This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Elba Alicia Herrero, Joy Cullen, Toomas Niit, Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, Ana-Elisa Armstrong de Almeida, Heather Simmons, Liz Schimanski, Abdullah Hassan Al-Saqqaf, Penny Haworth, and Hassan R. Abd-el-Jawad.
(2006). Metacognitions about Language Skill and Working Memory among Monolingual and Bilingual College Students: When Does Multilingualism Matter?, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Previous research has shown that individual differences in working memory (WM) are highly predictive of a wide range of cognitive behaviours. Until recently, research has focused on monolingual, or undifferentiated, populations. The present research compares metacognitive awareness, as measured by self-ratings of reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in college students of varying language experience backgrounds. Monolingual, bilingual and multilingual university students within three cultural contexts, America, Estonia and France, read for comprehension and remembered sentence final words of comprehended sentences in a reading span task in their native languages. The results show that bilingual and multilingual students have better metalinguistic awareness of their language skills in reading and WM than do students who are monolingual, but who have comparable native language skills. [More] Descriptors: Metacognition, Language Skills, Memory, Monolingualism
(2006). "The Thing about Work": Gendered Narratives of a Transnational, Trilingual Mexicano, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Through narratives taken from life history interviews with an indigenous Mexican male immigrant in California, this paper examines the connection between masculinities and the learning of dominant languages associated with access to economic opportunities. In portraying the teller's engagements with work and education in both countries, these life history narratives index the way changing social contexts have caused him to emphasise different masculinities at different times in his life. Specifically, this paper explores the way a serious work injury led the teller to place new emphasis on learning English and computer skills in order to reconstruct a kind of "technical masculinity" that he had previously found little scope for in the United States. [More] Descriptors: Personal Narratives, Mexicans, Males, Immigrants
(2006). Collaboration between ESL and Content Teachers: How Do We Know when We Are Doing It Right?, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Partnership and the integration of language and content teaching in English-medium schools have long been active areas of research and inquiry in applied linguistics and TESOL. However, most researchers have tended to focus on methods and techniques to use in the classroom or on the analysis of the linguistic demands of the content areas. Much less attention has been paid to researching the process of co-planning and co-teaching and to supporting the evolution of the partnership between ESL and content teachers. This paper draws on questionnaire and interview data collected as part of a school-based professional development initiative in an English-medium school in Asia that focused on developing more collaborative relationships between ESL and content/classroom teachers in a large culturally and linguistically diverse elementary school. The paper begins with an analysis of some of the underlying assumptions in current conceptualisations of effective collaboration between ESL and mainstream/content-area teachers, then presents an emerging framework that draws on teacher talk and critical discourse analysis to describe and evaluate the stages of collaboration and the different levels of its effectiveness. The implications of this research for evaluating approaches to partnership and for setting realistic goals for professional development and institutional change will also be explored. [More] Descriptors: English (Second Language), Language Teachers, Second Language Instruction, Teacher Collaboration
(2006). The Role of Acquisition and Learning in Young Children's Bilingual Development: A Sociocultural Interpretation, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. This paper takes a sociocultural approach to exploring the factors that enhance young children's bilingual development. The language excerpts presented were gathered as part of a three-year Early Childhood Centre of Innovation project funded by the New Zealand government. Data gathered in this project challenge Krashen's (1981) position that young children will generally acquire another language through subconscious osmosis, rather than through the conscious effort of learning. Evidence is put forward that illustrates how young children's bilingual development is in fact mediated by their teachers and peers, as well as the cultural tools provided in the environment and the nature of the language input itself. Young children are also revealed as active language learners who interact collaboratively with others and with their environment. Thus, the value of early childhood teachers in taking a more proactive role to support the process of young children's bilingual development is affirmed. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Linguistic Input, Young Children, Language Acquisition
(2006). Compliment Behaviour in Bilingual Kuwaiti College Students, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. The analysis of compliment responses in a number of languages has attracted a growing research interest and information is already available on how native speakers of English and Arabic respond. This allows for the prediction of certain cross-linguistic pragmatic differences that might characterise compliment responses in the case of Arabic-speaking EFL students. Rather than engage in speculation on the matter, the present study investigates this empirically by examining English compliments paid by Kuwaiti undergraduates to their peers and the responses these elicited. The corpus comprised 632 compliment responses, almost two thirds of which were in English, the remainder being nonverbal, Arabic or bilingual. Analysis was carried out to establish frequencies of simple (a single illocution) and complex (two or more illocutions) responses, the types and frequencies of different illocutions, and the influence of native language norms of expression. Results showed the latter to be very strong, detracting from the authentic nature of English responses. Discussion explores the cultural and linguistic bases underlying such responses. It is pointed out that such an analysis provides useful information for cross-linguistic pragmatics and foreign language pedagogy. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Undergraduate Students, Native Speakers, Semitic Languages
