This book documents ongoing language shift to English among Latino professionals in California 67% of which studied Spanish formally in high school and 54% of which studied Spanish in college. Taking into account the recommendations about the teaching of Spanish as a heritage language made by these professionals, the book then describes current instructional practices used in the teaching of Spanish as an academic subject at the high school and university levels to "heritage" language students who, although educated entirely in English, acquired Spanish at home as their first language. The...

In the wake of recent federal legislation entitled No Child Left Behind, high-stakes standardized testing for accountability purposes is being emphasized in educational systems across the U.S. for all students - including English Language Learners (ELLs). Yet language proficiency mediates test performance, so ELLs typically receive scores far below those of other students. This book explores how tests have become de facto language policy in schools, shaping what is taught in school, how it is taught, and in what language(s) it is taught. In New York City, while most schools responded to...

Immersion education serves as a highly successful pathway to multilingualism. This volume focuses on the evolution of perspectives and practices within language immersion education and showcases an international roster of scholars who offer theoretical perspectives, research reviews and empirical studies on teaching, learning and language development in immersion programs. This collection of studies and discussions represents three branches of immersion education, foreign language ("one-way"), bilingual ("two-way") and indigenous immersion programs. Each branch has its unique situational...

This book offers a new perspective for research in the field of bilingual education by proposing an integrated approach to the study of bilingualism in minority and majority settings. Programmes for indigenous groups, for national minorities and for migrants are analysed together with programmes aimed at dominant language groups, by well-known scholars from eight different countries in Europe and the Americas. Each contribution seeks to go beyond the traditional dichotomy between policy, practice and research into bilingual education programmes for majority language speakers, and...

How are words organized in the bilingual mind? How are they linked to concepts? How do bi- and multilinguals process words in their multiple languages? The first aim of this volume is to offer up-to-date answers to these questions. Its second aim is to provide readers with detailed step-by-step introductions to a variety of methodological approaches used to investigate the bilingual lexicon, from traditional neurocognitive and psycholinguistic approaches to the more recent ones that examine language use in context.

How are words organized in the bilingual mind? How are they linked to concepts? How do bi- and multilinguals process words in their multiple languages? The first aim of this volume is to offer up-to-date answers to these questions. Its second aim is to provide readers with detailed step-by-step introductions to a variety of methodological approaches used to investigate the bilingual lexicon, from traditional neurocognitive and psycholinguistic approaches to the more recent ones that examine language use in context.

Language Disabilities in Cultural and Linguistic Diversity takes a critical perspective on traditional bio-cognitive-social approaches to language disabilities - specific language impairment, communication difficulties, dyslexia and deafness. A socio-cultural approach orientates a reinterpretation of research, educational practices and policies in assessment, teaching and intervention. A Vygotskian framework affords repositioning of assessment, learning and development for language disabilities as they are influenced and shaped by experiences of multilingualism, culture, ethnicity and...

This book describes a particular type of educational provision referred to as 'elite' or 'prestigious' bilingual education, which caters mainly for upwardly mobile, highly educated, higher socio-economic status learners of two or more internationally useful languages. The development of different types of elite bilingual or multilingual educational provision is discussed and an argument is made for the need to study bilingual education in majority as well as in minority contexts.