed "schoolgirl" who was a bilingual Mexican American fifth-grade student, lacked confidence in her abilities in reading and language arts. However, her dialogue journal correspondence with her teacher in her native language of Spanish describing her transnational experiences demonstrated vivid, descriptive writing with…

This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of an Internet-delivered universally designed depth of vocabulary intervention that targeted both English-speaking and Spanish-English-speaking students. Two hundred forty students, 49% of whom were Spanish-English bilinguals, participated in the 16-week intervention. Intervention students…