Dr. Lilly Wong Fillmore
Professor of Education
Language and Literacy, Society and
Culture
University of Southern California at
Berkeley
Areas of Specialty
Processes by
which children
acquire English as
a Second
Language in public
schools
Language learning
of minority children
in American
Schools
Educational / Professional Highlights
1972: Began studies of how children
acquire English as a Second
Language.
1974: Joined the faculty of University
of California at Berkeley where she
has been for almost thirty years.
1976: Ph.D. in Linguistics from
Stanford University
Research
Longitudinal study for the past 25 years on
how children acquire a second language
over time
Affects of instructional practices and
classroom structure on language learning
Academic progress of LEP children in
English only and bilingual programs
Asian and Latino children in elementary
school programs in California
Recent Study
Language resources of Alaskan
Native Children along Yukon River
See Article:
“Lilly Wong Fillmore Breaks New Ground”
Teaching Specializations
Second Language Learning and
Teaching
Education of Language Minority
Student
Socialization of Children for Learning
Across Cultures
Lilly Wong Fillmore speaks on:
What Teachers Need to Know about
Language
School Reforms and English
Language Learning: New Challenges
for Bilingual Education
Bilingual Education Research
Articles by Wong Fillmore
1.“Social Interaction, Social Context, and
Language: essays in honor of Susan ErvinTripp” (1996)
2.“Learning a language from learners”
(1992)
3. “When learning a second language means
losing the first” (1991)
4. “Second language learning in children: A
model of language learning in social context”
(1991)
More articles…
5. “Language learning in social context: the
view from research in second language
learning” (1989)
6. “Individual differences in second language
acquisition” (1979)
7. “Loss of languages: Should educators be
concerned?” (2000)
8. “Language and cultural issues in the early
education of language minority children”
(1992)
9. “When does teacher-talk work as input”
(1985)
Current Studies and Interests
Academic language demands of high
stakes tests and the instructional
support needed by English language
learners and speakers of English
dialects
Revitalization of indigenous
languages in the Southwest
Awards and Distinctions
The Jerome A. Hutto Professor of
Education at University of California in
Berkeley
Recipient of an award from the Spanish
Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports in
recognition of her work promoting the
learning and use of Spanish by Spanish
speaking children in the United States