Jeff MacSwan

Research Interests

Bilingualism, language minority education, codeswitching.

Bio

Jeff MacSwan is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education at the University of Maryland. He is also Professor of Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, and Professor of Linguistics by courtesy. MacSwan’s research program focuses on the linguistic study of bilingualism and codeswitching (or language alternation), and their implications for theories about the role of language in educational settings for multilingual students. He is the editor of the International Multilingual Research Journal, and serves on several editorial boards. Examples of his published work appear in American Educational Research Journal, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, Lingua, Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Teachers College Record, and in edited collections, handbooks and anthologies. MacSwan recently served on the Committee on Fostering the Development and Educational Success of Dual Language Learners of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association and of the National Education Policy Center.

Fellowships

National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, $50,000, AYs 2003-2005. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan. Project title: “Understanding Language in Language Minority Education: Toward a Theory of Language in Contact.”

Honors & Awards

Awards and Distinctions

Fellow, American Educational Research Association (AERA), 2015 inductee.
Fellow, National Education Policy Center (CEPC), University of Colorado, Boulder, 2007 inductee.
Visiting Researcher, University of Bangor, Wales, Bilingualism Centre, June, 2009.
Visiting Scholar, University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute (UCLMRI), UC Santa Barbara. Summer and fall, 2006.
Gastwissenschaftler (Visiting Professor), Universität Hamburg, Centre for the Study of Multilingualism. Winter, 2004.
Fellow, National Academy of Education/Spencer, 2003-05.
Mentor Appreciation Award, ASU Graduate College, 2002-2003.
Fellow, AERA/Spencer Predoctoral Program, 1995-96.

Editorships

Editor, International Multilingual Research Journal, 2009-present.
Associate Editor, Bilingual Research Journal, 1998-1999.

Current Editorial Boards

Editorial Board member, Glossa, 2015-present.
Editorial Board member, Brill Research Perspectives in Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition, 2016-present.
Editorial Board member, International Journal of Bilingualism, 2012-present.
Editorial Board member, Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 2011-present.

Other Boards

Editorial Board member, National Education Policy Center Review Board, 2005-present.
Editorial Board member, Center for Applied Linguistics-Routledge book series Language Education Tensions in Global and Local Contexts, 2015-present.
Board member, Institute for Language Education and Policy (ILEP), 2006-2016.
Advisory Board member, Lanuage Policy Research Network (LPREN), Center for Applied Linguistics, 2011-present.
Advisory Board member, Bilingualism Research Laboratory, University of Illinois-Chicago, 2008-present.
Board member, Phoenix Rising Free School, 2006-2011.
Advisory Board member, Language Policy Research Unit, ASU, 2002-2010.

Prior Board Membership

Editorial Board member, Lingua, 2013-2015.
Editorial Board member, International Journal of Language Studies, 2011-2015.
Editorial Board member, Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 2000-2012.
Editorial Board member, Reading Research Quarterly, 2007-2012.
Editorial Board member, International Multilingual Research Journal, 2006-2011.
Editorial Board member, Current Issues in Education, 1999-2010.
Editorial Board member, Bilingual Research Journal, 2002-2006.

Publications

Recent Books

MacSwan, J. & C. Faltis (eds.). (2020). Codeswitching in the Classroom: Critical Perspectives on Teaching and Learning, Policy and Ideology. Language Education Tensions in Global and Local Contexts series. New York: Routledge.

MacSwan, J. (ed.) (2014). Grammatical Theory and Bilingual Codeswitching. Language and Linguistics series. Cambridge: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-02789-2. Viii+326 pages.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. DOI: 10.17226/24677. Authors (alphabetically listed): Alfredo Artiles; Diane August; Xavier Botana; Bobbi Ciriza Houtchens; Dylan Conger; Richard Durán; Linda Espinosa; Eugene Garcia; Fred Genesee; Kenji Hakuta; Arturo Hernandez; Jeff MacSwan; Harriett Romo; Maria Sera; Ruby Takanishi; Catherine Tamis-LeMonda; Kevin Thomas; Claudio Toppelberg; Lily Wong Fillmore.