(2006). Dominican Americans in Washington Heights, New York: Language and Culture in a Transnational Community, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. The immigrant experience in the USA has led to expectations of cultural and linguistic assimilation within two to three generations. However, the immigrant situation today is far different from what it has been traditionally. For many, the immigrant experience is a transnational one, with newcomers maintaining roots in the homeland while setting down new ones; in addition, ties to the homeland are not necessarily cut after the second generation is born on US soil. The Dominican American community of Washington Heights, New York is representative of this new immigrant paradigm. The current study records the experiences of five residents of this community, representatives of the first and second generations. It shows that place in the immigrant generation order does not predict cultural and linguistic orientation. The quality of subjects' experience in the USA and the Dominican Republic, their views of the homeland and Washington Heights, and the views of the larger society toward Dominican Americans and their neighbourhood influence such orientation. The study also suggests that US-born Dominicans may have language needs that are not being met by formal educational institutions. [More] Descriptors: Latin Americans, Global Approach, Immigrants, Models
(2006). Negotiating the Rough Ground between ESL and Mainstream Teachers, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. English as a Second Language (ESL) and mainstream teachers' collaboration has largely been presented in policy as the unproblematic sharing of ideas. However, in the 20 years since this policy has been in place within Victoria, Australia, teachers are still struggling to find ways of effectively working together. This paper presents a theoretical framework that can be used to explore the dynamics of collaboration between ESL and mainstream teachers. It will be argued that developing collaborative practices between teachers who belong to different subject disciplines and often have different views of teaching is a complex process. Collaboration requires specialised skills on the part of the ESL teacher to gain some epistemological authority within the mainstream curriculum and cross the rough ground that can divide ESL and mainstream teachers within the secondary school context. [More] Descriptors: English (Second Language), Mainstreaming, Teacher Collaboration, Models
(2006). Jordanian TEFL Graduate Students' Use of Critical Thinking Skills (as Measured by the Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level Z), International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. This study investigates the critical thinking skills of 50 students currently enrolled in the Master's TEFL Programme at Yarmouk University, Jordan. The Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level Z is utilised to test the students' use, or lack thereof, of the critical thinking skills of deduction, semantics, credibility, induction, definition and assumption identification, and assumption identification. The effect of the variables of gender, age and grade point average on the students' critical thinking abilities is also investigated. The findings reveal that the respondents performed quite poorly on the test. Gender, age and grade point average were all found to have an effect. Male students outperformed female students. However, while older male students outperformed younger ones, younger female students outperformed their older counterparts. Respondents with higher grade point averages scored better on the test. The findings have implications for TEFL education in Jordan and other similar contexts. As teachers can be highly influential in creating a classroom environment that promotes critical thinking, they need to be informed about the importance of developing their students' critical thinking skills. To make this possible, EFL teachers should be allowed pre-service and in-service training opportunities to encourage the development of critical thinking. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Graduate Students
(2006). The Changing Roles of Language and Identity in the New Zealand Niuean Community: Findings from the Pasifika Languages of Manukau Project, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. This paper describes the Niuean community and the evolving roles of Niuean language and identity in New Zealand, where the majority of Niueans now reside. As part of the Pasifika Languages of Manukau Project (PLMP), 30 New Zealand Niueans participated in detailed interviews on issues relating to language main-tenance. This paper considers their responses both quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative data provide a basis for discussions on identity; considering age-graded changes in the areas of first language, reported language proficiency and language use. The qualitative data, which draw on personal narratives from the interviews, focuses on why these changes are taking place. The narratives provide vivid illustrations of the importance of both English and Niuean, the different roles that the two languages serve, and the conflict that many Niueans experience when attempting language maintenance initiatives in an English-dominant context. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Personal Narratives, Language Proficiency, Language Maintenance
(2006). Centre-Stage in the Instructional Register: Partnership Talk in Primary EAL, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Despite the potential benefits of partnership teaching, as distinct from collaborative teaching and support teaching, evidence from the Midlands and West of England suggests that full partnership teaching between a class teacher and language support teacher of English as an Additional Language is rare, though collaboration is increasing. Occasionally both teachers are centre-stage, and partnership talk, where two teachers together teach the class, occurs. Drawing on Christie's theory of regulative and instructional registers in curriculum genres, this paper analyses part of a Year 1 social studies lesson where the language support teacher moves from a silent, scribing role, through responding, then nomination and feedback moves in the regulative register, to initiating content and directing beautifully choreographed action centre-stage in the instructional register. This analysis forms the basis of a framework of variables that characterise a proposed continuum from support talk through collaborative talk to partnership talk. The analysis and interpretation of such teacher-teacher classroom talk when it does occur arguably constitutes an essential basis for understanding how language support relationships are realised and develop for the adults and children involved. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Language of Instruction, Team Teaching, English (Second Language)
