<p> In spite of growing numbers in high schools and colleges, US-resident adolescent bilingual learners, sometimes termed "English as a second language" (ESL) or "Generation 1.5," are not succeeding academically in proportion to their monolingual English-speaking peers. This achievement gap is evident in their writing as they enter college. Depending on the elementary and secondary schools they have attended, bilingual learners may have received no extra English learning support (often termed "immersion"), ESL support classes, or bilingual education. In addition, depending on school and community resources, bilingual learners have varying knowledge of their first language (L1): some may only speak it, others may have basic L1 literacy, others may have studied their L1 as a school subject, while others may have studied in the medium of their L1, either in their family's home country or in a bilingual education program in the US. The purpose of this study is to determine which kind of English learning support and which kind of L1 education are more likely to prepare bilingual learners to write English successfully at college. </p><p> This study uses three sources of data: a survey on language background, a writing sample, and an optional interview. Twenty-nine college undergraduate bilingual learners participated. Their survey responses develop a profile of the varied kinds of English and L1 education they received. Each participant's communication course placement composition, written as she was applying to college, is analyzed with 12 different measures: six for surface features, four for discourse/rhetorical features, and two for coherence. The writing analysis scores are correlated with the survey data and enriched with interview excerpts to discover which forms of English and L1 education correlate with high or low writing analysis scores. </p><p> The results for this group of participants show that bilingual education and ESL support correlate most often with highly-rated communication placement compositions. Moreover, formal education in the L1 explains the writing analysis scores more accurately than the kind of language learning education the participants received. Interview data suggests that bilingual education and formal L1 education may assist students' English composition skills by helping them develop metalinguistic awareness.</p>

<p> The United States is experiencing an increase in young students developing literacy in English and Spanish. Schools providing dual-language English/Spanish instruction need technically adequate tools to assess reading skills in the languages of instruction, and interpretation of results needs to acknowledge the complexity of cross-linguistic learning. Although passage reading fluency in English strongly predicts overall reading proficiency in English in the primary grades and there is some indication that passage reading fluency in Spanish provides equivalent information regarding Spanish reading skills, rarely have the two been examined simultaneously and within a dual-language instructional context. The current study examined predictive and concurrent validity of passage reading fluency in English and Spanish within third grade within a dual-language instructional environment. Using a state assessment of reading as the criterion measure, a correlational design was used to investigate the relation between passage reading fluency in English and Spanish and performance on the statewide assessment of reading in English. Findings indicate that within a dual-language context, passage reading fluency in English is the stronger predictor of performance on the state assessment in English, regardless of the student&rsquo;s home language. Spanish reading fluency is also strongly related to English reading fluency but did not explain additional variance in predicting performance on the statewide large-scale assessment of reading in English beyond what English fluency explained. Results are consistent with the idea that same language assessments are more predictive of reading performance than cross-language assessments are, but the benefits of formative assessment in the language of instruction remain.</p>

The globalization of business has resulted in both large numbers of workers living and working abroad, as well as an increasingly multicultural domestic work environment. Organizational research has shown that cross-cultural training mitigates or proactively guards against the frustrations, misunderstandings, and culture shock often resulting from cross-cultural interactions that lead to poor adjustment and job performance (Harris & Kumra, 2000). Despite the recent surge of studies in this area, previous cross-cultural effectiveness studies have failed to take into account a number of moderating variables. Particularly, the role of the expatriate's supervisor and the personality and motivational differences of the expatriate have not yet been explored. Thus, the present study draws upon cross-cultural training theory, in addition to the leader-member exchange framework, in proposing that cross-cultural training for the supervisor of an expatriate subordinate will moderate the impact of cross-cultural training on the expatriate subordinate's adjustment and job performance. Furthermore, self-efficacy, openness to experience, and extraversion were tested as moderators of the relationship between cross-cultural training and job performance. Participants were individuals from a variety of countries who were coming to the United States for practical training. They took part in a web-based cross-cultural training study before leaving for the U.S. or shortly after they arrived. Results indicate that supervisor cross-cultural training does impact the effectiveness of cross-cultural training on job performance and work-related adjustment. Additionally, results support the predictions that self-efficacy and extraversion moderate the relationship between cross-cultural training and job performance.