Refereed Articles

MacSwan, J. (2018). Academic language as standard language ideology: A renewed research agenda for asset-based language education. Language Teaching Research. DOI: 10.1177/1362168818777540

MacSwan, J., Thompson, M., Rolstad, K., McAlister, K., & Lobo, G. (2017). Three theories of the effects of language education programs: An empirical evaluation of bilingual and English-only policies. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 37, 218-240. DOI: 10.1017/S0267190517000137

MacSwan, J. (2017). A multilingual perspective on translanguaging. American Educational Research Journal, 54(1), 167–201. DOI: 10.3102/0002831216683935

MacSwan, J. (2016). Codeswitching and the timing of lexical insertion. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 6(6), 786-791.

Rolstad, K., MacSwan, J., & Guzman, N. (2015). Bilingual learners and the purposes of language assessment. Miríada Hispánica, 10, 207-224.

Rolstad, K., & MacSwan, J. (2014). The facilitation effect and language thresholds. Frontiers in Psychology, 5. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01197

Rolstad, K., MacSwan, J., & Mahoney, K. (2012). The ineffectiveness of English immersion in Arizona. International Journal of Language Studies, 6(2), 137-150. Reprinted as Rolstad, K., MacSwan, J., & Mahoney, K. (2014). The ineffectiveness of English immersion in Arizona. In G. McField (ed.) The Miseducation of English Learners. Carlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

MacSwan, J. & McAlister, K. (2010). Naturalistic and elicited data in grammatical studies of codeswitching, pp. 521-532. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics.

MacSwan, J. & Mahoney, K. (2008). Academic bias in language testing: A construct validity critique of the IPT I Oral Grades K-6 Spanish Second Edition. Journal of Educational Research and Policy Studies, 8(2), 85-100.

van Gelderen, E. & MacSwan, J. (2008). Interface conditions and codeswitching: Pronouns, lexical DPs, and checking theory. Lingua, 118(6), 765-776.

MacSwan, J., & Rolstad, K. (2006). How language tests mislead us about children’s abilities: Implications for special education placements. Teachers College Record, 108(11), 2304–2328.

MacSwan, J. (2005). Précis of a Minimalist Approach to Intrasentential Code Switching. Italian Journal of Linguistics, 17(1), 55-92.

MacSwan, J., & Pray, L. (2005). Learning English bilingually: Age of onset of exposure and rate of acquisition of English among children in a bilingual education program. Bilingual Research Journal, 29(3), 687-712.

MacSwan, J. (2005). Codeswitching and generative grammar: A critique of the MLF model and some remarks on “modified minimalism.” Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 8(1), 1-22.

MacSwan, J. (2005). Comments on Jake, Myers-Scotton and Gross’s response: There is no ‘matrix language.’ Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 8(2), 277-284.

MacSwan, J. & Rolstad, K. (2005). Modularity and the facilitation effect: Psychological mechanisms of transfer in bilingual students. Hispanic Journal of the Behavorial Sciences, 27(2), 224-243.

Mahoney, K. S., & MacSwan, J. (2005). Re-examining identification and reclassification of English Language Learners: A critical discussion of select state practices. Bilingual Research Journal, 29(1), 31-42.

Curtiss, S., MacSwan, J., Schaeffer, J., Kural, M., & Sano, T. (2004). GCS: A grammatical coding system for natural language data. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 34(3), 459-480.

Valadez, C., MacSwan, J., & Martínez, C. (2002). Toward a new view of low achieving bilinguals: A study of linguistic competence in designated “semilinguals.” Bilingual Review, 25(3), 238-248.

MacSwan, J., Rolstad, K., & Glass, G. V. (2002). Do some school-age children have no language? Some problems of construct validity in the Pre-LAS Español. Bilingual Research Journal, 26(2), 213-238.

Thompson, M. S., DiCerbo, K., Mahoney, K. S., & MacSwan, J. (2002). ¿Éxito en California? A validity critique of language program evaluations and analysis of English learner test scores. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 10(7), entire issue. Available at https://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/286

MacSwan, J. (2000). The Threshold Hypothesis, semilingualism, and other contributions to a deficit view of linguistic minorities. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 22(1), 3-45.

