Multilingual Students Research Articles

Professional Identity in Speech-Language Pathology Students

Purpose: Professional identity (PI) serves to aid preprofessionals by contributing to a sense of purpose as students pursue their academic requirements. The importance of PI has been explored across other allied health fields including nursing, social work, and medicine. However, this topic has not been thoroughly investigated in communication sciences and disorders (CSD), and there is limited information on perceptions of PI among CSD students. Method: The current study is a secondary analysis of existing data. An adapted version of the PI Five-Factor Scale was administered via an anonymous online survey. Student participants self-reported perceptions of PI and perceived program support. Differences on the factors were tested using t tests and analysis of variance to explore differences between groups. Results: Significant differences were found between monolingual and multilingual students, with monolingual English-speaking students reporting higher perceptions of PI. There were no significant differences in PI between genders, racial groups, or first-generation students versus students of parents with varying educational backgrounds. Participant responses skewed toward a positive PI. Similar results were found for participants' perceptions of program support for PI across the five factors. Conclusions: PI has been extensively explored in allied health fields, but the topic has not been explored in speech-language pathology. Study findings can be used to help better serve students, particularly those from underrepresented groups. These data can support the recruitment and retention of culturally and linguistically diverse students with goals to increase the diversity of the pipeline of future professionals.

Transactional development of science and mathematics knowledge and reading proficiency for multilingual students across languages of instruction.

This longitudinal study explored the reciprocal relations between students' domain-specific knowledge (science and mathematics) and reading proficiency from kindergarten to Grade 5. We compared these relational trajectories across both domains in the overall sample and examined the domain specificity of these relations within a multilingual subsample with varying language instruction backgrounds. Using latent curve modeling with structured residuals on a nationally representative data set, we identified two key patterns. In the overall sample, higher reading proficiency at kindergarten was associated with greater growth in science and mathematics knowledge, with a particularly pronounced effect in science. The predictive power of science knowledge on reading proficiency strengthened significantly from Grades 2 to 5, while reciprocal relations in mathematics intensified over time. For multilingual students, outcomes varied by the language of instruction. Those receiving English-only instruction showed early correlations between science and mathematics knowledge and reading proficiency; however, initial science and mathematics knowledge did not predict long-term growth in reading proficiency. Conversely, multilingual students who received instruction in their native language showed no immediate correlations at kindergarten. Nonetheless, their early science and mathematics knowledge significantly predicted later growth in reading proficiency. The findings underscore the critical role of native-language instruction in providing an accessible, vital cognitive and linguistic foundation that supports deeper domain knowledge building, highlighting the enduring benefits of native-language scaffolding. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for Transactional Development of Science and Mathematics Knowledge and Reading Proficiency for Multilingual Students Across Languages of Instruction

Supplemental Material for Transactional Development of Science and Mathematics Knowledge and Reading Proficiency for Multilingual Students Across Languages of Instruction

Akselerasi Pemahaman Mahasiswa Melalui Pengembangan Media Pembelajaran Holografi Multi Bahasa Mata Kuliah Konsep Pendidikan Seni

This study aims to accelerate student understanding in the course of Art Education Concepts through the development of multilingual holographic learning media. This approach utilizes hologram technology to present learning materials in a visual and interactive manner, supporting more effective concept comprehension. The methodology employed is a development design, beginning with an analysis of student needs followed by the design, implementation, and evaluation of the holographic learning media. The study involved students from various language backgrounds, testing the effectiveness of the media in supporting cross-language understanding. Results show significant improvements in students' comprehension of art education concepts, as evidenced by pretest and posttest assessments. The holographic learning media offers significant potential in art education, providing an immersive learning experience accessible to multilingual students. This research provides new insights into the use of advanced technology for art education.

Bilingual-Bicultural Education: Opportunity obscured

ABSTRACT This article reports on analysis of A Master Plan for Bilingual-Bicultural Education (MP), created after the Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court ruling. Qualitative analyses reveal authors’ intention to: 1) intertwine language and culture; 2) promote richly diverse multilingualism; and 3) systemically embed its implementation among local linguistically marginalized communities. Although the purpose of the MP was to detail a replicable model for new BBE program development across the nation, its rejection reveals the continued dominance of English-only instructional approaches, despite decades of research documenting that dual language bilingual education is the most effective instructional model for multilingual students. It also serves as an invaluable tool and roadmap for the development of future, and revision of existing, bilingual programs in ways that enhance multilingualism and improve inclusivity among minoritized language-speaking students, families, and communities.

