(1985). Food for a Healthy Mom and Baby. Nutrition. How to Have a Healthy Pregnancy. This package consists of two sets of bilingual instructional materials for use in helping Indochinese refugees learn prenatal care and nutrition skills. Included in the package are Vietnamese, Laotian, and English translations of an instructional booklet dealing with how to have a healthy pregnancy. The second item in the package is a set of English and Cambodian handouts explaining nutritional requirements during pregnancy. (MN)…
(1983). Ethnicity, Law and the Social Good. Volume II. Ethnicity and Public Policy Series. This volume examines the relationship between ethnicity and the law, looking at the two, first in principle and then as they relate to education, employment, and neighborhoods. Philosophically, the papers included in the book represent 4 different perspectives: (1) that the law should recognize only individual rights and that membership in an ethnic or racial group is a purely private matter; (2) that the law should grant compensatory recognition of ethnic identity; (3) that ethnicity is of inherent value and that public policy should support ethnic diversity because it contributes to the social good; and (4) that ethnicity is a social problem because complex economic and political forces acknowledge and perpetrate ethnic and racial divisions and also often negatively influence these groups. Authors of articles that represent the various perspectives include Peter J. Kellogg, Raoul Berger, Robert M. O'Neil, Nathan Glazer, Richard Ruiz, Cyrena N. Pondrom, Manning Marable, and Richard…
(1986). Developing an ESL Curriculum for a Special Population. In designing a curriculum to assist children in learning English as a second language (ESL), a thorough understanding of the differences between the first and second languages is essential. With such an understanding, problems and concepts that may cause language interference and learning difficulties can be identified and an appropriate curriculum that will best meet the needs of bilingual children can be designed. The recent low achievement of the children of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is due in part to lack of English language skills for academic or personal communication. An ESL curriculum has been developed to enhance the children's English language competence while encouraging retention of the Choctaw language and Choctaw cultural traditions. A formal evaluation was performed through the administration of the Language Assessment Scales (LAS) to 50 kindergarten through third-grade students twice a year over a three-year period. Through item analysis of the results,… [PDF]
(1981). The State of Hmong Resettlement and Possible Approaches to Solve Some of Its Problems. This paper describes the Hmong refugees in the United States, the state of their resettlement, and possible approaches to resettlement problems. Included are descriptions of the Hmong background and culture; orientation programs in refugee camps; processes and specific problems of Hmong resettlement; Hmong organizations; Hmong adjustment to culture and language through participation in language programs; and a discussion of potential economic adjustment through training, employment, and engagement in cottage industries. Among the Hmong refugee problems identified are the phenomenon of geographical concentration through secondary migration within the United States; Hmong dissatisfaction due to perceived differences in sponsorship aid to different families; insecurity brought about by adjustment problems and differences in the pace of adjustment among different groups; family conflicts arising from the new environment; and older Hmongs' reluctance to work. Recommendations for easing…
(1982). Report on Three Years' Experimental Work Using Modified Time-Schedules for Native-Language Tuition at the Junior and Intermediate Levels of the Basic Compulsory School, and Recommendations for Measures to be Taken. Experimental programs using modified schedules for native-language instruction of immigrant children in Swedish compulsory junior and intermediate schools are described and evaluated in this report. Following background information on school and immigrant statistics, regulations concerning grants, and a list of interim related reports, the report presents the findings on a number of aspects of the research. These include the offerings and organization of local programs, resource administration and allocation, financial considerations, the two organizational program models used, native-language instruction and bilingualism, objectives, enrollment, teachers and teaching materials, Swedish as a second language, teaching English, and dealing with social isolation. It is concluded that both organizational models further student development, that local districts should be allowed more flexibility to deal with their own particular needs, that parents should be provided with more…
(1976). Leyendas. (Legends.) In English and Spanish with Questions, Vocabulary and Patterns. The guide includes the English and Spanish versions of five legends. Ten to twelve questions in Spanish follow each legend. A list of Spanish words taken from each legend is given, along with their English counterparts. Patterns of drawings of the main characters or objects of each legend are also included. The legends are \Pajaro Cu\ which is about an ugly bird who became beautiful and then was too proud to join the other birds; \La Luna\ (The Moon) which is about the moon and why it only appears full part of the time; \La Culebra\ (The Snake) which tells how often \kindness is returned with unkindness\; \El Gallo\ (The Rooster) which tells how the Indians got the rooster; and \Mexticla\ which tells how Mexico got its name from the Aztec god, Mexticla. (NQ)…
(1977). English Reading for Asian Students. This paper discusses the importance of bilingual-bicultural programs–which provide instruction in the student's native language and culture and in the American language and culture–in helping Asian-American students to succeed in the dominant culture. Teachers in such programs need to be sensitive to students' home environment, educational background, cultural values and priorities, and linguistic development. The paper discusses factors in the home environment which may affect students' ability to speak and read English; provides a brief description of values, cognitive styles, and learning modalities which are common to many Asian groups; and outlines some linguistic variables in the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese languages. Final sections of the paper deal with difficulties which English phonology poses for Asian students, effective ways of helping Asian students to reconstruct English syntax, and the importance of assisting Asian students in interpreting what they… [PDF]
