(1995). Figures of Speech, Symbolism and the Communicative Process in the Multilingual Classrooms. The increasing linguistic and cultural diversity of U.S. public schools requires teachers to be more sensitive to how symbols and figures of speech are used to maintain an effective cross-cultural communication. The purpose of this paper is to address and discuss the role of sociocultural factors that shape the insights and perspectives of diverse students in the process of interacting with others. Diverse students come to the classroom with a limited view of the use of English figures of speech and language symbols; they also employ culturally-bound symbols and figures of speech that cause miscommunication in the target language. Teachers need to foster a classroom environment where these symbolic differences are taken into consideration. They also need to create conditions that promote effective use of symbols and figures of speech. These conditions involve valuing linguistic and cultural diversity, contextualizing learning tasks and activities, and utilizing language functions to… [PDF]
(1995). The Search for Success: Effective Programs for Limited English Proficient Students in Fifteen California Secondary Schools. This report examines several aspects of secondary education programs for students of limited English proficiency (LEP) in 15 California schools and identifies educational practices and policies that are successfully meeting the needs of LEP students in these schools. Most sites used a similar program design, with one or two periods daily of English language development, content classes taught through the primary language for beginning English learners, sheltered instruction for intermediate students, and elective courses through the mainstream program. The range of access to curriculum and teacher expertise differed among these schools. Overall findings indicate that schools in many different types of communities are able to implement and sustain good quality LEP programs, in spite of differing access to the full curriculum. Access to all courses and programs was a problem to some degree for every school, but those that offered the fullest access found ways to train adequate numbers…
(1992). Redescubriendo America. Guia Pedagogica: Des-Cubriendo la Historia y Legado de la Conquista (Rediscovering America. Teaching Guide: Uncovering the History and Legacy of the Conquest). This document makes the argument that since the European conquest of the Western Hemisphere, society has had a policy of "covering" the history of the indigenous people. The systems of religion, farming, government, education, and the economy of native peoples from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego were outlawed and repressed. Textbooks today either distort or have nothing to say about the history of indigenous resistance to conquest and African resistance to slavery. Covering goes beyond the lines of race and ethnicity to all subordinate groups. The world is in desperate need of rethinking. In this process children may begin to lose Columbus and other explorers and leaders as heroes. In exchange they may gain a much richer sense of their own history. Divided into five chronological, thematic sections, the book, through essays, poems, and stories: (1) seeks to encourage a comparative study of political and economic systems of Europe and pre-conquest America; (2) describes how…
(1991). Reading and Language Arts Curricula in Elementary and Secondary Education for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Native students rank far below norms in reading, language arts, and language arts related subjects. This paper reviews the literature to address strategic plans for reading and language arts curricula for Native students. An overview is presented of theories of first and second language acquisition and learning, stages of language development, and the influence of the learning environment. Second language instruction framed in current theory includes the comprehension, communicative, holistic or integrated, and natural approaches. Instruction and student evaluation are described for the total physical response method. Content-based instructional approaches and the relationship between academic competency and second language (English) competency are discussed, including: the academic needs of Native students; the importance of the nature of the text, the nature of the reader, and the interaction between text and reader in reading instruction for Native students; major impediments… [PDF]
(1990). Use of ASL To Teach Reading and Writing to Deaf Students: An Interactive Theoretical Perspective. This paper discusses the use of American Sign Language (ASL) in an English-as-a-Second-Language approach to teaching reading and writing skills to deaf students. The paper poses and answers the following theoretical and practical questions: (1) What is the nature of first language reading? (2) What is the nature of second language reading? (3) What is the relationship between reading and writing? (4) Is inner speech (i.e., phonological coding) important for reading comprehension? (5) What role can ASL play in the teaching of literacy skills? (6) Is the use of only ASL sufficient for the development of reading and writing? Three models of the reading process, namely, the text-based, reader-based, and interactive approaches, are described. Interactive social-cognitive theories are then applied to second language reading. The interrelatedness of reading and writing is noted, and evidence of the importance of speech coding for reading comprehension is cited. The paper recommends that… [PDF]
(1982). Pupils. This chapter focuses on 1981 cases involving students. The author notes that litigation involving pupils occurred with greater frequency in the areas of handicapped students, student testing, and church-state separation. The most important cases involving students concerned circuit courts of appeal decisions in the handicapped and testing areas. Fewer cases addressed issues concerning student transportation and discipline. Desegregation litigation continued. Cases in this chapter are organized under the headings of handicapped and exceptional children, public school assignment, tuition and transportation, bilingual-bicultural programs, private and parochial schools, school sports, substantive rights of students, sanctions for student misconduct, testing and placement, and desegregation. (Author/MLF)…
(1974). Hupa Language: Literature and Culture. Third Edition. One in a series of materials developed to revive the Hupa language and renew knowledge of Hupa culture, this lexicon includes vocabulary, phrases, and stories in Hupa and English. The major portion of the document is an English-Hupa lexicon of basic vocabulary listed alphabetically by the English words. In addition to the Hupa and English terms, notes in English offer further explanation such as the information that angelica root is used for medicine in ceremonial dances and that the literal translation of the Hupa word for blue jay would be "up jumps limb to limb." Following the basic lexicon are seven lists of terms specific to Hupa culture in the categories of geography (ceremonial sites, villages, town and place names), number system, money system, calendar, baskets and tools, flora, and wildlife (birds, marine life, land animals). Following the vocabulary lists are six pages of frequently used expressions and phrases. The documents is completed by five stories in Hupa…
