Contexts that promote intensive second language (L2) experiences (typically, stay abroad, immersion, etc.) are reported to facilitate language development; yet, little is known about such programs when they are addressed to school-age learners in their home country. The present study examines the experiences of learners aged 11-13 years who…

Trends toward short-term academic service-learning abroad necessitate programs designed to maximize effectiveness and measurement of outcomes. The current study sought to strategically foster and measure increases in global mindedness during an immersive community-based global learning program abroad. University students studying either Computer…

This study examined preschool and kindergarten English language learners (ELLs) attending a migrant summer programme and their vocabulary word learning during both adult-read and technology-enhanced repeated readings. In a within-subject design, 24 ELLs (four to six years old) engaged in repeated readings in a control and a treatment condition. In…

This study compared two groups of high school students in their learning of a third-year Mandarin level 3 class under two conditions: an intensive four-week (85.5 hours) summer program and a 22-week (88 hours) regular semester program. Students in both conditions had been classmates through four semesters of Mandarin instruction and had similar…

The events of September 11, 2001, shocked the nation and forced the United States government to acknowledge its tremendously inadequate capability in foreign language proficiency and global cultural awareness. Post 9/11 military operations reinforced the reality that the Department of Defense (DoD) needs a significantly improved capability in…

This article describes a STARTALK intensive summer high school Mandarin language and culture program that was conducted for three summers. Participants across the three years included 40 Mandarin Level II and 53 Mandarin Level III high school students. Quantitative and qualitative data are presented to show the effectiveness of the program.…

This study investigated two issues: (1) whether availability of planning time affects learners' ability to notice and learn from recasts in the input; and (2) whether pre-task or online planning is more effective. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups that formed the treatment conditions: a no planning group (N = 13), a pre-task…

The Pennsylvania Governor's School for International Studies is an intensive summer program designed to give talented high school students a challenging introduction to the study of international affairs. One focus of the evaluation seeks to understand the effect of the program on the students' perception of their knowledge concerning core issues.…

This unit was created and first taught by the author in the children's demonstration class that was part of the 1995 Teacher Educator Partnership Institute sponsored by the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC) at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. The mission of the NFLRC is to improve student learning of foreign languages in…