The current work follows the premise that fictional oral narratives represent socio-emotionally and academically relevant communicative practices. Two studies are presented, aiming to (1) analyze the narrative skills of preschool-age Turkish-German dual language learners (DLLs) and (2) explore a peer-assisted approach to supporting DLLs’ narrative skills in early childhood education and care. The findings relate to the influence of dual language learning on narrative production and provide emerging evidence for the effectiveness of a peer-assisted narrative intervention approach.

The OECD stated in 2018 that language barriers are among the greatest obstacles to the successful inclusion of students with an immigrant background. Providing adequate instruction in the language of instruction at school, and offering learning experiences independent of the level of language skills is, therefore, an essential task of the 21st-century school systems. This book explores how music therapy can contribute to solving this challenge. It investigates the multicultural learning environment of an Italian elementary school that is characterised by students with multiple native languages and different levels of proficiency in the language of instruction. In some cases, students have difficulty following lessons and participating in social life. The children (5-8 years) receive music therapy in the experimental condition and regular school activity in the control condition according to a within-subject control group design, meaning that half the children started in the control condition and the other started in the experimental condition; they switched at the half-time point. Data on the children’s language skills and general behaviour are collected and analysed.

Chinese dual language immersion (DLI) education experienced unprecedented growth in recent years; hence, it has become critical that Chinese DLI research catches up to inform Chinese DLI teachers and administrators of the most effective ways to teach and run their programs. The purpose of Chinese-English Dual Language Immersion Programs: Content Area Instruction, Learners, and Evaluations is to explore three DLI themes that are under-researched: content area instruction, learners, and evaluations. The first section of this edited volume is dedicated to exploring current teaching designs and practices in different content subjects in Chinese DLI programs in order to make useful teaching suggestions to the programs. The second section includes studies which look into K-12 Chinese DLI learners’ learning variables such as motivations, learning strategies, learner perception and engagement, and learner background differences. The last section of this edited volume intends to fill the research gap by including studies which adopt various methods to evaluate Chinese DLI students’ target language level to better illustrate their learning progress in different language skills.

Bilingual students with disabilities have an established right to be educated in their most proficient language. However, in practice, many culturally and linguistically diverse students still do not receive the quality of education that they are promised and deserve. Multilingual learners with disabilities must be acknowledged for the assets they bring and engaged in classroom learning that is rigorous and relevant. Bilingual Special Education for the 21st Century: A New Interface addresses the complex intersection of bilingual education and special education with the overlay of culturally and linguistically sustaining practices. This work provides practical solutions to current dilemmas and challenges today’s educators of multilingual learners with disabilities face in the classroom. Covering topics such as dual language education, identification practices, and transition planning, this book is an essential resource for special education experts, faculty and administration of both K-12 and higher education, pre-service teachers, researchers, and academicians.

Over the past few decades, a growing body of literature has developed which examines children’s perspectives of their own lives, viewing them as social actors and experts in their understanding of the world. Focusing specifically on narratives, this unique and timely book provides an analysis of these new directions in contemporary research approaches to explore the lived experiences of children and teachers in early childhood education, in addition to presenting original research on children’s narratives. The book brings together a variety of well-regarded international researchers in the field to highlight the importance of narrative in young children’s development from local and global perspectives. While narrative is clearly understood within different countries, this is one of the first texts to build an international understanding, acknowledging the importance of culture and context. It presents up-to-date research on the latest research methods and analysis techniques, using a variety of different approaches in order to critically reflect on the future for narrative research and its insights into early childhood education Narratives in Early Childhood Education will be of interest to postgraduate students, academics and researchers in early childhood education, as well as early childhood professionals, government policy makers and early childhood organisations and associations.

