This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Judit Solymosi, Amanda Kibler, April Salerno, Jason Skeet, Julie Gess-Newsome, Ali S. M. Al-Issa, Dana Gablasova, Paul C. Bosch, Patricia Velasco, and Eva Simonsen.
(2014). Spanish Vocabulary-Bridging Technology-Enhanced Instruction for Young English Language Learners' Word Learning, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. 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 the control condition, small groups of children listened to an adult-read storybook, reading in English with incidental vocabulary exposure. In the treatment condition, a technology-enhanced English shared reading with Spanish-bridging vocabulary instruction (TESB) was provided with adult mediation in an electronic book (e-book). TESB consisted of multiple vocabulary strategies including a preview of target vocabulary words and audio-recorded Spanish vocabulary definitions embedded throughout the e-book. Research suggests that even brief vocabulary interventions increase word learning (NICHHD, 2000), and accordingly, results have revealed that children make gains in both conditions through incidental exposure (Elley, 1989) and explicit vocabulary instruction (Biemiller and Boote, 2006). Significantly, more word learning gains were made in the TESB treatment condition than in the adult reading condition, as measured by researcher-developed tasks on English receptive knowledge and English naming performance. Significant pre- to post-test differences demonstrated modest growth. Educational implications are discussed, as even short interventions can lead to vocabulary gains using vocabulary strategies to support learning. [More] Descriptors: English Language Learners, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction, Vocabulary
(2014). Exploring Content Teachers' Knowledge of Language Pedagogy: A Report on a Small-Scale Research Project in a Dutch CLIL Context, Language Learning Journal. The relationship between language pedagogy and the content and language integrated learning (CLIL) classroom is a key issue for research into CLIL. In the Netherlands, as in other European contexts, non-native speakers of a target language with a non-language teaching background teach CLIL content lessons. Whilst CLIL teachers teaching their subject through the L2 are expected to support language learning in their lessons, little is known about these teachers' knowledge of language pedagogy. This article reports on a small-scale research project in a Dutch CLIL context, which explores experienced CLIL subject teachers' practical knowledge base regarding the actions and activities for language learning in their lessons. The study draws on recent educational research which focuses on teacher knowledge of the learning processes in their classrooms. It takes Long's (2009) methodological principles (MPs) for effective language teaching as the point of reference for describing the teachers' knowledge about pedagogy supporting language learning in their CLIL lessons. [More] Descriptors: Knowledge Base for Teaching, Teaching Methods, Second Language Learning, Course Content
(2014). The Lightening Veil: Language Revitalization in Wales, Review of Research in Education. The Welsh language, which is indigenous to Wales, is one of six Celtic languages. It is spoken by 562,000 speakers, 19% of the population of Wales, according to the 2011 U.K. Census, and it is estimated that it is spoken by a further 200,000 residents elsewhere in the United Kingdom. No exact figures exist for the undoubted thousands of other Welsh speakers beyond the United Kingdom who are able to communicate in Welsh as migrants to other European countries, members of the Welsh diasporas in North and South America, Australia, and Southern Africa; and language learners elsewhere. The subject of this chapter is a sometimes mysterious, often idiosyncratic process, which always involves struggle, sacrifice, and tension. Language revitalization is an attempt to counter trends that have influenced decline in the use and learning of the language. The pressures typically are a combination of historical conquest, political and economic control, and deep psychological hurt whereby a former relatively autonomous group are subjugated into a dependent people whose prime markers of distinction, such as language or religious differentiation, are eroded, made illegal, or otherwise eradicated from formal public life. At various periods in West European history, this has been the fate of Welsh, Irish, Gaelic, Breton, Basque, and Catalan, among others. Thus, at root, language revitalization speaks of a much deeper and significant historical trend, the attainment of an element of cultural and popular autonomy within salient historical domains such as public education, local government, and community development. Language revitalization is a conscious effort to change ideas, values, attitudes, and behaviors. The author of this article concludes that if the Welsh example of language revitalization teaches us anything, it is that stubborn collective action by the community must be stimulated before government language policy responds in a reactive manner, but having so responded, that community engagement must also be maintained, for fear of losing direction and long-term momentum (Williams, 2007a, 2007b). [More] Descriptors: Language Maintenance, Welsh, Foreign Countries, Language Usage
