(2003). English Learners: Reaching the Highest Level of English Literacy. This collection of papers examines the critical literacy development of English learners, focusing on English reading instruction in an immersion setting, English language development, and cultural issues pertaining to English learners in and out of the classroom. The 16 papers include the following: (1) \Reading and the Bilingual Student: Fact and Friction\ (Jim Cummins); (2) \Teaching English Learners to Read: Learning or Acquisition?\ (David Freeman and Yvonne Freeman); (3) \Three Roles for Reading for Minority-Language Children\ (Stephen Krashen); (4) \Orthographic Development and Learning to Read in Different Languages\ (Donald R. Bear, Shane Templeton, Lori A. Helman, and Tamara Baren); (5) \Scaffolding Reading Experiences for Multilingual Classrooms\ (Michael F. Graves and Jill Fitzgerald); (6) \Making Content Instruction Accessible for English Language Learners\ (Ana Hernandez); (7) \Communicative Approaches to Second-Language Acquisition: The Bridge to Second-Language…
(2000). Sibling Support for Bilingual Kindergartners' Developing Literacy. This article examines the literacy events of two Puerto Rican kindergartners and their interactions with siblings and cousins of similar age. This work is part of a broader study that analyzes and describes literacy events in bilingual classrooms, homes, and churches of Spanish-dominant Puerto Rican beginning readers. Using a qualitative approach, the study examined the children's interactions with print and with other people (teachers, pastors, parents, peers, siblings, extended family members). These events are analyzed for similarities and differences in the three settings. The main questions guiding this research are the following: Who are the teachers in the children's homes, churches, and classrooms? What do they believe about literacy and their role in the process? What literacy events do children participate in and what are the literacy practices of these events? What strategies for teaching and learning are co-constructed by the children and their teachers? In this study… [PDF]
(2000). On the Directionality and Maintenance of Language Policy in Revitalization Efforts. This paper examines efforts to save rapidly declining indigenous languages around the world. The entire process of language preservation and revitalization is a massive undertaking that requires immense long-term planning and support. These problems extend well beyond the linguistic concerns of the language itself. Language policy is inherently political in nature, pitting different linguistic (but also ethnic, religious, or cultural) groups against one another, any or all of whom may have reason to try to undermine any policy. This paper centers on these two distinct yet inter-related concerns in language revitalization efforts: directionality and policy preservation. The problem of directionality of language policy, the direction from which policy is generated and implemented, namely, top-down (government-imposed) or bottom-up (grassroots public-imposed) is unavoidable. It is argued that neither approach can be entirely successful without the other and that the present societal… [PDF]
(2001). Teaching English Language Arts to Francophone Students, Grades 3 to 9: A Guide to Transfers and Interference. This guide provides an extensive but not conclusive list of points of transfer and interference between the French and English languages. It is designed to help English language arts teachers of Francophone students understand that French language skills can be usefully transferred to English. Apart from a brief introduction, this document consists of a chart, providing a fairly detailed list of points of interference and transfer between French and English and appendices on strategies. The first column of this chart identifies the language concept that may result in interference. The second column presents three types of information: the problem, which offers an explanation of what the student is doing incorrectly; the source, which offers an explanation of how the students' knowledge of French causes this error; and the strategy, which suggests how to correct the problem. The chart has sections on consonants, vowels, controlled vowels, diphthongs, long-vowel letter combinations,… [PDF]
(1999). State Differences: The Key to Demographics. School Business Affairs, v65 n5 p32-36 May. This companion piece to a 1997 article examines United States demographic trends, such as diversity by age, "race" and U.S. Census racial classifications, wealth, transiency, suburbanization and sprawl, and immigration, focusing on differences among states and metro regions. Nothing, including achievement scores, social services, and financial resources, is evenly distributed. (MLH)…
(1977). The New York State Education Department Annual Report, 1976-77. Inside Education, v64 n3 p1-27 Nov 77. Educational priorities in New York State are described in this report. Legislation affecting education is summarized. A statistical profile of enrollments and expenditures is given. Aspects of elementary, secondary, and continuing education are discussed. The discussion of higher and professional education includes a progress report on the statewide plan; regionalism; improving institutional management; State aid to nonpublic colleges; medical and dental education; improving doctoral education; external degrees and college proficiency; higher education opportunity programs (HEOP); noncollegiate sponsored instruction; protecting the consumer in the professions; financial assistance to students; self assessment for colleges and universities; and teacher education and certification. The section on cultural education covers the State Museum, mass communications; the State Library, the State Archives; and the State Science Service. Vocational rehabilitation is discussed briefly….
