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Growing numbers of American students are travelling overseas to study abroad and enroll in full degree programs. Despite this trend, relatively little is known about the experiences of United States (U.S.) students abroad. The aim of this research was to examine the experiences of American international students in Ireland. Findings suggest that while U.S. students experience some adaptation problems, overall, they adapt well to studying in Ireland. Subtle differences in long-term and short-term international students' levels of social support and academic satisfaction were also detected. This research has important practical implications for facilitating the adaption of U.S. students abroad. At a time when many governments and academic institutions are devising strategies to attract international students, this research is timely and necessary.

There can be significant diversity in the language experience of minority language children, and in the levels of proficiency reached. The declining numbers of children now exposed to Irish include those from homes where only/mainly Irish is spoken, those with only one Irish-speaking parent, and children from homes where one/both parent(s) speak 'some Irish', while levels of language use in the wider community also vary widely. The proficiency of children from Irish-speaking homes seems impressive compared with their L2 learner classmates, but still shows particular linguistic needs. Since acquisition of complex morphosyntactic features depends on both the quantity and quality of input, and extends well into the school years, assessing children's performance on features such as grammatical gender may provide a useful index of need for language enrichment, even among young speakers judged by teachers and parents to be fluent. We report data from 306 Irish-speaking participants aged 6-13 years from a range of language backgrounds, most of whom live in Gaeltacht (officially designated Irish-speaking) areas. Information was collected from parents on children's home language and new measures of receptive and productive use of grammatical gender marking in Irish were administered. Performance on these measures is compared with scores on standardised measures of Irish and English reading vocabulary, as well as teacher and parent ratings.

The Irish language is a minority language undergoing the attenuation and accelerated change commonly seen as threatened languages come under increasing pressure from the dominant language. The decline of the numbers of traditional speakers and growing numbers of L2 speakers of Irish has given rise to some contested spaces regarding authenticity, accuracy and ownership of the language, as well as who has the right to produce and distribute the resources associated with/generated by the language. This study explored the attitudes and experiences of native and high-proficiency L2 speakers ("new speakers") of Irish with respect to these issues. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 Irish speakers, 7 young adult native speakers (four female, aged 18-26 years) and 10 young adult high-proficiency new speakers (six female, aged 19-31). Thematic Analysis showed a significant decline, in the view of both groups, in the confidence and authority of native speakers of Irish, and a change to a view among both groups that goodwill and commitment to the language's maintenance is more important than linguistic accuracy. The commonalities and differences between the native speaker and new speaker groups are explored, and the implications for the future of Irish are considered.

An in-depth examination of the acquisition of grammatical gender has not previously been conducted for Irish, an endangered indigenous language now typically acquired simultaneously with English, or as L2. Children acquiring Irish must contend with the opacity of the Irish gender system and the plurifunctionality of the inflections used to mark it, while also experiencing early exposure to the majority language and variability in amount and consistency of adult input in Irish. Data were collected from 306 participants aged 6-13 years, including information on home language background which allowed children to be categorised as being from homes which were Irish-dominant, bilingual, or English-dominant. Novel measures of receptive and productive use of grammatical gender were developed to test children's understanding and production of gender marking. A standard multiple regression conducted which accounted for 39.5% of the variance showed that language background was the strongest predictor of accuracy in marking grammatical gender assignment and agreement. The later stages of acquisition of semantic and grammatical gender have not previously been investigated in Irish, and the implications for researchers, policy makers, educators and parents are discussed.

This study investigated the role of language exposure in vocabulary acquisition in Irish, a threatened minority language in Ireland which is usually acquired with English in a bilingual context. Using a bilingual Irish-English adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories) [Fenson, L., V. A. Marchman, D. J. Thal, P. S. Dale, J. S. Reznick, and E. Bates. 2007. "The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories." 2nd ed. Baltimore: Brookes], longitudinal parent report data were collected from 34 children (19 girls and 15 boys) at 4-monthly intervals, resulting in 61 data points between the ages of 17-36 months. Language exposure estimates indicated that while the caregivers "always" spoke Irish to the children, both languages were used in most households, with/among siblings and extended family. The children's vocabulary indicated that they were Irish-dominant in this age range, with more Irish words than English for all vocabulary categories. The analysis also showed no difference in Irish vocabulary scores between children who were "usually" exposed to Irish compared to those with lower exposure rates to Irish. However, there was a significant effect for caregivers' reported use of English on children's English scores. The results are discussed in terms of the language input needed to maintain an endangered language and factors to take into account for establishing good estimates of language exposure in a minority language context.