(2006). Why Do Minority Languages Persist? The Case of Circassian in Jordan, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Data-based analysis of the language situation among the Circassian ethnic minority group is presented in this paper. All internal, external, ethnopolitical, sociolinguistic and demographic factors influencing this situation are examined. It is argued that although most empirical evidence indicates a gradual process of ethnic language attrition and ultimate predictable loss at all levels, there are counter motivations that seem to curb this process. At a certain stage in the life of an ethnic group that has acquired some status and prestige, language may become only a symbol of distinction, identification and a carrier of heritage, without having a culture of its own or any pragmatic value; hence members like to talk about it expressing loyalty, but not necessarily to have it. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Language Minorities, Languages, Ethnic Groups
(2006). Language Discourses and Ideologies at the Heart of Early Childhood Education, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. This paper identifies: (a) discourses that shape immigrant parents' and early childhood educators' views of young children's bilingual development, and (b) ways in which these discourses are manifested in the everyday lives of immigrant parents as well as in the practices of early childhood educators. The findings of a study in a mid-size Canadian city are reported and interpreted from the perspective of the role of power relations in language and using critical discourse analysis. The paper explains how dominant language discourses manifest themselves in parents' views of their children's language development and in the practices of early childhood educators. In addition, it explains how those discourses become ideological. The following issues are discussed: how is the importance of dominant and minority languages shaped? How do monolingual discourses shape parental and institutional language responsibilities? How do parents confront language domination? How do early childhood educators make sense of their work with bilingual families? The paper concludes that dominant ideologies of language need to be challenged to ensure the maintenance of home languages among immigrant families with young children. [More] Descriptors: Early Childhood Education, Ideology, Discourse Analysis, Monolingualism
(2006). Using Dominican Oral Literature and Discourse to Support Literacy Learning among Low-Achieving Students from the Dominican Republic, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. This study focuses on ways of organising literacy instruction to raise the skill levels of low-achieving, language minority students. The study involves two teachers and twenty-two students of their students from the Dominican Republic, most of whom had scored well below the 41st percentile in Spanish and English reading and writing tests (the Language Assessment Battery). The literacy activities were organised around culturally relevant literature and patterns of discourse. The students were charged with the tasks of researching, collecting and committing community-generated narratives to memory. In the classroom, they presented, critiqued, edited and revised the narratives. Findings show that community generated oral narratives were useful in helping to engage the students in critical literary discussion. The students addressed a variety of concerns with content, form and language in relation to personal and cultural ways of knowing about literature. Findings also show that the students' writing and discourse, in both their mother tongue and English, was richer and more elaborate when they were allowed to draw upon those patterns of language used in their everyday interactions. The study extends theories pertaining to the role that student knowledge plays in literacy instruction and helps teachers to better understand how students' cultural literature, patterns of discourse and ways of knowing influence their participation, performance and learning. [More] Descriptors: Language Teachers, Teaching Methods, Literature, Foreign Countries
(2006). The Linguistics of Loanwords in Hadrami Arabic, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. The aim of this paper is to explore loanwords in Hadrami Arabic (Yemen). Most of these words, which are now diminishing due to the social and economical development in the region, reflect some stage of bilingualism when the Hadramis (natives of Hadramawt, Yemen) migrated to different parts of the world. The donor languages range from the tongues of the Indian subcontinent to the languages of the Malay archipelago, to Swahili and English. These loans are confined, as one would expect, to certain registers such as food or modern technology. The language contact resulted in different morphological and phonological processes and examples are given on how such loanwords became integrated in the dialect to the extent that some eminent folk-poets did not hesitate in using them in their poetry. In the appendix, a list of loanwords is given with their meanings and origins. [More] Descriptors: Uncommonly Taught Languages, Semitic Languages, Linguistic Borrowing, Language Skill Attrition
(2006). Persistent Use of Mixed Code: An Exploration of Its Functions in Hong Kong Schools, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Codemixing of Cantonese Chinese and English is a common speech behaviour used by bilingual people in Hong Kong. Though codemixing is repeatedly criticised as a cause of the decline of students' language competence, there is little hard evidence to indicate its detrimental effects. This study examines the use of mixed code in the context of the home setting, school setting and leisure activities. The data are complied from a questionnaire completed by 160 Hong Kong teachers and students. Subjects recorded their awareness of their frequency and purposes of using a mixed code communication style. Results showed that codemixing was frequently used by the subjects. Findings suggested that codemixing performed certain communicative functions and was used for various practical purposes. Codemixing appears to be a customary component of a bilingual society. No matter whether people dislike or prefer it, codemixing continues to exist and satisfy bilingual speakers' communicative needs. Administrative sanctions may not be effective. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Bilingualism, Code Switching (Language), Questionnaires