The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) serves a diverse population of English Learners (ELs) with different ethnic backgrounds, cultural identities, and languages spoken. SDP's population of ELs has grown significantly, from about 12,000 in 2014-15 to nearly 20,000 in 2022-23, an increase of 66%. This community-informed study focuses on English…

The present study analyzes the effects of two variables on the proficiency development of 907 university students of Spanish and French: years of high school experience; and level of initial placement into university language study. A 3-year grant-funded project administered ACTFL proficiency tests in reading, listening, and speaking to students…

Answering calls to map college-level proficiency development (Modern Language Association, 2007) and longitudinally chart language learning (Barkaoui, 2014; Ortega & Byrnes, 2008), we mapped the oral proficiency growth of 1,922 lower-division college students of Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish (in the second, third, or fourth semester of…

This article draws on data from an ethnographic multiple-case study on the identity, positioning, and interactions of Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) students in regular Canadian high school Spanish classes. Interview and classroom observational data are discursively analyzed to reveal the presence of a form of language ideology that equates…

This report contributes to understanding of the academic trajectories of ELL [English language learner] students within the FWISD [Fort Worth Independent School District]. The focus is on all students who enrolled as first-time sixth graders at the International Newcomer Academy (INA) in the 2006-2007 school year, a cohort of 48 students. These…

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…

This article reports on a public school that is succeeding in encouraging Latino high school students to select Computer Science (CS) as a major. The students attend a charter high school designed to encourage low-income Latino students to attend college and attain proficiency in English, Spanish, and computers. Using data from surveys and by…

This article reports on the process of developing a proficiency-oriented writing contest, as well as a system of assessment of that writing based on a set of rubrics for each level of writing. (Contains six references.) (VWL)

Discusses the unique problems of the intermediate year of language instruction in which material taught in the first year of college Spanish or in three years of the language in high school is assimilated. The discussion uses the experience of Queensborough Community College of New York City as an example. (three references) (GLR)

Examines how six "sway" students, that is, students who have learned how to interact verbally with the teacher in a foreign language, affected the organization of interaction and language development in a high school Spanish class. The effect was that they allowed the teacher to progress effectively through the lesson. (Author/SED)

This research describes strategies used to improve student achievement in a foreign language class through the use of effective study skills. The targeted population included high school students in a first year foreign language class. Evidence for the problem of low achievement came from teacher observations, student surveys, and low assessment…

The long-term pattern of language shift from Spanish to English for a national sample (N=428) of Mexican-American sophomores is documented. All students spoke Spanish as a first language and were educated entirely in the United States. The students were participants in diverse bilingual education programs during their elementary years and were…

Presented in this report are a program description and the results of evaluation of the Basic Bilingual Program implemented at John Bowne High School in New York City during 1980-81. The program provided instruction in English as a Second Language, instruction in Spanish language skills, and bilingual instruction to high school students of limited…

In its first year, the 1987 Bilingual Program for Eleventh and Twelfth Graders provided mostly over-age, limited-English-speaking students with an opportunity for more timely graduation through instruction in English as a second language (ESL) and content-area instruction in the summer. Eligibility requirements included limited English proficiency…

More than 1,500 high school foreign language students were tested for comprehension of authentic texts. First- through fifth-year French, German, and Spanish students read texts of the types mentioned in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines at the intermediate and intermediate high levels. All students captured some meaning from each of the texts.…