This paper compared the vocabulary size of a group of 250 bilinguals aged 24-36 months acquiring six different language pairs using an analogous tool, and attempted to identify factors that influence vocabulary sizes and ultimately place children at risk for language delay. Each research group used adaptations of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories: Words and Sentences and a specially designed developmental and language background questionnaire to gather information on risk factors for language impairment, demographic and language exposure variables. The results showed a wide range in vocabulary development which could be somewhat attributed to mothers' education status, parental concerns about language development and amount of exposure to the second language. We looked at those children performing below the 10th and above the 90th percentile to determine what factors were related to their vocabulary size. Features of the entire group of lower performing children were fewer than 50 words and the absence of two-word combinations by 24 months, lower levels of parental education and parental concerns about language development. The implications for identifying bilingual children at risk for language impairment as well as the language enrichment that might be needed for young bilinguals are outlined.

Hickey's (1991) article ["Leisure reading in a second language: An experiment with audio tapes." "Language, Culture and Curriculum," 4(2), 119-131. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07908319109525098] reported the benefits of audio-support for L2 reading of real books, showing gains in fluency and motivation among 9-year-old learners of Irish. In the 25 years since that, there have been significant changes in the educational and sociolinguistic context in which Irish and Irish reading are taught. That period encompassed a major shift in the curricular approach to teaching Irish, and changes in status. With the advent of a new primary school curriculum, it is time to revisit this topic and reflect on how changes in the interim have impacted on the teaching of L2 Irish reading. This article reviews the societal and educational changes relevant to teaching Irish in mainstream (English-medium) schools, offering insights into current practices from a qualitative study of teachers' reflections on their pedagogical strategies, perceived priorities and difficulties encountered. Finally, it considers the advances made in the provision of materials supporting L2 Irish reading in the intervening years, and the challenges that remain with regard to promoting the use of those materials in mainstream classrooms.

A challenge noted in a number of endangered language contexts is the need to mix second-language (L2) learners of the target language with first-language (L1) speakers of that language in a less planned way than is found in the two-way immersion approach. Such mixing of L1 speakers of the target language with L2 learners arises from the difficulty of making separate provision for the dwindling L1 minority. The issue of how to manage the range of language proficiency in such mixed groups is relevant to a number of language contexts. This paper explores data gathered in Wales from educators in Welsh-medium preschool nursery groups ("cylchoedd meithrin"). Particular attention is given to issues relating to the grouping of Welsh L1 and L2 children and to policies and practices pertaining to the teaching and learning of Welsh in these groups. Survey data were collected from 162 "cylchoedd" Leaders in areas where such mixing of L1 speakers and L2 learners regularly occurs. The Leaders' skills, attitudes and approaches to developing the language of the children in such mixed groups are examined, as well as the issues of differentiated input and pedagogical adaptation to address those needs, in an exploration of how policy and practice can diverge in dealing with this challenge. The study aims to develop a fuller understanding of the needs of these early immersion Leaders, in order to support them and maximise their effectiveness, by recognising that they are striving, not only to promote language maintenance/enrichment in L1 minority language speakers and L2 acquisition among L2 learners, but also to provide high-quality early years' education.

