In this article I examine the perceptions of third grade minoritized emergent bilinguals (Spanish/English) in a US classroom as they articulate how family members serve as a source of jocularity. By taking a sociocultural perspective on humor as a resource, I seek to render visible the relational and linguistic connections between these students…

This study explores teachers' use of Spanish in sixth-grade bilingual science classrooms at an urban middle school in Texas. We used a case study approach to study how two Spanish-English bilingual teachers utilized Spanish during instruction in a unit on space exploration and their beliefs on Spanish use in English-dominant science classrooms.…

This phenomenological study follows an asset-based approach to understand how Latinx families utilize their cultural wealth in their children's education, and how teachers activate families' capitals to support their engagement. Data collected through focus groups reveal that the seven Latinx parents in the study use aspirational capital by…

Spanish heritage language learners (SHLL) on the United States-Mexico border in Texas often select online classes for convenience. This qualitative investigation presents preliminary information on how these SHLLs view twenty online Spanish courses based on 391 course evaluations. The literature indicates a need to consider heritage languages…

In this paper, we investigate the effect that parents' language use (English, Spanish-English or Spanish) had on self-perceived proficiency, frequency of use, language anxiety, code-switching and cultural orientation of 206 Spanish-English bilinguals and multilinguals who were students in Texas where there is a strong presence of Spanish, the…

This article examines the language ideologies associated with the sense of self-efficacy of bilingual preservice teachers about their Spanish-language skills. Current teacher shortages in the field of bilingual education and increased professional demands placed over pre- and in-service bilingual teachers compel teacher education programs to adapt…

In Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) and Response to Intervention (RTI) models, the reading achievement of English Learners (ELs) is assessed multiple times during the school year to monitor students' progress toward meeting grade-level reading standards. Most MTSS/RTI frameworks do not include a comparable system for assessing oral language…

The purpose of this case study was to investigate how an English language arts teacher used young adult literature to help English language learners improve English and literacy comprehension. Through the lens of Anzaldua's (2007) "borderlands", and Rolon-Dow's (2005) "critical care", the authors analyze the case study…

The purpose of this article is to counter widespread deficit discourses about Latino parental involvement in their children's education. In particular, we show Latino immigrant parents' views and understandings of curricular and pedagogical practices in elementary school, especially in mathematics. Using data from the Agency and Young Children…

This study examines the lexical representation and recall of abstract words by beginning L2 learners of Spanish in the light of the predictions of the dual coding theory (Paivio 1971; Paivio and Desrochers 1980). Ninety-seven learners (forty-four males and fifty-three females) were randomly placed in the picture or non-picture group and taught…

Computer-based multimedia technologies can be used to tailor health messages, but "promotoras" (Spanish-speaking community health workers) rarely use these tools. "Promotoras" delivered health messages about colorectal cancer screening to medically underserved Latinos in South Texas using two small media formats: a…

This article reports a qualitative study of the reasons mothers chose to enroll their children in a Spanish/English two-way immersion (TWI) Program in Central Texas. Some of the mothers' reasons varied, and others overlap. All mothers expressed the belief that the program would provide their children with more opportunities, cognitive benefits,…

Home language experiences are important for children's development of language and literacy. However, the home language context is complex, especially for Spanish-speaking children in the United States. A child's use of Spanish or English likely ranges along a continuum, influenced by preferences of particular people involved, such as parents,…

This study explored the application of a holistic bilingual view to assess the writing of emerging bilingual children. The study is part of a 5-year longitudinal research and intervention project that explores the biliteracy development of Spanish-English emerging bilingual students who are receiving instruction in both languages. Participants…

The authors report on an exploratory pilot project implemented in a large city on the U.S.-Mexico border. The project focuses on a curricular design in a secondary school where beginning-level English as a second language students are taught English language arts in Spanish. The researchers sought to determine whether these students made greater…