(2014). Pluralist Discourses of Bilingualism and Translanguaging Talk in Classrooms, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. This paper examines student and teacher talk in a first grade classroom in a two-way immersion school in Central Texas. Drawing on audio and video data from a year-long study in a first grade two-way classroom and using a methodology that fuses ethnography and discourse analysis, the authors explore how pluralist discourses are constructed and lived in by bilingual students and teachers. These findings have implications for understanding the ways in which teachers and students are influenced by language policy, as well as how they might either support or undermine that policy. [More] Descriptors: Bilingualism, Code Switching (Language), Teacher Student Relationship, Elementary School Students
(2014). Teacher-Assigned Literacy Events in a Bimodal, Bilingual Preschool with Deaf and Hearing Children, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. This article reports on a study of literacy practices in a Norwegian preschool where deaf and hearing children are enrolled in the same group and where communication is based on both sign language and spoken language. The aim of the study was to explore pathways to literacy for young deaf children within this setting. Our implicit assumption is that deaf children access literacy in much the same way as hearing children do. In the study we ask what kind of literacy events occur in the preschool and we examine how these events might allow for participation by the young deaf children on equal terms with their hearing peers. The study is conducted within a sociocultural framework. From this perspective, literacy is perceived as a social practice in everyday activities. Within the range of social activities in the preschool, some significant literacy events were analysed with regard to their nature and impact on literacy learning for deaf children. Data are based on video recordings, field notes and interviews with teachers. The results demonstrate that a number of events vital to literacy learning represent great educational challenges in inclusive settings with both hearing and deaf children. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Preschool Children, Preschool Teachers, Deafness
(2014). Researching the Uses of the English Language in the Law Job Market in the Sultanate of Oman: Implications for Policy-Practice Improvement, Educational Research for Policy and Practice. The Sultanate of Oman is a developing country that has accepted the English language as a significant tool for modernization. This was best interpreted in the opening of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in 1986, which has delivered its different academic programmes totally or partially through the English language. One of the colleges of SQU has been the College of Law. It was opened in 1997 to help contribute to effective implementation of nationalisation and national development in the Sultanate of Oman, which English language proficiency is a part and parcel of. However, graduates exiting the College so far have been unable to fulfil this strategic aim due to policy-practice drawbacks. Evident weaknesses in their English language and legal knowledge have provoked repeated complaints from the employers in both sectors. Accordingly, a decision was made to introduce a bilingual programme through which approximately 30% of the subjects at the College of Law would be taught in English. This study, therefore, researches the uses of English language in the Law job market in the Sultanate of Oman and its implications for policy-practice improvement. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to 182 graduates of the College of Law, SQU. Findings have shown that while the new programme has the potential to serve national development and Omanisation, the College faculties have a pivotal role to play in influencing a positive implementation of the plan. [More] Descriptors: English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Language Usage, Foreign Countries
(2014). Issues in the Assessment of Bilingually Educated Students: Expressing Subject Knowledge through L1 and L2, Language Learning Journal. This article discusses issues related to oral assessment of school knowledge of L2-educated students. In particular, it examines benefits and disadvantages of students being tested in their L1 (their dominant language) and in their L2 (their language of instruction). The study draws on the data from 37 high school students studying in a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) setting in Slovakia. They were tested both in their L1 (Slovak) and their L2 (English) on material which they read in English. Their ability to verbally express content knowledge was assessed in terms of linguistic accuracy, fluency, academic format appropriateness and lexical appropriateness. The results from these 37 students were compared with the performance of 35 students who read the same material in their L1 and were tested in L1. The study shows how the choice of either L1 or L2 can to some extent constrain students' ability to express the knowledge they have. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Second Language Learning, Native Language, Language Usage
