This article details the challenges and best practices of evaluating second language learners for placement into postsecondary Spanish language courses. The literature on testing for placement purposes in second language acquisition and language testing provides a great deal of insight, but language programs must make many decisions as well that…

This study investigated the following research question: What is the landscape of medical Spanish offerings in undergraduate, 4-year universities in US states with large Spanish-speaking populations? Forty-four percent of institutions responded to the survey, which explored institutional characteristics, medical Spanish programs and individual…

This study examined the collateral effects of deportation on the children of mixed-immigration households where the father is Mexican and has been deported, the mother is American, and the children were born in the United States. These children are American citizens by birth, but after spending most of their lives in the United States, they begin…

Although most children learn to communicate in their first language (L1), there is normal and expected variation in their rate of acquisition across all components of the language system. Until recently, most second language acquisition and second language (L2) researchers have assumed that individual differences (IDs) in L1 acquisition are small…

Usage-based approaches to additional-language acquisition have identified numerous determinants of language learning, two of which were the focus of our study: frequency and cue contingency. Specifically, we examined how an immersion experience may impact sensitivity to these two determinants as reflected in the production of 4,808 pairs of nouns…

The purpose of this study is to explore the statistical nature of the linguistic interdependence hypothesis (Cummins, 1976, 2017) in the spring of 2nd grade of students in foreign language immersion programs. Specifically, the interdependent relationship between L2 language proficiency levels and L1 reading academic performance in an environment…

Evidence suggests that short-term study abroad experiences can help advance various dimensions of second language (L2) learners' linguistic competence. However, the extent to which gains following a brief sojourn are durable and maintained after immersion remains an open question. The present study examined both the immediate and sustained…

This study investigates the cross-linguistic transfer of literacy skills in Spanish-English, Chinese-English bilingual, and English monolingual children (N = 283, 5-10 years). Research question 1 examines English literacy and asks how phonological and morpho-semantic skills contribute to word reading as a function of children's language…

In this article, I analyse the programme and pedagogy of "Karmelo Ikastola," a Basque immersion school that promotes parental involvement and language use within the family. The "Karmelo" case is noteworthy due to its success at effectively promoting the use of Basque among students inside and outside the school along with its…

This follow-up study explored the experiences of eight Latina heritage speakers (HSs), who were initially enrolled in world language teacher preparation programs at two educational institutions in the United States and who became in-service Spanish teachers. Using data from interviews, classroom observations, and a focus group, this qualitative…

A central question in multilingualism research is how multiple languages interact. Most studies have focused on first (L1) and second language (L2) effects on a third language (L3), but a small number of studies dedicated to the opposite transfer direction have suggested stronger L3 influence on L2 than on L1 in postpuberty learners. In our study,…

This study examined the extent to which kindergarten Spanish reading affected English reading growth trajectories through fourth grade among nationally representative Spanish-speaking bilingual students (N = 312) in the United States and whether the association varied by students' English oral proficiency. Multilevel growth curve analyses revealed…

This study explored the influence of speech rate (normal vs. fast), sentence length (short vs. long), and second language (L2) oral proficiency on listening comprehension in L2 Spanish. Thirty-one native English-speaking learners enrolled in upper-level Spanish courses were aurally exposed to 8 sentences of each type of speed--length matrix, for a…

In the current study, an initiative that focuses on bilingual proficiency among masters-level counseling students provided the opportunity to qualitatively answer the question: For Latina/o bilingual graduate students who are training to be licensed counselors, what is the meaning behind pursuing and obtaining recognition of their Spanish language…

The Language and Culture Division (LCD) provides accountability with support to districts that serve students participating in Bilingual Multicultural Education Programs (BMEPs) so that all participating students achieve the program goals as outlined by New Mexico statute and administrative code, which are: (1) students become bilingual and…