This article presents an ethnographic study of how bilingual teachers and children use their home language, TexMex, to mediate academic content and standard languages. From the premise that TESOL educators can benefit from a fuller understanding of students' linguistic repertoires, the study describes language practices in a second-grade classroom…

This case study examined the level of reflection in the essays written by 15 Mexican English language teachers taking a Master's Degree course in English as a foreign language (EFL). The essays were evaluated using the categorization scheme for assessing the level of reflection developed by Kember, et al. (2008). Semi-structured interviews were…

The past 25 years have brought upheaval to the indigenous people of Mexico due to two opposing forces: modernization and globalization, on the one hand, and indigenous uprisings on the other. Suddenly, the topic of indigenous languages and education was brought into official discussions at the national level. This paper examines the tensions that…

This paper summarizes how collaborative online projects (COPs) are used to facilitate science content-area learning for English Learners of Hispanic origin. This is a Mexico-USA partnership project funded by the National Science Foundation. A COP is a 10-week thematic science unit, completely online, and bilingual (Spanish and English) designed to…

This article provides an overview of the public school system in Mexico from early childhood to high school, and compares it with the American education system. It also identifies educational terminology and concepts unique to the Mexican system that can become possible sources of conflict and confusion for American educators. (Contains 7…

Nations throughout the world have increasingly looked at teacher education policy as a vehicle for reform of both the educational system and the society at large, and teacher quality is often positively associated with the quality of the overall educational system. Although such reforms often target pre-service teacher education, little is known…

The rise of globalisation makes language competencies more valuable, both at individual and societal levels. This book examines the links between globalisation and the way we teach and learn languages. It begins by asking why some individuals are more successful than others at learning non-native languages, and why some education systems, or…

In Mexico almost ten million people speak an indigenous language. Recognizing the pluralistic nature of the nation, the Mexican Constitution mandates bilingual-intercultural education; in reality, however, the school system typically imposes the Spanish language and dominant culture on indigenous children. For these children their academic success…

This study examined the effectiveness of a bilingual/bicultural technology intervention on beginning learners of Spanish at a public university in the United States and intermediate learners of English at a public university in Mexico. This study used a quasi-experimental mixed method design and compared gains in grammar, listening, and reading…

The integration of children whose first language is not English into public school systems is an issue that many states must confront and is particularly critical in Texas. The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) has led the way in addressing the needs of learners and schools by developing an innovative program, Language Learners at the…

In this article, the author relates his experiences preparing Mexican teachers wishing to enter bilingual classrooms in Texas. The author, who was about to teach U.S. history, envisioned to teach his class with Howard Zinn's "A People's History." However, during his briefing, he was instructed by his program director to use a book called…

This study embraces the pedagogy that this school's educators believed in and utilized to enhance and expand the academic knowledge of those students who posses a language different from the English language. This research study, represented in a personal narrative, attempts to question the widespread thinking that places all validity on using…

This article provides portraits of two women on professional journeys to become bilingual teachers. Stacie Thao was born in Thailand. Nancy Aguilar was born in California, and spent some of her childhood in Mexico. Stacie's first language is Hmong, while Nancy's is Spanish. Each learned English in school, and each helped their immigrant parents…

This volume offers a close look at four cases of indigenous language revitalization: Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Sami in Scandinavia, Hnahno in Mexico and Quechua and other indigenous languages in Latin America. Essays by experts from each case are in turn discussed in international perspective by four counterpart experts. This book is divided…

Brownsville Independent School District in Texas garnered the Broad Prize for Urban Education in 2008 by narrowing the gap between its largely immigrant Hispanic enrollment and other low-income children in the state. Its efforts are notable for the district's ability to move English language learners to proficiency in a few years by its reliance…