(2014). An Evaluation of Student Interpersonal Support in a Spanish-English Nursing Program, Qualitative Research in Education. Spanish speaking nurses are in great demand. For bilingual Hispanic undergraduate nursing students who might someday fill this need, interpersonal support can be a deciding factor in whether students successfully complete their program of study. This paper presents the results of an evaluative study of supportive relationships within a Spanish-English Nursing Education (SENE) program. A written survey was followed by individual and group interviews to reveal important sources of interpersonal support. The study showed that family members, especially spouses, played a critical role in personally supporting SENE students. Academic and motivational support, however, came from study groups and the cohort of Hispanic classmates. SENE administrators established cohorts of same year students, and encouraged the formation of study groups. Science-related college programs directed at Hispanic students could benefit from fostering and supporting program components that act to enhance interpersonal relationships. [More] Descriptors: Program Evaluation, Nursing Education, Spanish, Hispanic American Students
(2014). Ready or Not: The Academic College Readiness of Southeast Asian Americans, Multicultural Perspectives. The educational experiences of Southeast Asian Americans, particularly Cambodian Americans, Hmong Americans, Laotian Americans, and Vietnamese Americans, are characterized by numerous challenges, which can be attributed to their migration history, socioeconomic status, and English proficiency. By the end of 11th grade, a high percentage of Southeast Asian American students are not college ready. The educational challenges of Southeast Asian Americans have been overshadowed by the model minority stereotype. Educational policies targeting issues affecting the education of Southeast Asian Americans and teacher preparations that focus on getting Southeast Asian American students to be college ready could help change the educational story of this population. [More] Descriptors: College Preparation, Stereotypes, Asian American Students, Teacher Education
(2014). The Language and Educational Ideologies of Mixteco-Mexican Mothers, Journal of Latinos and Education. Mixtecos, members of an Indigenous group from Mexico, have settled in large numbers in New York. Their children are found in bilingual classrooms (Spanish-English), but little is known about parent-school interactions. This work describes the educational ideologies that 23 Mixteco mothers shared during 5 focus group interviews distributed across 9 months. The results are presented as structured anecdotes that underline (a) education as a cooperative endeavor between teachers and parents, (b) preference of Spanish over Mixteco as family language, and (c) mothers' commitment to overcoming their own illiteracy. The educational ideologies of these Mixteco mothers reflect deep commitment to supporting their children's education. [More] Descriptors: Language Attitudes, Mother Attitudes, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning
(2014). One Speaker, Two Languages: Learning Opportunities in the Mathematics Classroom, Educational Studies in Mathematics. The data reported in this article come from a large project whose goal was to explore how Latin American students in Catalonia, Spain use their two languages–Spanish and Catalan–to support their learning of mathematics in small groups with other students who are Spanish- or Catalan-dominant. For 5¬ years, lessons from bilingual mathematics classrooms in three public secondary schools were video-recorded and transcribed. In the presentation of findings, I discuss three language practices that emerged from the analyses of several classroom instances as follows: (1) caution with mathematical vocabulary, (2) invention of terms, and (3) word-for-word translation. One example is chosen to represent each practice and some of its situated effects. The first two examples support the view that the experience of language difficulties, either real or presumed, contributes to generating opportunities that may be beneficial to mathematics learning. The third example, where the focus on the mathematics is hindered, points to a contrasting finding. Unlike other studies in the field, which have reported the difficulties and obstacles that arise in learning and teaching due to bilingualism in the classroom, I propose a change of focus through the conceptualization of language as a potential for thinking and doing, and particularly for learning and teaching mathematics. [More] Descriptors: Language Usage, Spanish, Romance Languages, Bilingual Education