(1977). Chinese Immigrant Children. Preliminary Report. Monograph No. 5. This is a comparative study of Chinese elementary school children who are recent immigrants to the United States. The purpose of the study is to investigate the adjustment process of these children in the school, in the home, and in the community. The findings are based primarily upon first hand observations, interviews, and the researchers' knowledge about the community. Contrasts are drawn between the life style of Chinese families in Chinatown and those living in Elmhurst, Queens. The financial hardship of the immigration experience is described as being particularly severe for the Chinatown residents. Family problems of Chinese Americans are also described. The issue of language problems and bilingualism in the schools is addressed. Anecdotal information is provided concerning the experiences of immigrant Chinese children in Queens and Chinatown elementary schools. Detailed experiences, based on interviews with Chinese family members, are used to illustrate specific problem…
(1980). Curriculum Guide, English as a Second Language, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve. This curriculum guide provides a detailed description of the program in English as a second language (ESL) in the Newark Public Schools. After an introduction that describes the audiolingual method of teaching foreign languages and that defines briefly the cognitive approach to language instruction and the "silent way," the guide presents the material in seven parts. Parts two and three deal with the philosophy and goals of ESL in Newark. The greatest part of the guide is devoted to: (1) teaching methods and techniques; (2) development of levels and objectives for listening and speaking, reading, writing, and culture; (3) and appendices which provide a large number of class activities and devices. The emphasis is on making the techniques and activities usable by teachers. Each activity is clearly described with regard to procedure and necessary materials; numerous examples of class exercises are provided. Evaluation forms for use by teachers and a bibliography complete the…
(1981). The Relation of Topic/Situation Sensitivity to the Study of Language Proficiency. This paper reports on a study comparing oral English proficiency as conventionally measured by instruments currently used in many school districts throughout the United States, with Spanish language abilities of individuals with Spanish language background. Oral language proficiency is defined as the results of a quantitative measure applied to a speech sample, while language abilities are defined as what a speaker can actually do with the language. The first section of the paper deals with theoretical and practical concerns in language proficiency assessment (LPA), with emphasis on the content of language proficiency and the effect of situational context on language. The focus of the study reported in the second part of the papers is how language proficiency measures currently used to classify speakers relate to those speakers' language abilities. For this purpose, fifth and sixth graders of Hispanic background, generally from bilingual classrooms, were chosen as subjects of the…
(1980). A Comparison of English and Spanish Syntactic Language Development in Young Spanish Speaking Mexican-Americans in Maintenance Bilingual-Bicultural and Pull-Out ESL Programs. A study is reported whose purpose was to investigate if a relationship existed between Spanish and English language development in young Spanish speaking Mexican-Americans. One half of the children involved in the study were in maintenance bilingual-bicultural programs. The other half were in pull-out ESL programs. Using the descriptive survey design, data were collected from 100 first grade children attending four elementary schools in West Los Angeles County which operated both maintenance bilingual-bicultural and pull-out ESL programs. The Bilingual Syntax Measure English and Spanish tests were administered to the students on a pre- and post-test basis to measure English and Spanish dominance and language development. The Home Survey Questionnaire was developed to obtain demographic information and to determine if all students were from homes where Spanish was the main language. The major conclusions were as follows: (1) Learning two languages simultaneously as in a maintenance…
(1981). The Development of Bilingual and Bicultural Competence in Young Children. Young children's natural processes of language acquisition, the ways they learn a second language, and guides for teaching children a second language are discussed. Topics addressed include social influences on language acquisition, code-switching in bilingual communities, and the relationship of enculturation and acculturation to the development of bicultural competence. In addition, children's development of metalinguistic awareness in their second year, the influence of first language acquisition on second language acquisition for children 2 years of age or older, vocabulary acquisition, peer influence on language learning, and children's language use in the context of social interaction are explored. Four hypotheses that have been proposed to account for observed differences in children's ability to become bilingual in educational contexts are reviewed. Concluding sections of the paper offer three basic principles which underlie the teaching of a second language to young… [PDF]
(1977). Suva Una? (What Is It Doing?). This primary level reader is part of a series of materials developed for beginning reading instruction in Barrow Inupiaq. Each page consists of a drawing and brief text. It is a revision of an earlier version of the same title. (AMH)…
(1980). Curriculum Decision-Making: The Puerto Rican Family and the Bilingual Child. A three stage study was conducted in order to select and test procedures for involving Puerto Rican parents in decision making for elementary school bilingual curricula. The first stage of the study focused on literature reviews that investigated the influence of the family on achievement and intelligence, cultural characteristics of Puerto Rican parents that should be considered by schools when developing relationships with the Puerto Rican community, and the past involvement of Puerto Rican parents in school decision making. During the second phase, selected procedures for obtaining information from Puerto Rican parents about their perceptions of schools' responsiveness to the needs of Puerto Rican children and about the specific needs of particular children were developed. One of the identified procedures was field tested during the third stage. Recommendations for future research and policy formation are included. (MK)… [PDF]
(1979). John Jay High School Bilingual Program ESEA Title VII. Final Evaluation Report, 1978-1979. The John Jay High School Bilingual Program served 206 New York City Spanish, French, and Italian dominant students and 98 English dominant students in grades 9-12. Non English dominant students received instruction ln English as a Second Language or remedial English. English dominant students participated in the program through Hispanic Art classes. Emphasis in the bilingual program was placed on mainstreaming students to prepare them for full integration with their English dominant peers. Supportive services, home visits, parental involvement activities, and community relations programs formed additional program components. Criterion referenced tests were used to evaluate the effects of the program on student achievement. Evaluative findings indicated that (1) students mastered an average of .6 instructional objectives per month in the area of English as a Second Language, (2) Hispanic students showed significant gains in Spanish reading achievement, and (3) 40-71% of ninth, tenth,… [PDF]