An inconvenient truth: When ideologies of multilingualism lead to auto‐inflicted epistemic exclusion by multilingual students in higher education

AbstractIn this article, we juxtapose two international contexts of higher education to critically examine both the situated complexity of (restrictive) ideologies of multilingualism and the ways such ideologies inform multilingual students’ choices of language use that contribute to their own epistemic exclusion in Canada and Germany. A content analysis of data from interviews and written reflections on language choice illustrates that the ideologies of (1) devaluation of partial repertoires, (2) maximalist view of language competences, (3) neoliberal multilingualism, and (4) native‐speakerism‐in‐multilingualism are enacted and reproduced by students themselves in both contexts, leading to auto‐inflicted epistemic exclusion. The findings reveal not only the pervasiveness of monolingualism within multilingualism and higher education, but also the hierarchization of languages and their (imagined) speakers, from which we conclude that not all forms of individual multilingualism are valued, despite increasing celebration of diversity in global higher education.

The Impact of Multilingualism on Second Language Acquisition: A Study of Cognitive and Linguistic Proficiency Among Ethnic Minority Groups

This study investigates the cognitive and linguistic differences in second language acquisition (SLA) among multilingual H'mong and Tay students compared to monolingual Kinh students in Vietnam. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study examined cognitive proficiency, including working memory and cognitive flexibility, as well as linguistic proficiency in English, focusing on vocabulary size, syntactic knowledge, and phonological accuracy. Quantitative data from cognitive and linguistic tests were analyzed using MANOVA, while qualitative data from focus group discussions provided insights into the sociocultural influences on language learning. The findings reveal that H'mong and Tay students exhibited higher cognitive proficiency, particularly in working memory and cognitive flexibility, than their monolingual Kinh peers. However, despite their cognitive advantages, multilingual students faced greater challenges in English vocabulary acquisition, syntax, and phonological accuracy, likely due to structural differences between their native languages and English. The qualitative findings highlight the role of sociocultural factors, including limited access to resources and the desire to maintain cultural identity, in shaping language learning experiences among ethnic minority students. The study concludes that while multilingualism enhances cognitive abilities, ethnic minority students require targeted instructional support to overcome linguistic barriers in SLA. The findings have implications for language education policies, particularly in designing culturally sensitive curricula and improving access to quality English education in rural and ethnic minority communities.

Translanguaging and Decolonisation in South African Higher Education: Embracing Multilingual Pedagogies

Translanguaging, a practice that recognises and utilizes multilingual students’ linguistic repertoires has emerged as a crucial approach in challenging traditional language policies, particularly in the South African educational landscape.Despite its embrace, a colonial stance still persists in teaching practices. Through a critical analysis of teaching materials used in an academic literacy course, this paper explores how translanguaging is currently being used in teaching and learning. Findings reveal a tension in the sense that even though students’ language practices are acknowledged, the materials still maintain a dominant position for English. This highlights the need to move beyond a simplistic view of multilingualism towards a more holistic embrace of translanguaging.Set against this background, this research argues that translanguaging can bridge the abyssal divide created by colonialism. It emphasizes the unifying potential of translanguaging, fostering an educational landscape that celebrates South Africa's rich linguistic diversity and cultural heritage. Ultimately, the study calls upon educators to move beyond the limitations of standardized languages and fully embrace translanguaging as a transformative force for decolonization.At the end, the paper calls for further research.

Translanguaging Influenced Writing in Different Languages: A Case of Multilingual Students at Secondary Education in Sri Lanka

Researching aspects of multilingualism has attracted growing interest among scholars. However, such studies have less explored how translanguaging (TL) influences writing in multiple languages. This study considered essays written by three students in secondary education in Sri Lanka, using their first language (L1/Tamil), second language (L2/English), and third language (L3/Sinhala). The study aims to comprehend how TL practices have influenced their writing and report on the reflections of the students and their teachers on TL in writing. A comprehensive qualitative analysis of the data revealed that TL practices such as the use of lexical items from students’ L2, following similar strategies for writing and the use of previously learnt information and writing knowledge have influenced the writing across languages. The findings from the interview data suggested that the student writers sensed uneasiness towards TL in writing as such practices were not recognised as legitimate and that the teachers did not favour TL in writing even though they were lenient towards TL in speaking. The implications for the education of multilingual students are also discussed.

Breaking boundaries: Word analysis strategies that draw on students' full linguistic repertoires

AbstractThis paper examines the need to integrate students' full linguistic repertoires into literacy instruction in middle and high school classrooms. Traditional monoglossic approaches often neglect the linguistic assets multilingual students bring, limiting their academic potential. Drawing on translanguaging theory, this paper explores three strategies—bilingual morpheme mapping, comparative morphological analysis, and multilingual word walls. These strategies seek to enhance vocabulary instruction by utilizing students' home languages and ultimately cultivating a deeper understanding of word formation and meaning. The benefits of such approaches extend beyond multilingual students, offering all students more comprehensive vocabulary knowledge across disciplines. While the advantages of these methods are evident, the paper also identifies limitations and calls for further research to explore the long‐term impacts on literacy development. By advocating for professional learning focused on translanguaging and morphological instruction, this paper highlights the need to incorporate word strategies that enhance literacy for all students.