Being able to collect valid data is crucial for empirical science disciplines such as linguistics, developmental psycholinguistics, clinical psycholinguistics and speech and hearing sciences. In recent years there has been an increasing use of digital devices for remote language assessments, such as online elicitation of language samples, apps for eliciting expressive and productive lexical abilities, and online questionnaires. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic still affecting many lives globally, there have been numerous disruptions of face-to-face, in-person language assessments, leading many researchers to conduct their language assessments online. Despite the necessity of remote language assessments and the convenience they may bring to both assessors and assessees, the potential merits, limits, and problems of remote testing have not yet been systematically explored and understood. This timely Research Topic seeks contributions that mobilize new evidence and/or insightful and nuanced discussions to address questions such as: can we control online testing so that it is as good as face-to-face, in-person testing, and, if so, how? Do we have evaluative evidence of such practices, and if so, how robust is the evidence? What adaptations and concerns can and cannot be accommodated at the present time? What opportunities are offered by recent technological advances? Are there certain conditions in which online testing works better or worse? Last but not least, how do differences between offline, in-person language assessments and online, remote assessments affect the results of testing? The current topic has two main foci: the first deals with the assessment of conversational discourse in general and narrative discourse in particular, in both children and young adults. Communicative competence at the discourse level has been considered an essential and ecologically valid component in language assessments of children and adults, for three key reasons: 1) this competence is crucial for an individual’s everyday functioning and academic and social life, 2) it provides information about an individual’s socio-cognitive and linguistic abilities, and 3) it is a versatile test of language skills at the levels of content, form, use and their integration. The second focus is on comparing the results elicited via in-person assessments and remote, online assessments. This Research Topic welcomes empirical articles discussing new evidence, perspective and opinion papers on issues at the conceptual-methodological interface, and methods articles presenting approaches that can offer opportunities for remote testing of developmental discourse supported by recent technological advances. Potential themes may include, but are not limited to: • comparisons of remote versus in-person testing modes using a within-participants research design • learner variables such as age, gender, language status (monolingual, multilingual), and clinical status (typically-developing children and adults, children and adults with clinical conditions such as (developmental) language disorder, autism spectrum disorder) which may affect the efficacy of remote testing • linguistic variables such as the use of referential and relational devices and mental state language which may be subject to more variations when being assessed remotely • new methods that offer opportunities for the remote testing of developmental and adult discourse, supported by recent technological advances • articles addressing the same research question within developmental narrative discourse but using different (i.e. either online or offline) research methods.

Examines economic, social and political factors influencing language education, and presents a global perspective on English language acquisition.

For decades, the speech-language therapy profession has expressed the need for the development of language assessment materials in languages other than English for children and adults. A Guide to Global Language Assessment: A Lifespan Approach aims to meet this need by providing comprehensive information about how to assess the language of bi- and multilingual and culturally diverse clients across the world. Featuring the viewpoints of contributors from around the world, A Guide to Global Language Assessment also boasts a complete database of available global language assessments. What’s included in A Guide to Global Language Assessment: Case studies, assessment frameworks, and resources for conducting global language assessments for culturally and linguistically diverse populations An array of language assessment methods across a continuum such as ethnographic and dynamic assessments, narratives, and standardized language assessment Methods for developing local norms A Guide to Global Language Assessment: A Lifespan Approach is an essential tool for empowering current and future speech-language therapists, professors, and researchers to address global language assessment across the lifespan.

Educating dual language learners (DLLs) and English learners (ELs) effectively is a national challenge with consequences both for individuals and for American society. Despite their linguistic, cognitive, and social potential, many ELsâ€"who account for more than 9 percent of enrollment in grades K-12 in U.S. schoolsâ€"are struggling to meet the requirements for academic success, and their prospects for success in postsecondary education and in the workforce are jeopardized as a result. Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures examines how evidence based on research relevant to the development of DLLs/ELs from birth to age 21 can inform education and health policies and related practices that can result in better educational outcomes. This report makes recommendations for policy, practice, and research and data collection focused on addressing the challenges in caring for and educating DLLs/ELs from birth to grade 12.