Transfer, or native language interference in the acquisition of a second language, is studied in the developing Spanish interlanguage of English-speaking students enrolled in first-year college Spanish. The study focuses on English language interference in the development of Spanish syntax, lexicon, morphology and orthography. Student compositions are analyzed and transfer errors are identified and categorized by type. The inventory of transfer errors includes all errors found in the student compositions which can be attributed to transfer and explains the interference mechanism involved in the error. Additionally, the frequency of transfer errors is compared horizontally over a four-month period to measure increase or decrease in transfer as the students' language capabilities develop. The study also reviews previous research in transfer, a field which has enjoyed renewed interest among linguists within recent years.

This study analyzes the role of Transfer, or native language interference in the written interlanguage of fourteen English-speaking students during the second semester of the third year of Spanish at Rice University. English language interference is studied in the development of Spanish lexicon, syntax, morphology and orthography. Errors from translation exercises as well as from written compositions were analyzed and categorized by type. A list of all the English transfer errors found in this project is preceded by an explanation of the interference mechanism involved. At two data collection points, evenly spaced toward the beginning and the end of the semester, a horizontal comparison of transfer errors was carried out in order to observe changes in transfer errors. A review of previous literature in language transfer precedes the findings specific to this study.

This research analyzes the use of evaluative features in English language oral narrative re-tellings among a multi-lingual population of ninety-eight 2nd and 4th grade students. The results of the analyses strengthen our understanding of the use of evaluation by child narrators, suggesting that younger narrators reconstruct stories through re-creating the characters, while older children focus more on (precisely) reconstructing the text itself. Parallels with particular approaches to cognitive/psychological development are outlined, as are preliminary ramifications for educational methodology. In the initial rounds of both qualitative and quantitative analyses, it was revealed that the employment of seven evaluative forms cited in earlier research (e.g., Peterson and McCabe 1983, Bamberg 1991, Reilly 1992) as among the most commonly used by the present age group (i.e., causals, compulsion words, emphatic pronunciation, gratuitous terms, hedges, lengthening, and negatives) was unable to account for differences in perceived narrative skill within the sample. The manipulation of these seven features was extremely homogenous across skill, age, and language groups. As a result, a second round of analyses was undertaken. Both qualitative and quantitative findings concurred that the use of two particular evaluative features (i.e., references to mental activity, and character speech ), in addition to the utilization of certain textual devices (i.e., the presentation of mental activity within causal constructions, deference to a third person "other" as the source of the narrative information, careful monitoring and marking of errors), were capable of distinguishing both skill and age groupings within the sample. The manner in which the data from this research reflects the Vygotskian perspective on cognitive/psychological development is discussed. The educational implications of these findings---from assessment paradigms, to the planning of curriculum and instruction---are addressed. One of the major discoveries was that, counter to expectations, the multilingual subjects in this sample did not demonstrate divergent narrative forms based on their differing linguistic/cultural schemas. In fact, the perceived skill scores among the Limited English Proficient subjects appeased to be related to issues of fluency rather than differences in narrative form. These findings indicate that given a rich context in which information is repeatedly co-constructed, most language minority students are highly capable of both interpreting and reproducing information in a culturally/contextually prescribed manner.