(1983). You Can Do It! Vocational Education. Volume 2: Choosing Strategies that Are Right for You. This volume, the second in a two-volume guide designed to provide vocational educators in Massachusetts with some practical tools for planning and implementing student recruitment strategies in their local areas, offers step-by-step instructions for implementing specific recruitment strategies. The first chapter examines the benefits of holding conferences and workshops to familiarize the community with current needs in vocational education and also includes detailed guidelines for improving public speaking skills and planning presentations. Provided in the second section are model presentations, magazine articles, and awareness exercises used by vocational schools and designed for widespread use among schools throughout the country. The third chapter, consisting of guidelines to help vocational instructors plan creative mass media and publicity campaigns, includes lists of Massachusetts-based media organizations and minority language newspapers that are published in the state….
(1977). The Native American Career Education Project. A Final Report. A project was conducted during 1974-76 to help meet the career awareness, orientation, and exploration needs of Native American youth in grades 7, 8, and 9. Activities included gathering information on Native American career education needs and surveying existing career education materials. Based on that information, twelve instructional units were designed and developed. Pilot testing took place in urban, semi-rural, and rural settings in California, Nevada, Arizona, and South Dakota; a third-party evaluation was conducted. Findings and recommendations include the following: (1) Native American tribes, parents, and students concerned perceive a need for career education; (2) materials written for Indian junior high school students should allow for poor language skills and should be relevant to students' cultural background; (3) the program tends to improve student ability in working with groups; (4) involvement in the program can give students an appreciation of their own culture,… [PDF]
(2006). State Compensatory Education, 2004-2005. Publication Number 04.13. Online Submission State Compensatory Education (SCE) is a supplemental program in Texas designed to eliminate disparities in (a) student performance on assessment instruments administered under chapter 39 of the Texas Education Code (1995), and (b) the rates of high school completion between students who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Texas Education Code 29.081 (1995), and all other students. This report examines the results for the State Compensatory Education program for at-risk students in AISD for the 2004-2005 school year…. [PDF]
(1990). Higher Achievement and Improvement Through Instruction with Computers and Scholarly Transition and Resource Systems Program (Project HAITI STARS), 1989-90. Final Evaluation Report. A final evaluation was conducted in the 1989-90 school year of New York City (New York) Board of Education's project, Higher Achievement and Improvement Through Instruction with Computers and Scholarly Transition and Resource Systems (HAITI STARS). The project served 524 limited-English-proficient Spanish-speaking students at Far Rockaway High School in Queens, Haitian Creole-speaking students at Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, and Chinese-speaking students at Sheepshead Bay High School in Brooklyn. Participating students received instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), native language arts (NLA), and content area subjects presented bilingually or with ESL methodology and computer science. HAITI STARS also provided curriculum development and activities for parental involvement. The results of the evaluation indicate that the project was fully implemented. The students did receive instruction in ESL, NLA, content area subjects, computer education, and career… [PDF]
(1989). York Papers in Lingustics 13. Selected Papers from the Sociolinguistics Symposium (7th, York, England, April 14-16, 1988). Special Number. The 25 selected papers contained in this volume reflect the current diversity of interests and research methods within the field of sociolinguistics. Titles include: "What is a Language?"; "The Unreality of Quantitative Figures"; "Addressee-Oriented Features in Spoken Discourse"; "Women's Speech, Women's Strength?"; "Age Identity and Elderly Disclosure of Chronological Age"; "Pragmatic Constraints on Interrogatives in Spoken French"; "Twixt the Scylla of Total Assimilation and the Charybdis of Suicidal Purism"; "Dialect Transmission and Variation: An Acoustic Analysis of Vowels in Six Urban Detroit Families"; "Language Variation Theory in the Light of Co-Occurrence Restriction Rules"; "Realtime vs. Apparent time Change in Montreal French"; "Speech Disorder as a Sociolinguistic Problem"; "A Rebuttal of Essentialist Sociolinguistics"; "The Evaluation of…