(2014). Serbian: The Serbian Language in Education in Hungary. Regional Dossiers Series, Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning. This regional dossier aims at providing a concise description of and basic statistics on minority language education in a specific region of Europe–the territory of Magyarország (Hungary). Aspects that are addressed include features of the education system, recent educational policies, main actors, legal arrangements, and support structures, as well as quantitative aspects, such as the number of schools, teachers, pupils, and financial investments. Policymakers, researchers, teachers, students, and journalists may use the information provided to assess developments in European minority language schooling. Several national communities have lived in the territory of Magyarország (Hungary; hereafter: Hungary) since the foundation of the Hungarian state. The modern ethnic and linguistic composition of the population was basically established after the Ottoman occupation, with spontaneous mass migration and organised resettlement of people in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Within the Indo-European language family, the Serbian language belongs to the group of southern Slav languages. Diglossia, the parallel use of the srpskoslovenski (Old Serbian or Serbian Slavonic) language for ecclesiastic purposes and that of a spoken vernacular also used for practical written records, was characteristic from early times, also in Hungary. Today, the language used by Serbs in Hungary is almost entirely identical with the standardised literary Serbian language, although it preserved some archaic expressions and took over some words from Hungarian. This dossier consists of an introduction to Hungary, followed by six sections each dealing with a specific level of the education system. Sections eight to ten cover research, prospects, and summary statistics. A list of references and further reading is included. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Slavic Languages, Language Minorities, Geographic Regions
(2014). Meaning Making and Translanguaging in a Two-Way Dual-Language Program on the U.S.-Mexico Border, Bilingual Research Journal. The article analyzes meaning-making practices in a two-way dual-language (TWDL) program on the U.S.-Mexico border among "transfronterizo" and Mexican-origin youth. In the article, we show that emergent bilingual learners and their teacher participate in activities that mediate understanding of science content knowledge. We show how the teacher of a fourth-grade TWDL classroom creates a borderland space in which the full repertoire of students' languages, including translanguaging, is recognized and validated. We illustrate how the teacher, Ms. O, guides students to use strategies and meaning-making tools in both languages to construct meanings of the science content. We also demonstrate how she scaffolds students' language development, develops students' higher-order thinking, and involves all students in constructing understanding. We end with a discussion and suggestions for dual-language teaching. [More] Descriptors: Code Switching (Language), Learning Strategies, Second Language Learning, Bilingual Education Programs
(2014). Bilingual Pairs in Teacher Education: Exploring Wild Strategies in an Environmental Education Workshop, Action in Teacher Education. In this study, the authors narrate the results of a linguistically accommodated environmental education workshop in which monolingual and bilingual preservice teachers were exposed to instruction in English and Spanish. The authors contend that environmental initiatives, such as Project Wildlife in Learning Design, can promote an understanding of interdependence as a construct that is permeated by caring behaviors that are socially and linguistically situated. This article sheds light on the complexities embedded in such efforts and highlights outcomes of this experience including feelings of empathy, resistance, and experiential learning of "otherness." [More] Descriptors: Environmental Education, Bilingual Teachers, Preservice Teachers, Student Attitudes
(2014). "More than Being in a Class": Adolescents' Ethnolinguistic Insights in a Two-Way Dual-Language Program, Language and Education. Much of the debate regarding outcomes of various types of dual-language programs has focused on linguistic and academic results, and with good reason: improving the educational outcomes of language minorities and supporting societal multilingualism are vital goals. More rarely explored, however, are these programs' ethnolinguistic outcomes: the ways in which they provide students with insights into themselves, language, language learning processes and others. This study uses interview and audio data to examine ways in which adolescents reported learning about themselves, language and its learning and others through participation in an extracurricular high school program for Spanish-dominant English language learners (ELLs) and English-dominant Spanish language learners (SLLs). Findings suggest the program provided opportunities for adolescents' recognition and ratification of peer ethnolinguistic identities, understanding of language-in-use as an ethnolinguistic phenomenon, awareness of language learning through language-in-use and appreciation of students' own and others' ethnolinguistic resources. Patterns of learning were largely consonant with students' sociolinguistic positioning in schools as language minority or majority speakers. Implications for research and educational practice are discussed. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Student Attitudes, Spanish, English (Second Language)