Ariana M. Mikulski

Pennsylvania State University | Penn State ·  Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese (SIP)

Although the field of heritage language education has thrived in recent years and has focused primarily on the development of biliteracies in Spanish heritage language (SHL) students (e.g., Belpoliti & Bermejo, 2020; Samaniego & Warner, 2016), there is a scarcity of research on SHL students’ writing practices. Moreover, instructional practices and...

Even though the field of heritage language education has flourished in recent years and has placed emphasis on the development of biliteracies in Spanish heritage language (SHL) learners (e.g., Belpoliti & Bermejo, 2020 ; Samaniego & Warner, 2016 ), little is known about how SHL writing instruction is conducted in terms of educators’ practices and...

Recent experimental evidence suggests that engaging in pretend play can improve children's executive functions (EFs). Yet, evidence regarding how play relates to the development of EF remains sparse. The current study investigated whether preschoolers’ social and solitary pretend play over the course of one preschool year predicted growth in inhibi...

We examined the association between Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ (N = 137; M age = 53 months; SD = 4 months; 53% boys) effortful control (EC) and English vocabulary and letter-word skills. We also examined whether close teacher-child relationships and classroom engagement mediated the association between EC and English vocabulary and letter-word...

Although feedback is a well-established and widespread technique in L1 and L2 writing, little is known about written feedback practices in Spanish heritage language (SHL) classrooms. This study examines how written feedback is used in SHL courses across the United States. Professors, instructors, graduate teaching assistants, program directors, and...

This study explores the impact of direct and indirect feedback on the improvement of Spanish past aspect (imperfect/preterit) in writing activities in a third-semester Spanish course. Ninety learners were divided into three groups: direct feedback, indirect feedback, and control (no feedback). Learners completed a pretest, a posttest, and a delayed...

Research Findings: This study examined the heterogeneity in Spanish-speaking children's (N = 117; M age = 53 months; SD = 5 months; 57% boys) vocabulary and letter-word skills in English and Spanish after one year of preschool and the extent to which early self-regulation abilities (i.e., executive function and effortful control) were associated wi...

We examined the cross-language relations among Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ ( N = 125; M age = 53 months, SD = 4.58) English and Spanish vocabulary, letter–word, and math skills; the changes they exhibited in those skills during 1 year of preschool; and the extent to which Spanish skills were associated with English skill gains. The results revea...

Following a cognitively-oriented framework, this study builds upon the authors’ previous work (Elola and Mikulski 2013; Mikulski and Elola 2011), which analyzed writing processes (planning time, execution time, revision time), fluency, and accuracy of Spanish heritage language (SHL) learners when composing in English and in Spanish. By analyzing Sp...

This study presents data about the types of revisions and amount of time spent revising paragraph-length comparison essays in English and Spanish for 12 Spanish-as-a-heritage-language learners who were enrolled in a third-year Spanish course. Although most participants made revisions to both surface features and meaning in both languages, students...

This study examined the combined and unique contributions of home, teacher, and peer English exposure levels on Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ (N = 107) English receptive and expressive vocabulary skills. The combined levels of English exposure during the fall of preschool were positively associated with children's English receptive and expressive...

Previous research indicates that heritage language (HL) learners of Spanish tend to produce the subjunctive more than FL learners (e.g., Fairclough, 2005; Potowski, 2007). However, these studies have focused mainly on written production, and research on oral production has yielded contradictory findings (Fairclough, 2005; Lynch, 2008; Martínez Mira...

This study brings together previous research on writing processes and Spanish heritage language (SHL) learners to obtain a clearer picture of these learners' writing behaviors in English and Spanish. Following a cognitive-oriented framework, the study explores planning time, execution time, monitoring time, accuracy, and fluency. Twelve SHL learner...

The present study investigates heritage learners' recognition of native-like and non- native-like mood selection in Spanish volitional constructions along two dimensions: age of onset of bilingualism in English (operationalized as age of arrival) and language use. Thirty-two heritage learners completed a grammaticality judgment (GJ) and an editing...

The Spanish subjunctive has been known to pose difficulties for learners of Spanish whose native language is English (e.g., Collentine, 1997, 2003; Terrell, Baycroft, & Perrone, 1987). Investigating the same feature in heritage learners of Spanish can provide more information about the linguistic development of this growing population. This pilot s...

This study examines the motivations, attitudes, and goals of a Spanish for native speakers (SNS) class at a large Midwestern university over a semestel; using questionnaires, student interviews, classroom observation, and instructor interviews as data sources. It presents results from four students who participated in the data collection, but focus...

The Spanish subjunctive has been the focus of much SLA research, largely because it poses difficulties for learners of Spanish whose L1 is English (e.g., Collentine, 1993; Stokes & Krashen, 1990; Terrell et al., 1987). Investigating the same feature in heritage learners of Spanish can provide more information about their linguistic development and...