The present study evaluates the impact of the fine-tuning medium of instruction (MOI) policy in Hong Kong in the early stages of its implementation. It explores the key stakeholders' perspectives on a school-based policy via a case study, which gathered multiple sources of qualitative data (i.e. focus groups/interviews, open-ended questionnaires,…

While the overall student population in Massachusetts has dropped slightly in the last 10 years, the number of English language learners (ELLs) has increased by more than 50 percent. In April 2012, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE) contracted with researchers at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC),…

The 2015-16 survey "Programs and Services for High School English Learners" provides the first nationally representative data on this topic. This report is based on that survey and presents data on programs and services for high school English learners (ELs), including instructional approaches, newcomer programs, online or computer-based…

Our world is globalizing at a rapid rate right before our eyes. The world as we know it is becoming much more diverse and colorful. The population of school-aged English language learner (ELL) students in the USA has steadily and markedly increased over the past decade with projections indicating that this trend will continue. If the trend…

Although course assignments require English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher candidates to design activities, performance assessments, and lessons that balance the teaching of the English language and academic content, the ESL teacher candidates remain perplexed as to how to teach without a prescribed curriculum. The answer is challenging, given…

This article contributes to an emerging body of literature on the impact of high stakes testing accountability policies on implementation and teaching practice. It uses a theory of implementation, sense-making, to highlight the process by which policy and context shape teacher decision making. We focus on teachers in bilingual classrooms in an…

The number of English language learners (ELL) in schools continues to rise. However, statistics reveal that the majority of classroom teachers have no training in working with ELLs (NCES, 2011). Because of this, it is critical to understand how teachers can be successfully prepared to teach ELLs. Through in-depth inquiry, this study explored what…

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…

Nearly half a million children in the United States are currently being served by the foster care system. Infants and toddlers represent the largest single group entering foster care. While these very young children are at the greatest peril for physical, mental health, and developmental issues and tend to spend the longest time in the foster care…

The present study investigates 2-way bilingual immersion (TWBI) as a potentially viable pedagogical model for adult language learners. A review of the literature on TWBI at the K-6 level is provided, followed by an examination of key issues in adult second and foreign language education. Implications for potential adult TWBI programs are discussed…

Ten Austin Independent School District (AISD) elementary campuses implemented one-way and two-way dual language pilot programs in the 2010-2011 year. This report includes summaries of parent and staff's perception of its implementation, as well as students' levels of advancement in second language proficiency.

This report presents information on the Connecting Worlds/Mundos Unidos Project and provides a general comparison overview of accomplishments during its five years of operation. The Connecting Worlds/Mundos Unidos Project has been operating in the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) for eleven years, but in the present format as a Jacob K.…

This article aims at identifying the kind of American and British literature tests that can be designed to allow students who enter a bilingual education program at a private university in Colombia to have their previous knowledge in these two subjects accredited through a proficiency test. Students' needs, opinions, beliefs, existing commercial…

This study examined opinions about some theoretical and practical tenets of bilingualism and bilingual education, as well as about the instructional use of English language learners' (ELLs) native languages in the classroom, of 77 teachers from Spain working in California as part of the California/Spain Visiting Teachers Program. In their…

This report described how implementation of differentiated assignments provided documentation of how students' motivation increased. The volunteers that participated in this study were 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Students struggle academically to meet the expectations of their instructors. These struggles impact how students learn academically,…