Analyzing Morphological Errors and Contextual Influence in Senior High School Students' Written Works: A Qualitative Study

Morphological skills are essential for developing linguistic competence, as they underpin various aspects of language acquisition, including reading comprehension and effective writing. This study examined morphological errors in the written works of 25 Grade 11 students in the Oral Communication course at Northern Abra National High School, exploring how these errors reflected their understanding of word formation rules and the influence of contextual factors like educational background and language exposure. Using a document analysis design, the research involved evaluating students’ assignments and essays to identify error types and frequencies. A systematic coding process categorized errors through qualitative content analysis, revealing themes related to inflectional, derivational, and compounding errors. The study identified common morphological errors in the written works of 25 Grade 11 students enrolled in the Oral Communication course. Inflectional errors were the most prevalent, comprising 40% of the total, with students frequently misusing verb conjugations and plural forms, indicating a fundamental misunderstanding of grammatical rules. Derivational errors accounted for 30%, highlighting confusion around suffix and prefix application. Compounding errors, at 20%, involved incorrect separation and formation of compound words, leading to clarity issues in writing. Affixation errors made up 10%, reflecting overgeneralization and misuse of affixes. Also, students from well-resourced families made 12% fewer morphological errors than those from under-resourced families, with dedicated language programs leading to a 20% reduction. Teacher expertise contributed to a 15% decrease in errors. Students exposed to multiple languages had 30% fewer errors, with those speaking three or more languages showing a 40% reduction, highlighting the benefits of multilingualism on language skills. Moreover, students with both quality education and extensive language exposure made 35% fewer errors than those lacking either factor. These findings emphasize the need for educational equity and multilingualism to enhance morphological skills. A combined approach integrating quality instruction with diverse language experiences is recommended to improve writing proficiency. Generally, the educational background and language exposure significantly impact Grade 11 students' morphological accuracy. Students from well-resourced schools made fewer errors, especially with effective language instruction, while multilingual students demonstrated enhanced writing proficiency. The synergy between quality education and diverse linguistic exposure is essential for improving students' linguistic skills. To address morphological challenges, educational policies should focus on integrating robust language programs and promoting multilingualism, fostering better writing outcomes for all students.

Reimagining anti-racist translingual pedagogy through multilingual international students’ digital counter-storytelling practices

ABSTRACT Informed by the current scholarly conversations surrounding linguistic racism, this paper investigates anti-racist translingual practices within the context of a college multilingual writing classroom. Fusing translingualism and critical race theory, the paper underscores the significance of translingual digital storytelling as a critical and creative practice of counter-storytelling. Based on a case study of the translingual digital stories created by nine multilingual international students, the paper explores the potential of these stories in combating linguistic racism and inferiority complexes. I begin by framing the issue of linguistic racism within multilingual education, emphasizing the perils of racial marginalization and discrimination experienced by multilingual international students. I then explore how the multilingual students in this study have utilized a range of linguistic repertoires and multiple modalities to document and resist their lived experiences with race and racism. Based on my analysis of the students’ digital stories, I conclude this paper with pedagogical implications for integrating translingual digital storytelling into anti-racist teaching and learning.

Multilingual English second language students’ voice in digital storytelling

Digital storytelling is a productive approach to engaging multilingual students in creative, expressive, and practical tasks to increase their English language development and meaningful thinking. Based on previous research, digital storytelling helps students stay motivated, expand their communication skills, and create narratives with multiple multimodal features (Robin, 2008; Reinders, 2011; Tecnam, 2012). This study expands on previous research by exploring voice in students’ digital storytelling to showcase their identities. A mixed-method study investigated whether the same author's voice could be differentiated among the raters. Therefore, 25 participants were recruited and asked to watch ten pairs of digital stories to evaluate linguistic and multimodal aspects of the stories and either attribute them or not to the same author. The study results indicated that the raters could distinguish between digital stories authored by the same multilingual ESL writer and those crafted by different writers, thus proving that multilingual ESL learners implement voice in their digital stories. The study also revealed that the raters relied on certain multimodal and linguistic features while making their decisions, therefore underlying the importance of developing those multimodal elements in multilingual classrooms. Finally, the study offers numerous activities that can be implemented in multilingual classrooms to develop ESL students’ voices and shape their identities.