MacSwan, J. (2000). The architecture of the bilingual language faculty: Evidence from codeswitching. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 3(1), 37-54. Reprinted as: (1) MacSwan, J. (2009). The architecture of the bilingual language faculty: Evidence from codeswitching, pp. 97-129. In Li Wei (ed.), Bilingualism and Multilingualism: Critical Concepts in Linguistics, Vol. 1. Linguistic and Developmental Perspectives. Oxford/New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis. (2) MacSwan, J. (2002). Reka Bentuk Fakulti Bahasa Penutur Dwibahasa: Bukti daripada Pengalihan Kod Intraayat [The architecture of the bilingual language faculty: Evidence from codeswitching]. Jurnal Bahasa, 2(1), 1-24.

Rolstad, K., MacSwan, J., McLaren, P. (2000). Pädagogik und Sprache: Basil Bernsteins Werk und Wirkung. [Pedagogy and language: Basil Bernstein’s work and impact]. Sozialwissenschaftliche Literatur Rundschau, 1, 5-11.

MacSwan, J. (1999). The argument status of NPs in Southeast Puebla Nahuatl: Comments on the Polysynthesis Parameter. Southwest Journal of Linguistics, 17(2), 101-114.

Handbook Chapters

MacSwan, J. (2016). Codeswitching in adulthood, pp. 183-200. In E. Nicoladis & S. Montanari (eds.). Lifespan Perspectives on Bilingualism. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association & Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

MacSwan, J. (2013). Code switching and linguistic theory, pp. 223–350. In T. K. Bhatia & W. Ritchie (eds.), Handbook of Bilingualism and Multilingualism, 2^nd edition. Oxford: Blackwell. (Substantial revision of MacSwan [2004] for Handbook of Bilingaulism, 1^st edition.)

Rolstad, K., & MacSwan, J. (2009). Bilingualism and education. In E. G. Murillo, Jr. (ed.), Handbook of Latinos and Education: Theory, Research and Practice. New Jersey: John Benjamins.

MacSwan, J. (2009). Generative approaches to codeswitching, pp. 309-335. In A. J. Toribio & B. E. Bullock (eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Codeswitching. Cambridge University Press.

MacSwan, J. (2004). Code switching and linguistic theory, pp. 415–462. In T. K. Bhatia & W. Ritchie (eds.), Handbook of Bilingualism. Oxford: Blackwell.

Book Chapters

MacSwan, J. (2020). Theoretical foundations of codeswitching research. In J. MacSwan & C. Faltis (eds.), Codeswitching in the Classroom: Critical Perspectives on Teaching and Learning, Policy and Ideology. New York: Routledge.

MacSwan, J., McAlister, K., Guzman, N., & Marcus, M. (2020). Effects of home codeswitching practices on bilingual language acquisition. In J. MacSwan & C. Faltis (eds.), Codeswitching in the Classroom: Critical Perspectives on Teaching and Learning, Policy and Ideology. New York: Routledge.

MacSwan, J. (2014). Programs and proposals in codeswitching research: Unconstraining theories of bilingual language mixing, pp. 1-33. In J. MacSwan (ed.), Grammatical Theory and Bilingual Codeswitching. Cambridge: MIT Press.

MacSwan, J. & Colina, S. (2014). Some consequences of language design: Codeswitching at the PF interface, pp. 185-210. In J. MacSwan (ed.), Grammatical Theory and Bilingual Codeswitching. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Stabler, E. P., Jr., & MacSwan, J. (2014). A minimalist parsing model for codeswitching, pp. 257-282. In J. MacSwan (ed.), Grammatical Theory and Bilingual Codeswitching. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Rolstad, K., MacSwan, J., & Mahoney, K. (2014). The ineffectiveness of English immersion in Arizona. In G. McField (ed.), The Miseducation of English Learners. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. (Same as Rolstad, MacSwan & Mahoney, 2012, in Articles.)

Krashen, S., Rolstad, K. & MacSwan, J. (2012). Review of “Research summary and bibliography for Structured English Immersion programs” of the Arizona English Language Learners Task Force, pp. 107-119. In C. Faltis & B. Arias (eds.), English Learners in Arizona. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. (Substantially the same as Krashen, Rolstad, and MacSwan, 2007, in Reports.)

