The L4L research team investigates socio-cultural and individual differences in learners' oral and written language development and their association to comprehension, communication, and school learning. L4L research seeks to contribute to a theory of language learning that is relevant to advance equity and excellence in teaching and learning.
Three main goals drive our work
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to document individual differences in school-relevant language development
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to explore how to expand learners' language resources as flexible tools for effective communication and learning
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to make language visible to educators, researchers, and policy makers by revealing how teachers' and learners' ways of using language might either support or hinder advances in text comprehension, academic writing, and school achievement
Schools are particular sociocultural contexts where specific language and literacy practices are expected and enacted. The L4L research focuses on the particular sets of oral and written language skills that support learners as they participate in the socio-cultural practices of school literacy and learning across content areas (e.g., the language of school texts, the language of persuasive writing). We understand monolingual and bi/multilingual development as influenced by each individual's unique history of accumulated opportunities to participate n specific socio-cultural discourses inside and outside of school.