This study was designed to explore improvement in conversational interactions by English speakers learning Spanish when exposed to task-based speaking activities in three phases. Fifty-three college students enrolled in Intermediate Spanish 1 and Intermediate Spanish 2 engaged in input activities, recorded summaries and reflections on the input…

Children learning two languages (Dual Language Learners; DLLs) represent a rapidly growing population in the United States. DLLs are disproportionately more likely to live in families of low socioeconomic status (SES), which places many of them at risk for poor dual-language outcomes. To date, most studies on SES and dual language development have…

Using a nationally representative sample of 3- and 4-year-old Spanish-speaking dual language learners (DLLs) attending Head Start (N = 654), this study examined whether mean levels of and variability in peers' English receptive vocabulary skills were associated with DLLs' English and Spanish receptive vocabulary skills in the spring. In addition,…

Prior research suggests that Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learners (DLLs)--young children who must master two languages simultaneously, their home language and English (Espinosa, 2013)--differentially benefit from quality Early Childhood Education (ECE), and in particular from Head Start, compared with children of other subgroups and…

Preposition knowledge is important for academic success. The goal of this project was to examine how different variables such as English input and output, Spanish preposition score, mother education level, and age of English exposure (AoEE) may have played a role in children's preposition knowledge in English. 148 Spanish-English children between…

Purpose: Bilingual children whose phonological skills are evaluated using measures designed for monolingual English speakers are at risk for misdiagnosis of speech sound disorders (De Lamo White & Jin, 2011). Method: Forty-four children participated in this study: 15 typically developing monolingual English speakers, 7 monolingual English…

This article addresses test translation review in international test comparisons. We investigated the applicability of the theory of test translation error--a theory of the multidimensionality and inevitability of test translation error--across source language-target language combinations in the translation of PISA (Programme of International…

Writing is a task that entails high cognitive and linguistic efforts, especially when producing academic texts. Academic language might be one of the factors influencing the quality of written texts, given that prior research has shown its impact on reading comprehension. The purpose of this study is to examine the contribution of Spanish Core…

According to Chen's (2013) Linguistic Savings Hypothesis (LSH), our native language affects our economic behavior. We present three studies investigating how cross-linguistic differences in the grammaticalization of future-time reference (FTR) affect intertemporal choices. In a series of decision scenarios about finance and health issues, we let…

Pregnant women and young children who experience toxic stress are at risk for negative health outcomes. The "medical home" is seen as a place to address toxic stress by promoting healthy relationships, but Spanish-speaking Latino families face challenges accessing the medical home while simultaneously confronting unique stressors. This…

Error patterns in vocabulary learning data were used as a window into the mechanisms that underlie vocabulary learning performance in bilinguals vs. monolinguals. English--Spanish bilinguals (n = 18) and English-speaking monolinguals (n = 18) were taught novel vocabulary items in association with English translations. At testing, participants…

Purpose: This study examines English performance on a set of 11 grammatical forms in Spanish-English bilingual, school-age children in order to understand how item difficulty of grammatical constructions helps correctly classify language impairment (LI) from expected variability in second language acquisition when taking into account linguistic…

Background: The goal of this study was to examine the effect of cognates on Spanish-English bilingual children's English reading fluency. Because cognates lead to higher levels of non-target language activation, we hypothesised that the presence of cognates would result in reduced reading fluency for bilingual children. Methods: Monolingual…

This article explores material-semiotic movements of literacy and the collective potentials of an estranged relationship to language in early childhood bilingual education. It engages three different situations from a bilingual, Spanish-Swedish early childhood institution in Sweden with notions of a minor literature, as it appears in Deleuze and…

Formative assessment, bilingualism, and argumentation when combined can enrich bilingual scientific literacy. However, argumentation receives little attention in the practice of bilingual science education. This article describes the effect of a formative assessment-based pedagogical strategy in promoting university students' argumentation. It…