The purpose of this qualitative, interpretive study was to investigate general education K-12 teachers' perceptions of instructional practices and professional development for teaching Spanish as a first language English Language Learners. Specifically, I investigated the instructional practices and professional development experiences of K-12…

Having a dual focus on teaching content information and language is important in language-learning contexts and is a defining feature of dual language bilingual education (DLBE). However, systematically teaching both language and content is challenging for DLBE teachers. This exploratory mixed methods study of nine Spanish-English bilingual Latinx…

This chapter describes an effort to internationalize a foreign language education initial teacher certification program through a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) grant project that was funded by Valdosta State University. The purpose of the QEP grant was to foster discipline-specific inquiry skills among undergraduate students and to promote the…

Portes and Smagorinsky examine the degree to which stable schools and authoritarian instruction accommodate the needs of learners exhibiting difference, with special attention to Spanish-speaking English Language Learners in a Southern setting. They find that the influx of immigrant students in Southern schools lays bare the normative…

In this article, we draw from cultural historical theory to examine the assimilationist forces embodied by English as a Second Language (ESOL) identification and programming practices in and outside of Georgia. We argue that the categorization of Spanish-speaking schoolchildren as Limited English Proficient is an extension of historical…

This article is a high school Spanish teacher's perspective on the current state of foreign language education in Georgia. Particularly, the author considers the need for more connections to be made in foreign language education, including explicit links between students' experiences and the relevance of language study, more integration of the…

In addition to presenting detailed guidelines for foreign language curriculum development in Georgia public schools, this guide includes illustrations of a variety of classroom approaches to meeting course goals. The overall rationale for the guide is to bring programs and curricula at all levels in line with both societal needs for…