<p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe the opinions of experts and practitioners in the field of two-way immersion (TWI) programs on key factors and determine pedagogical strategies that support the successful transition of TWI students from elementary to middle and high school. This study used the normative Delphi technique, where the researcher synthesized the knowledge and experience of a panel of experts and practitioners in dual language programs to identify and describe key factors and determine pedagogical strategies that support the successful transition of TWI students from elementary to middle and high school. The Delphi process involved 3 rounds, and the researcher analyzed and summarized responses from each of the rounds. The expert panelists, consisting of 7 researchers/authors, 3 principals, and 6 teachers, all researching, working, or teaching in the field of dual language education for 5 years or more, identified many key factors and pedagogical and other strategies that support the successful transition of TWI students from elementary to middle and high school. Nonpedagogical factors seemed more important than pedagogical ones. Identified as most important were teacher qualification, curriculum and program planning, communication, and administrative support. The experts also came to a consensus that engaged teachers with high language proficiency are crucial for this transition. Recommendations related to pedagogical strategies were assigned to Vygotsky's sociocultural pedagogy and Jim Cummins's transformative pedagogy. The findings of this study may provide administrators, principals, and teachers as well as parents, community, and board members guidelines and suggestions when implementing, enhancing, or improving dual language programs for students. Additionally, the insights from experts and practitioners on key factors and strategies for dual language programs allow for the development of training programs for current administrators, principals, teachers, and other staff involved with dual language programs. </p>

<p> Nearly 25,000 graduating high school students across California have earned state recognition for achieving proficiency in multiple languages in 2014. This exploratory, mixed-methods study investigated the early implementation of the State Seal of Biliteracy (SSB) in California. Sixty-two district personnel were surveyed, three SSB directors were interviewed, and a document review was conducted. Overall, the study revealed four themes that influence the implementation of the SSB at the district level: Intentional Creation of an Ecology of Biliteracy, Developing Notions for Biliteracy Scripts and Assessment, Privileging Sequential Biliteracy Development&mdash;Scarcity of Biliteracy Pathways, and Individual and Collective Agency for Biliteracy. Hornberger's (2003) continua of biliteracy was used as a theoretical framework to analyze this study's findings.</p>

<p> How do young people in Paraguay develop social identities as they engage in multilingual language practices? What are the impacts of language policies that at times encourage the use of Guaran&iacute;, and at others discourage it? The primary goal of this study is to explore the relationships between children's language ideologies and the sociohistorical roots of societal level discourses regarding the power and prestige associated with Spanish and Guaran&iacute; in Paraguay. Of equal importance is the role of educators in either challenging or reinforcing those discourses. Field-work was conducted in an urban school in Paraguay's capital, Asunci&oacute;n. Participants' language use, language ideologies, and processes of social identification were analyzed through classroom observations, unstructured interviews, and surveys. </p><p> Findings revealed that students' and teachers' use of Guaran&iacute; is closely related to perceptions of the language's ability to provide opportunities for upward social mobility. Data also suggests a generational decrease in the use of Guaran&iacute; amongst students, and a tendency to reserve Guaran&iacute; for the private sphere. Despite efforts to elevate the status of Guaran&iacute;, prestige is overwhelmingly associated with European languages (Spanish, English, and Portuguese). Guaran&iacute;, in contrast, is strongly associated with Paraguayan national identity, and communicating closeness. While English and Portuguese are perceived to potentially provide financial and social capital, students lack similar motivation to learn Guaran&iacute; within the context of the classroom. Although teachers cannot change societal discourses that devalue Guaran&iacute;, they <i>can</i> facilitate a critical inquiry into such attitudes, and encourage students to challenge the status quo.</p>

<p> A new French teaching program, &ldquo;French for Spanish Speakers&rdquo; (FSS) is spreading throughout Southern California whose aim is to bridge Spanish and English to facilitate learning French. FSS speculates that Spanish-English speakers have a greater advantage in learning French than monolingual English speakers (MES). This thesis is the first to empirically examine these speculations. The first section contrasts four linguistically different groups&rsquo; French grammar and French written fluency, accuracy, and complexity. The second section attempts to evaluate the FSS program. This study found a statistically significant difference in which Spanish-English speakers produced more fluent and complex compositions than MES. In addition, the findings of this study predict that Spanish-English speakers will ultimately internalize and retain French longer than MES. However, there seems to be no statistical significance in terms of written performance between Spanish-English speakers enrolled in FSS and those enrolled in regular French courses.</p>