Early years' immersion education programmes can be either monolingual or bilingual, and their objectives can range from language maintenance and/or enrichment to early second language learning, depending on the context of implementation. Here we examine some of the key issues and policy concerns relating to immersion education in the early years. Among these are difficulties associated with the term itself in certain political contexts, due to historical negative experience. Another issue discussed concerns the differing outcomes noted by studies comparing monolingual and bilingual programmes for minority language children. The importance of training in immersion methodology for early years' educators is discussed, and the need to adapt preschool pedagogical practices to the immersion context, in order to provide optimal input for young language learners. Consideration must also be given to differentiated provision in early years' immersion programmes, with adaptation to the needs of L1 speakers as well as L2 learners, and to children with language impairment. The article explores some of the challenges currently facing this sector, particularly focusing on pre-service and in-service training and professional development for practitioners, and the availability of appropriate materials in less widely used languages. Evidence of the benefits for children and their families of attending a high quality immersion preschool points to the need to review the recognition and resources accorded to this sector by parents, primary years educators and educational planners.

Diagnosing specific language impairment (SLI) in monolingual children is a complex task, with some controversy regarding criteria. Diagnosis of SLI in bilinguals is made more complex by the lack of standardized assessments and poor understanding of clinical markers in languages other than English. There is an added complexity when one of the languages being acquired is an endangered one, where the domains of use and input are restricted, and where input is affected by convergence with the majority language. This article explores the challenge facing speech and language therapists and psychologists in diagnosing SLI in bilingual children acquiring Irish and English. Six speech and language therapists and four psychologists took part in semi-structured interviews exploring the impact of the bilingual environment, the nature of bilingual language impairment, current practices and the needs of these children. Thematic analysis was carried out and here three of the main themes emerging in the areas of assessment, the bilingual environment and characteristics of language impairment in this population are discussed. For assessment, an overriding theme was the requirement of standardized testing to secure additional educational and therapy resources for these children. However, because there are no standardized tests available in Irish, both professions end up translating existing English-based language and psychological assessments, using the norms provided to achieve standard scores. Both professions expressed strong dissatisfaction with this practice but saw little choice, given the Department of Education's approach to allocation of supports. Language impairment in Irish was characterized by lexical difficulties, particularly with verbs and prepositions, tense errors, and significant borrowing and code-switching with English. Other themes that emerged were the growing influence of English as the children became older, which affected both attitudes to the minority Irish language as well as the content and structure of the language itself. The implications for service provision for bilingual populations in general are outlined. (Contains 3 figures.)

Although numerous studies have explored international students' experiences, there is a dearth of research exploring the perspectives of professionals who have contact with international students. The present study addresses this gap in the literature by providing an analysis of higher educational professionals' ("n"=11) perspectives of international students' experiences and analysing the challenges which arise when working with international students. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff from a large Irish Higher Education Institution. Participants described a range of difficulties experienced by international students, including sociocultural and psychological difficulties, and outlined a number of challenges which exist when dealing with international students, most of which relate to cultural differences and lack of interest in internationalisation. The findings have important policy and practical implications for higher education service provision and point to the need to consider internationalisation as a process which can be enriching for international students, host students and staff members alike.

Irish has significant State support, but lacks a research base to support the teaching of Irish reading. Current approaches to teaching Irish reading are presented, and outcomes summarised. Issues of consistency and complexity in Irish orthography are discussed in light of an analysis of a corpus of early reader texts, and the formulation of rules for discriminating between words which are regular by letter-sound and grapheme-sound rules is outlined. While the most frequent words show a high level of regularity, underlying rules are very complex. The need to target decoding skills early is discussed. Recommendations regarding the teaching of aspects of Irish orthography are presented. (Contains 4 tables and 4 notes.)

This article reports on an empirical study of the psychosocial adaptation of international students in Ireland. Using measures of social support, loneliness, stress, psychological well-being, and sociocultural adaptation, data were obtained from international students and a comparison sample of Irish students. The study found that, although international students had high levels of social support and low levels of loneliness and stress, students were experiencing high levels of sociocultural adjustment difficulties and psychological distress. Significant differences invariables were reported across time, whereas differences between international and Irish students were also discovered. Suggestions for further research and for individuals working with international students are proposed. (Contains 3 tables.)

