The current study analyzes the relationship between elementary school reading achievement and participation in the following language acquisition programs--transitional bilingual, developmental, two-way bilingual immersion, and English immersion. With a focus on the achievement of Spanish-dominant English learners, the study uses multilevel models…

Indigenous people in North America and around the world are in dire circumstances with respect to language maintenance and cultural continuation. However, Indigenous communities are also taking back increasing control of the education of their children. In so doing, they are frequently exploring culture-based education and language immersion…

The native language use in the target language classroom has recently gained the attention of second language acquisition research. This study analyzes such issue in the context of Dominican university students, ranging from 18 to 35 years old, studying in an English immersion program, who have been speaking their native language, namely, Spanish…

This book discusses multiple aspects of Chinese dual language immersion (DLI) programs, with a focus on the controversial Utah model. The first part of the book focuses on the parents, teachers, and school administrators. It looks at the perceptions of the three groups toward the Utah model, how they build a supportive DLI classroom with an…

This paper explores the policies and ideologies affecting language education in Rhode Island, where as a result of a State Language Roadmap, groups are working at the grassroots level toward the implementation of dual language immersion in all public school districts. The author points out that while the push from business for multilingual…

In 2016, California voters overturned a 1998 law that curtailed bilingual instruction throughout the state. After nearly 20 years of "English only" programs, what will it take to restore the schools' capacity to provide a broader range of services to English Learners, including dual language immersion and other forms of bilingual…

Reading comprehension performance is predicted by decoding skill and linguistic comprehension (e.g., Hoover & Gough, 1990; Joshi & Aaron, 2012; Scarborough, 2001). However, the type of strategies that readers recruit to build a discourse should also contribute to success in first and second language reading comprehension. Sixty-six French…

The learning process of English as a Foreign Language is a tricky challenge to face when it comes to deal with Spanish native speakers. Most of the time, people compare the structures and uses of both languages (the native and the target one), which causes an interference in the learning process and may result on failure or poorly achieved…

What would an educational system centered on core Hawaiian values look like? The Office of Hawaiian Education, established by the Hawai'i Department of Education (HIDOE) in 2015, has been exploring this question through a community-based process that differs significantly from typical Western approaches to policymaking. Often, policymakers use a…

Two-Way Immersion (TWI) is a method of instruction designed to facilitate the learning of a second language by non-native speakers. Unlike traditional methods of teaching a second language, TWI is grounded in the equal presence, respect, and value of the two languages and their related cultures. Moreover, the goal of TWI is the building of…

With U.S. classrooms increasingly characterized by linguistic diversity, policies mandating teacher training around English learning have proliferated. Recent federal oversight prompted Massachusetts to implement an initiative to endorse its 70,000+ teachers in Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). While policy research has productively emphasized…

There have been many instances when parents have been advised by educational professionals against bilingualism or immersion education for their child with special educational needs (SEN). Some parents follow the advice given and decide to use only one language with their child, mainly the majority language of the community. This study…

A growing body of research has demonstrated that neoliberal discourses have negatively impacted dual language bilingual education (DLBE) for students designated as English learners. This study uses the concept of expropriation to refer to the co-opting and dispossessing of educational resources, opportunities, and rights from language-minoritized…

It is well-documented that there is a strong relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension in school-age children. Limited vocabulary knowledge can impact a student's reading achievement, as may be the case for school-age English Learners (ELs). This study aims to analyze the role of vocabulary in predicting reading comprehension…

When deciding what constitutes students' "on task" or "off task" mathematical communication, teachers and researchers are also making judgements about what is, and what is not, mathematics. In this paper, we question our ability to separate the mathematical from the nonmathematical. We explore intersecting storylines in Grade…