Language-specific (i.e. the ideal L2 self) and plurilingual selves are now at the forefront of scholarly inquiry in L2 motivation research. Yet, there is a lack of empirical studies examining how language learners reframe their sense of self as speakers of an L2. This study draws on a questionnaire (N = 162) and on semi-structured interviews (N =…

The population of emergent bilingual students in the United States is growing rapidly, requiring that teachers be prepared to provide them an effective education. Inadequate preparation of teachers to work with these students indicates the need to revise the ways that teacher education programs address this issue (Palmer & Martínez, 2013),…

Efforts to understand disparities in educational outcomes between students designated as English Learners (ELs) and their monolingual English-speaking peers have focused on factors that limit ELs' access to college, including quality of high school preparation. Central to quality high school preparation are schools' curricular structures--the…

This experiment investigated comprehension monitoring in children learning English as an additional language (EAL) compared to monolinguals. Sixty-three 9-10-year-old children read texts containing an internal inconsistency (e.g. a barking kitten vs. barking puppy) while their eye movements were monitored. Standardized tests measured word reading…

Dictionary is an acknowledged learning tool which has a tremendous role in acquiring a language. It has proved to be helpful in learning vocabulary and developing language proficiency. The use of monolingual dictionaries is thought to be very fruitful for learning vocabulary. The present study used survey method to gain the perception of the…

This study examines the writing-related attitudes of L1 and L2 students who receive individual discipline-based writing help from Writing Fellows. It investigates changes in the students' attitudes toward writing through a survey administered at the beginning and end of the semester in which the students worked with their Writing Fellows.…

Currently there is a general uncertainty about what makes collocations (i.e., fixed word combinations with specific, not easily interpreted relations between their components) hard for ESL learners to master, and about how to improve collocation recognition and learning process. This study explored and designed a comparative classification of…

Some researchers argue that linguistic knowledge of one's native language facilitates the acquisition of additional languages (see, for example, Cenoz & Valencia, 1994; Grenfell & Harris, 2006; Hakuta, 1990; Keshavarz & Astaneh, 2004). To contribute to this line of research, the present study investigated the probability of significant…

To date, most studies about English language learners (ELLs) in Structured English Immersion (SEI) classrooms in the state of Arizona have focused on ELLs' lack of English acquisition in one year, a time frame expected by Arizona policymakers, as well as their lagging academic progress. While these studies almost uniformly have surfaced…

A study investigated the attitudes of bilingual (BL) and monolingual (ML) students at an urban high school with a large bilingual education program. The attitudes investigated included: (1) BL attitudes toward Americans; (2) how BLs think they are perceived by Americans; (3) ML attitudes toward BLs; (4) changes in BLs' attitudes toward Americans…