MacSwan, J. (2011). Plenary address: Unconstraining codeswitching theories. Proceedings from the Annual Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society 44. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

MacSwan, J., & Rolstad, K. (2010). The role of language in theories of academic failure for linguistic minorities, pp. 173-195. In J. Petrovic (ed.) International Perspectives on Bilingual Education: Policy, Practice, and Controversy. Carlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Mahoney, K., MacSwan, J., Haladyna, T., & Garcia, D. (2009). Castañeda’s third prong: The achievement of Arizona’s English Language Learners under Proposition 203, pp. 50-64. In P. Gándara & M. Hopkins (ed). Forbidden Languages. New York: Teachers College Press.

Valdés, G., MacSwan, J., & Alvarez, L. (2009). Deficits and differences: Perspectives on language and education. In Paper for the National Academy of Sciences Workshop on the Role of Language in School Learning: Implications for Closing the Achievement Gap. Menlo Park: National Academies Press.

Mahoney, K., Haladyna, T., & MacSwan, J. (2009). The need for multiple measures in reclassification decisions: A validity study of the Stanford English Language Proficiency Test (SELP). In J. S. Lee, T. G. Wiley, & R. Rumberger (eds.), The Education of Language Minority Immigrants in the USA. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Cantone, K. F., & MacSwan, J. (2009). The syntax of DP-internal codeswitching, pp. 243-278. In L. Isurin, D. Winford, & K. de Bot (eds.) Multidisciplinary Approaches to Codeswitching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing.

MacSwan, J. (2008). Stephen Krashen, pp. 413-414. In J. Gonzalez (ed.), Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishers.

MacSwan, J., & Rolstad, K. (2008). Semilingualism: Theory and critique, pp. 737-739. In J. Gonzalez (ed.), Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishers.

Rolstad, K., & MacSwan, J. (2008). BICS/CALP: Theory and critique, pp. 62-65. In J. Gonzalez (ed.), Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishers.

Mahoney, K., MacSwan, J., & Thompson, M. (2005). The condition of English Language Learners in Arizona: 2005, pp. 1-24. In D. Garcia & A. Molnar (Eds.), The Condition of PreK-12 Education in Arizona, 2005. Tempe, AZ: Education Policy Research Laboratory, Arizona State University.

MacSwan, J. (2005). The “non-non” crisis and academic bias in native language assessment of linguistic minorities, pp. 340-375. In Cohen, J., McAlister, K., Rolstad, K., & MacSwan, J. (Eds.) ISB4: Proceedings of the 4^th International Symposium on Bilingualism. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.

Mahoney, K., Thompson, M., & MacSwan, J. (2004). The condition of English Language Learners in Arizona, 2004, pp. 1-27. In A. Molnar (Ed.), The Condition of PreK-12 Education in Arizona, 2004. Tempe, AZ: Education Policy Research Laboratory, Arizona State University. Available at http://epsl.asu.edu/aepi/EPSL-0405-106-AEPI.pdf.

MacSwan, J., & Rolstad, K. (2003). Linguistic diversity, schooling, and social class: Rethinking our conception of language proficiency in language minority education, pp. 329-340. In C. B. Paulston & R. Tucker (Eds.), Sociolinguistics: The Essential Readings. Oxford: Blackwell.

MacSwan, J. (2002). Bilingualism, pp. 52-57. In B. J. Guzzetti (Ed.), Literacy in America: An encyclopedia of history, theory, and practice. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Publishers.

MacSwan, J. (2002). Language acquisition, pp. 273-276. In B. J. Guzzetti (Ed.), Literacy in America: An encyclopedia of history, theory, and practice. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Publishers.

Grinstead, J., MacSwan, J. Curtiss, S., & Gelman, R. (1998). The autonomy of number and grammar in development. In A. Greenhill, M. Hughes, H. Littlefield, & H. Walsh (Eds.), BUCLD 22: Proceedings of the 22^nd Boston University Conference on Language Development. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.

Grants & Projects

Research Grants

Field-Initiated Studies (FIS) Research Grant, Institute of Education Science, US Department of Education, $693,083, AY 2000-2005. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan. Project title: “Beyond Program Effectiveness Research: Explaining Achievement Differences among Limited English Proficient Students.”