(1988). Project GET SET, 1986-1987. OEA Evaluation Report. In its first extension year following a 3-year funding cycle, Project GET SET served 108 Bronx junior high school students with limited ability in both English and Spanish, in two schools located in economically depressed, predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods. The project's major goals were to develop both English and Spanish language skills and provide counseling services and career information. Analysis of student achievement data and an examination of project records indicate that: (1) the English language development objective could not be assessed as proposed because of reporting problems; (2) the native language arts objective was surpassed; (3) the career awareness objective was surpassed; (4) the two parental involvement objectives, a proposed number of parent contacts, and a proposed number of workshops, were met; (5) attendance rates surpassed schoolwide rates at both sites, surpassing the objective; and (6) the proposed objectives for providing counseling and tutoring… [PDF]
(1988). William H. Taft High School Project HOLA, 1986-1987. OEA Evaluation Report. In its fourth year of Title VII funding, Project HOLA at William H. Taft High School served 383 Spanish-speaking students of limited English proficiency from low-income families. The program's goals were to develop English language skills for mainstreaming, to develop an understanding and awareness of American culture and society, to develop knowledge of the job market and an awareness of career interests, to improve Spanish language skills and cultural knowledge, and to make academic progress through content-area courses. Instruction in English as a second language (ESL), and in Spanish language and culture, and bilingually-taught classes in math, science, and social studies were provided. A number of extracurricular activities were also made available, including an organization for bilingual students with good grades and good attendance records. Staff reduction due to funding cutbacks occurred during the year. Program objectives were met in ESL, problem-solving and study skills… [PDF]
(1966). BILINGUALISM–FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF RECRUITMENT AND PREPARATION OF BILINGUAL TEACHERS. THE TEACHERS OF BILINGUAL STUDENTS IN NEW MEXICO NEED ADDITIONAL TRAINING TO WORK WITH THOSE STUDENTS FROM THE LINGUISTICALLY AND CULTURALLY IMPOVERISHED AREAS OF THE STATE. THOSE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE MUST BE PREPARED TO COMMUNICATE INTERCULTURALLY AS WELL AS LINGUISTICALLY IF THEY ARE TO PENETRATE THE REAL WORLD OF THE MEXICAN AMERICAN. FOR THE TEACHERS TO ACQUIRE ADEQUATE SKILLS OF UNDERSTANDING, READING, WRITING, AND SPEAKING, IT WILL BE NECESSARY FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND–(1) THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE, (2) THE NATURE AND KINDS OF INTERFERENCE FROM ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER, (3) THOUGHT PROCESSES AND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION, (4) LANGUAGE AND ITS RELATION TO CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT, (5) PHONOLOGY, MORPHOLOGY, AND SYNTAX, (6) METHODS AND TECHNIQUES OF LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION, AND (7) MATERIALS FOR LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION. TEACHERS WHO ARE ALREADY EFFECTIVE DO ADAPT AND BECOME COMPETENT SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHERS. IT IS FELT, HOWEVER, THAT THE UNIVERSITIES COULD BE OF GREATER SERVICE… [PDF]
Structural Integrity in Measures of Self Concept. Structural integrity of a measure is defined in terms of its replicability, constancy, invariance, and stability. Work completed in the development and validation of the Self Observation Scales (SOS) Primary Level (Stenner and Katzenmeyer, 1973) serves to illustrate one method of establishing structural integrity. The name of each scale of the SOS is a construct: an abbreviated thesis about the nature of the underlying variable which determines the configuration of indicants (questions) comprising the scale. SOS constructs (self acceptance, social maturity, school affiliation, and self security) are analyzed for different student groups. Traditional psychometrics assumes that the same questions measure the same underlying variables in all respondents; the validity of interperson and intergroup comparisons rests on this assumption. However, ample evidence suggests that this assumption is frequently in error. Procedures outlined in this paper provide a method for assessing the… [PDF]