Code-Switching in Multilingual Communities: A Sociolinguistic Study in Ireland

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the code-switching in multilingual communities: a sociolinguistic study in Ireland. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: In a sociolinguistic study on code-switching in multilingual communities in Ireland, researchers found that code-switching serves as a vital communicative tool among bilingual speakers, facilitating social interaction and identity expression. The study revealed that individuals often switch languages to navigate different cultural contexts, signal group membership, and convey nuanced meanings that are culturally specific. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Sociolinguistic theory, speech accommodation theory & translanguaging theory may be used to anchor future studies on the code-switching in multilingual communities: a sociolinguistic study in Ireland. Educators should adopt inclusive pedagogical strategies that recognize code-switching as a legitimate form of communication within the classroom, allowing students to explore their linguistic identities. Educational policies should mandate the incorporation of bilingual education programs that respect and utilize code-switching as a learning tool, promoting teacher training programs that equip educators with the skills to support multilingual students.

The The perception of success in learning English as an L2 in the era of globalization – a multilingual student perspective

Resorting to ecolinguistic theories, underscoring the concept of (trans)languaging and methodologies highlighting the need for analytical contextualization (Steffensen, Fill, 2014), the author presents the understanding of success in learning English as an L2 among selected multilingual students of Applied Linguistics at his home university, for whom knowledge of English and other languages is to be a final product of a professional character. Data has been elicited via focus group interview methodology (Parker, Tritter, 2006; Lankiewicz, 2023) with the use of a semi-structured interview and thematic framework analysis. The research findings suggest that English occupies a special place in students’ plurilingual repertoires and its pluricentric character helps them to be legitimate L2 users of their linguistic repertoires who do not measure their success by native speaker standards. The research undertaken offers insights into the process of the language learning evaluation of multilinguals via including their full linguistic repertoires to account for language learning processes.

ChatGPT, Plagiarism, and Multilingual Students’ Learning to Write

ChatGPT, Plagiarism, and Multilingual Students’ Learning to Write

Elementary Computing for All: A Computational Thinking Curriculum for Multilingual Students

Elementary Computing for All: A Computational Thinking Curriculum for Multilingual Students

Implementing Universal Design for Learning in Online Courses to Support Multilingual Students in Higher Education

Implementing Universal Design for Learning in Online Courses to Support Multilingual Students in Higher Education

Eleven på dobbeltarbejde – lærer-elev-interaktion behandlet med den økologiske AAA-model

This article studies how linguist Leo van Lier's ecological AAA-model (van Lier 1996), consisting of the three principles of awareness, autonomy, and authenticity, can be used to analyze teacher-student interactions in the classroom. Additionally, the model's application in developing teaching methods is illustrated. The research question addressed is: How can the AAA-model, as a tool for developing, carrying out, and analyzing teaching, help create learning-promoting action opportunities for multilingual students? An interaction between a teacher and her student during a Danish lesson in a 7th grade at a primary school ('Folkeskole'), where the majority are plurilingual students, is analyzed. The analysis, based on Mayring (2015), is structured as a deductive qualitative content analysis. Using the ecological AAA-model as the theoretical foundation, a learning situation is illustrated where neither the teacher nor the student achieves the desired outcome. The teacher aims to promote autonomy and authenticity for the student but ends up acting counterproductively, causing the student to do "double work" and become increasingly insecure and dependent throughout the interaction. The importance of considering all three principles simultaneously to promote learning and create meaningfulness, choices, and transparency in relation to academic and pedagogical goals is clarified based on the model.

Caring and connecting with multilingual families through the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractThis study uses authentic cariño to explore a care and connect model in a case study of a single district in Teachers Educating All Multilingual Students (TEAMS), funded by a National Professional Development (NPD) grant. Along with ESOL/dual language licensure coursework, teachers in five districts engage in family–school–community partnerships to develop multilingual family engagement. COVID‐19 required urgent shifts in how teachers and districts reached families and offered services. Accordingly, the research question is as follows: How did TEAMS teachers' conceptions of caring and connecting to support multilingual family engagement shift in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic? Data included three teacher focus groups per district, interviews with facilitators and administrators, and individual teacher interviews. Case study was used across districts, but focusing particularly on one district with high percentages of teachers of color and low‐income multilingual families, the population hardest hit and dehumanized during COVID‐19. Analysis employed critical authentic cariño to explore teachers' authentic and aesthetic care that shifted over time—from focus on technologies and translators, pity, depersonalized objectives, and academic goals to warmer relationships, personalismo, relaxing together, reaching out, persistence, and advocacy. Results suggest ways to transform structures to better meet the needs of multilingual families by organizing around authentic care with families.