(1983). Karuk Vocabulary. A vocabulary list provides commonly-used words in the language of the Karuk Indians of northwestern California. Illustrations, handlettered Karuk terms, and English equivalents comprise entries for each of the 156 terms; space is also provided to practice writing each Karuk word. Topics covered include numbers, parts of the body, animals and birds, clothing, food, family members, utensils and baskets, leaves, etc. (LFL)…
(1985). The Guyanas = Las Guayanas. America = Las Americas [Series]. Written for teachers to use with migrant children in elementary grades and to highlight the many Americas, this bilingual English/Spanish social studies resource booklet provides historical and cultural background information on the Guyanas–French Guyana, Surinam, and Guyana. A table of contents indicates the language–Spanish or English–in which the topics are written. The quarterly provides an encyclopedia-style overview of the history, geography, government, economy, culture, and society of each of the three Guyanas. The chapter on Surinam pays special attention to that country's successful multi-ethnic society and describes the history and culture of the Hindus, Bush Negroes, Amerindians, and Creoles who live there. Consisting mainly of narrative text, the booklet includes maps, illustrations, word searches, vocabulary games, and other activities in English and Spanish. (LFL)…
(1987). Peru. America = Las Americas [Series]. Intended for elementary teachers to use with migrant students, this bilingual English/Spanish social studies resource booklet provides an encyclopedia-style overview of Peru's history, geography, economy, and culture. Topics included are the people, geographic regions, festivals and celebrations, the economy, natural resources, Lake Titicaca, early civilizations, the Spanish conquest, colonial government, the independent republic, Incas, music and dance, and important cities (Lima, Ayacucho, Cuzco). Biographical sketches introduce Javier Perez de Cuellar, Alan Garcia Perez, Ricardo Palma, and Dona Juana Azurduy de Padilla. Consisting mainly of narrative text, the booklet includes maps, illustrations, fact sheets, word searches and other activity pages, the national anthem, and a 31-item bibliography. (NEC)…
(1983). Navajo Changes–A History of the Navajo People = Dinetahgi Lahgo Ahoodzaa–Dine Bahane. Fifth-Eighth Grade Navajo Bilingual Bicultural Social Studies Curriculum. The Navajo bilingual-bicultural social studies curriculum for grades 5-8 contains six chapters of Navajo history. The chapters trace Navajo history beginning with legends of the first Navajos and life in Dinetah and continuing through early contact with the Spaniards, conflict and defeat at the hands of the United States government, and the establishment of the reservation, to the changes taking place today. The bilingual chapters are presented with the Navajo text above and the English below, and are illustrated with black and white maps, drawings, and photographs. Following each chapter is a Navajo-English vocabulary list. (SB)…
(1985). Grover Cleveland High School Project CAUSA 1983-1984. O.E.A. Evaluation Report. This document evaluates Project CAUSA (Career Advancement Utilizing Student Abilities), which provides instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), native language development, and content-area courses, in addition to a career and vocational training program, to 115 students of limited English proficiency (LEP) from Italy and Spanish speaking countries at a high school in Ridgewood, Queens, New York. The project was designed to help recently arrived immigrants in these two language groups in the acculturation process, to provide them with basic skills, and to enhance their appreciation of their native cultures and languages. Program objectives were assessed in English language development, business skills, mastery of the native language, mathematics, science, social studies, and attendance. Student data indicates that : (1) overall, students achieved program objectives for English language achievement; (2) students' overall passing rates in business skills courses were 99% in…
(1984). America – Las Americas. Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. These publications were written for teachers to use with migrant children in elementary grades to highlight individual differences between the countries that make up the Americas by providing historical, geographical, and cultural information about them on a quarterly basis. The three issues presented here focus on nations of Central America with attention also to aspects of Black history. The table of contents in each issue indicates language–Spanish and/or English–in which articles are written. Each issue focuses on two or three Central American nations providing historic, geographic, economic, and cultural overviews for each. The Guatemala and Belize issue features interviews with two Guatemalan students and biographies of Pedro de Alvarado and General Justo Rufino Barrios. The El Salvador and Honduras issues include banana and plantain recipes, native songs, and the accomplishments of some Black pioneers in medicine. Features in the Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama issue include…
(1981). ACABA: An Alternative for Underachieving Chicano Youth. Project ACABA attempts to provide choices and alternatives for the students. Through its techniques and processes, students are provided instruments to search for their own identities, learn the skills necessary to rebuild damaged self-concepts, and to allow them the freedom to make their own choices, thereby allowing them to experience competence and improved self-worth. Confluent teaching seeks to integrate the cognitive and affective domains. The study described here was undertaken in Santa Barbara Junior High School (California) to determine if ACABA students would achieve more positive gains than those students who participate in the regular educational program. Two groups of 25 students in the project met daily for one class period for the total year, approximately 40 weeks. As much as possible, classroom learning activities were correlated with the objectives of ACABA. A concerted effort was made to draw learning experiences from the daily living needs of students, to develop…
(1978). Evaluation of Title I ESEA Projects, 1977-1978. Abstracts: Report #7876. Evaluation of 33 Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I projects, together with 14 summer components, in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania school system are summarized. After the summary, each of the projects are described separately. The project reports include identification and descriptive data followed by comments on observed activities, attainment of objectives, and impact. The summer component reports provide comments on goals set, activities employed to attain the goals, goals attained, goals not attained, and changes suggested by project administrators. The six project categories are: (1) comprehensive reading; (2) comprehensive mathematics; (3) programs for limited English-speaking-ability pupils; (4) social sciences; (5) supportive services; and (6) nonpublic school projects. (Author/CTM)…