OERI/AERA Dissertation Fellowship, Kate S. Mahoney, Student Applicant. $17,000, AY 2002-2003. Faculty sponsor/PI: Jeff MacSwan. Project title: “Linguistic Influences on Differential Item Functioning for English Learners on a Standardized Achievement Test.”

Small Grant, Spencer Foundation, $35,000, AY 1999-2000. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan. Project title: “The Non-Non Crisis: Do Some School-age Children Know No Language?”

Title VI National Resource Fellowship, $8,000, AY 1996-1997. Fellowship to conduct dissertation research on less commonly studied languages (Nahuatl).

AERA/Spencer Predoctoral Fellowship, $2,500, AY 1995-1996.

Internally Funded Research Grants

Field-Initiated Studies Research Stimulus Grant, Arizona State University College of Education, $30,000, AY 2003-2004. Principal Investigators: Douglas Clark, Eugene Garcia, Jeff MacSwan, Wilhelmina Savenye. Project title: “Technology Opening Diverse Opportunities for Science (TODOS).”

Institute for Advanced Study of Education Grant, Arizona State University College of Education, $48,000, AY 2003-2004. Project title: “Arizona Language Minority Education Research Institute.” Arizona State University faculty participants: Terrence G. Wiley, Josué González, Jeff MacSwan, Kellie Rolstad, Denis Viri, Carlos Ovando, Kay Hunnicutt; University of Arizona faculty participants: Teresa McCarty, Luis Moll, Richard Ruiz, Mary Eunice Romero, Mary Carol Combs; Northern Arizona University faculty participants: Mary McGroarty, Frances Riemer, Jon Rehyner, Norbert Francis, Jim Wilce. Principal Investigators: Terrence G. Wiley and Teresa McCarty.

Seed Grant, Office of the Vice Provost for Research, Arizona State University, $8,000, AY 2001-2002. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan. Project title: “The Limits of Native Language Attrition in Late Sequential Bilinguals.”

University Faculty Incentive Award, Office of the Vice Provost for Research, Arizona State University. $11,550, AY 2000 until expended. Associated with IES/ED grant, referenced above. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan.

Training Grants

Discipline-Based Scholarships in Education, Spencer Foundation, $500,000, AY 2002-2005. Jeff MacSwan, chair, Linguistics and Education section. Principal Investigators: Joseph Tobin, David Berliner, Gene Glass. Provides fellowship support for nine doctoral students each year in three areas (linguistics, psychology, sociology) which bring together education and traditional disciplinary research.

Instructional Improvement Grant, Arizona Board of Regents, ESL Teaching Methods Infusion in Mainstream Classrooms, $25,000, AY 2002-2003. Principal Investigators: Billie Enz, Kellie Rolstad, Jeff MacSwan. Provides funds for curriculum development for post-baccalaureate program in Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL/bilingual certification) for in-service K-12 teachers.

Professional/Scholarly Service Grants

Support for Scientific Meeting, National Science Foundation (Linguistics/Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences Division), $9,000. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan. Award 0236561. Support for the 4^th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB4), April 30-May 3, 2003.

Conference Grant (R13), National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders), $9,000. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan. Award HD43850-01. Support for the 4^th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB4), April 30-May 3, 2003.

Ford Foundation, $16,000. Support for travel grants for participants in 4^th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB4), April 30-May 3, 2003. Externally administered. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan.

Arizona School Boards Association, $5,000. Support for the 4^th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB4), April 30-May 3, 2003. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan.

California Association for Bilingual Education, $2,500. Support for the 4^th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB4), April 30-May 3, 2003. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan.

Multilingual Matters, $6,000. Support for the 4^th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB4), April 30-May 3, 2003. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan.

ASU Office of the Vice Provost for Research, $10,000. Support for the 4^th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB4), April 30-May 3, 2003. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan.

ASU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, $10,000. Support for the 4^th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB4), April 30-May 3, 2003. Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan.

Other ASU-internal organizations, $6,750. Support for the 4^th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB4), April 30-May 3, 2003.