A language currently at the nexus of change is Kashubian (in Polish: "kaszubski"), a West Slavic language spoken in northern Poland in the province of Pomerania. Termed a "regional language" by the Polish government in preparation for the ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (signed in 2003 and ratified in 2008), it presents interesting parallels with other minority languages at different phases, in terms of its weak economic status and a history of repression. The impact of Poland's accession to the EU in 2004 and the Polish government's recent revitalisation initiatives will be explored. The views of three prominent Kashubian activists are considered as they reflect on the past, present and future of Kashubian. Issues considered include the changing status of Kashubian and the impact of such change on identity, the role of Catholicism in supporting Kashubian and the need for development in the spheres of literature and education. Of particular interest is a consideration of the effect on the language's visibility and status as a result of having a Kashub, Donald Tusk, become Prime Minister in October 2007, following decades of neglect and denial of Kashubian's status as a language under Communism, and he is one of those interviewed here. (Contains 4 notes.)

Differences between early and late Irish-immersion secondary school students are examined, not only in terms of academic outcome and target language ability, but also in terms of attitudes to learning the target language. Participants included a gender-balanced group of 97 students in Irish-immersion in fourth year of secondary school (mean age 15.5 years). The students were categorised as either early immersion (had attended an Irish-medium primary school) or late immersion students (Irish as core subject only until secondary). Participants completed a C-test and a Student Questionnaire based on Gardner's (1985) Attitude and Motivational Test Battery (AMTB), which looked in particular at their class anxiety, motivation and parental support for learning Irish. State examination results (Junior Certificate) were also collected and compared for the early and late immersion students. No difference was found between the groups in terms of overall academic attainment in Mathematics and Irish scores in Junior Certificate results. However the late immersion students performed significantly less well than early immersion student on more subtle tests of Irish ability and scored significantly higher on classroom anxiety. The discussion considers these outcomes and suggestions are made for provision of a transitional programme for late immersion students to address differences in their language proficiency and anxiety levels.

A central tenet of two-way immersion has been that the minority language children benefit from mother-tongue support in addition to instruction and interaction in the majority language (usually English) with their peers in high prestige programmes, while the English speakers gain valuable opportunities for peer interaction in their L2 with native speakers. Such mixing of L1 and L2 learners of the target language also occurs in minority language immersion programmes. This paper presents a qualitative study of L1 minority language children's output in such mixed groups by examining their language networks and use of the target language, Irish, in Irish-medium preschools or "naionrai" where they are interacting with L2 learners of Irish. Such networks are particularly interesting in the informal setting of preschool, where children have more freedom to move around and choose their interlocutor than in formal classrooms. This exploration of the children's output and their language choices raises pertinent questions about the needs of minority language children for direct L1 enrichment. This leads to an examination of aspects of the teachers' input to these minority language children in light of their linguistic needs and the evidence of contact phenomena in their output.

Looks at early immersion in Irish among children from diverse language backgrounds. Examines the children's frequency of target language use and the effect of the group's linguistic mix on that use. Results show relatively low levels of target language use even by native speakers. (Author/VWL)

Examines the importance of parental support for early immersion in the context of a study of Irish-medium preschools. Data were collected from all participants in this early-immersion model, including parents, classroom assistants, and inspectors, in addition to detailed tests of 225 3-year-old children. (Author/VWL)

Varying definitions of formulas, or apparently nonproductive utterances in children's speech, are compared, and criteria for formula recognition are reviewed. A preference rule system is proposed, which distinguishes conditions for formula recognition. Formulas found in the data of one child acquiring Irish are examined. (29 references) (KM)

Study of the effect of supplying audio tapes to accompany leisure reading books in Irish found that the tapes considerably increased native-English-speaking elementary school students' motivation to read, facilitated comprehension, and increased the children's reading rate and pronunciation accuracy. (36 references) (Author/CB)

Examined the development of Irish word order patterns. It was found that the 1.5- to 3-year-olds (N=3) studied used subject-initial utterances more frequently than adults in input, and that for both adults and children the elision of the verb "to be" had a significant role in the placement of subjects in the utterances. (42 references) (Author/CB)