(1985). Early Education of Children with Communication Problems: Particularly Those from Ethnic Minorities. This report is based on an in-depth study of early education in five multicultural primary schools in England's West Midlands. The aim of the study was to identify developments and features of organization that facilitate communication between teachers and children and among the children themselves. Specifically examined were the abilities of 247 children entering primary school reception classes during 1982-83 as shown over time and in different settings. A total of 41 percent of participants were indigenous Whites, 34 percent were of Asian origin, 24 percent were of Afro-Caribbean origin, and the remaining 1 percent were of other backgrounds. Part I of the report describes the characteristics of the schools, classes, and children. Part II describes the language abilities of children in a variety of settings. In the discussion, attention is drawn to some children with communication problems and to the influence of the setting on their apparent competence. Evidence is also reported… [PDF]
(1984). Project A.B.C. Bronx Academic Bilingual Career Program, 1982-1983. O.E.E. Evaluation Report. This multi-site program, in its final year of a two-year funding cycle, provided special resources and supportive services to approximately 200 recently arrived students of limited English proficiency in grades 9-12 at three Bronx (New York) high schools. The project served Vietnamese (Chinese ethnics), Italians, and Hispanics. Services provided by each school, as well as student placement policy, differed among sites. However, all project students were incorporated into each school's regular bilingual program and received instruction in English as a Second Language and native language skills and, where available, bilingual content area instruction. Mainstreaming was done gradually and on an individual basis. The project's stated goal was to "let students acquire practical skills and understand the ways in which bilingualism could work for them." Pre-occupational training was to be offered in students' native languages, but this project component was not implemented…. [PDF]
(1977). An Experiment in Trilingual Education. Report 4. This is the fourth report of the evaluation of the French-Hebrew immersion programs at the Hebrew Foundation School and the Solomon Schecter Academy in Montreal. Students in the study were those who had started in the project in kindergarten and grade 1, and, at the time of the fourth evaluation, were in grades 3 and 5 respectively. Two pilot immersion groups and one comparison group were considered. The purpose of the current evaluation was to continue monitoring the development of the pilot immersion groups as they completed grades 3 and 5, in the areas of English, French, Hebrew, and mathematics. Particular attention is paid to the performance of the immersion groups in grade 3. For the third grade, results indicate that immersion students have superior skill in French and parity in English skills with their peers in the control school. There was no evidence that participation in French immersion had adverse effects on the students' Hebrew language development. Results were…
(1977). A Child's Step Forward in Reading. The Effect of Language of Material and Other Factors on Reading Comprehension among Grade Four Pupils. Philippine Normal College Research Series No. 3. Sixty grade four pupils of the Philippine Normal College Laboratory were involved in a study to determine the effect of language of material, type of material, and ability level on their reading comprehension. The materials were either unilingual English (E/E), unilingual Pilipino (P/P), or consisted of a text in English followed by questions in Pilipino, (E/P), or vice versa (P/E). The materials were either "Work" or "recreatory" types of materials. The students were identified as being of fast, average, or slow ability. Four selections of work materials and four of recreation materials were each randomly presented in four formats. An analysis of variance with repeated measures on type and language of the materials was used to analyze pupils' scores on the comprehension tests given after they had gone over each of the eight selections. The reading comprehension of the pupils varied as a function of the language of the material, with the unilingual P/P being the…
(1975). First Chance Outreach. Del Rio First Chance Early Childhood Program. In order to help handicapped children function in regular school programs by the time they enter first grade, the First Chance Early Childhood Program provides precise intervention into the development of children aged 3 to 5 with clearly identified handicapping conditions. Using English and/or Spanish, program staff test and measure the referred child's educational and language functioning, as well as social, emotional, behavioral, medical, and intelligence factors. Evaluators employ many tests including the Alpern-Boll Developmental Scale, the Leiter International Performance Scale, and the Del Rio Language Screening Test, an instrument which uses five subtests to screen language skills of English and Spanish speaking children aged 3 to 6.11. Children accepted into the program are assigned to one of four program components in which they: (1) spend full time with the Assisting Individual Development (AID) program; (2) divide their time between AID and a regular program; (3) use AID… [PDF]
(1980). Evaluation of California's Educational Services to Limited and Non-English Speaking Students; Volume III: Technical Materials, Final Report. Designed to assist California policy and decision makers with planning to meet the future educational needs of limited-English speaking (LES) and non-English speaking (NES) students, this study was undertaken: (1) to describe and analyze the implementation of all areas of the legislatively required services to LES/NES children, and the structures which support those services, particularly in terms of instructional strategies, financial resources and utilization, teacher preparation, and district policies; (2) to relate these implementation factors with measures of program effectiveness through analysis of student achievement and the satisfaction of students, parents, teachers, aides, and administrators with the bilingual instructional services, and thus determine the relationship between program implementation and impact on children and others involved in the program; and (3) to analyze procedures for the state and local language census of LES/NES children and examine the…
(1979). Let's Work Together: Intervention Strategies for Learners with Special Needs. \It Isn't Easy Being Special.\ Research & Development Series No. 175. Divided into four chapters, this monograph focuses on strategies that meet equally the common needs of all students and the unique needs of special students. Chapter 1, Preparing to Meet the Needs of Special Students: Let's Look at Our Responsibilities, identifies special needs populations and presents a list of responsibilities for teachers, counselors, and administrators in helping the special needs learner to succeed in a vocational program. The second chapter explores ten educational needs common to all learners and discusses basic strategies that may help teachers, counselors, administrators, and others to perform effectively with the special student. Chapter 3 provides lists of unique needs of seven special groups and presents strategies for meeting them. Special groups included are (1) American Indians, (2) individuals with limited English proficiency, (3) inmates of correctional institutions, (4) minority groups, (5) gifted/talented students, (6) handicappeo students, and… [PDF]
(1970). A Second Year Program in English as a Second Language Prepared for Para-Professional Teachers in Bi-Lingual Pre-School Home Teaching Programs: Teacher's Manual. This teacher's manual for a preschool second-year program in English as a second language contains daily lesson plans–objectives, activities, exercises, and subject material–for 22 weeks of class. The program is designed for two English instructional periods per day. English should also be used as the medium of instruction in one other subject. The first four weeks are spent in review of the first year's work. The subjectives and subject material for each week's work are listed at the beginning of the weekly plans. (VM)… [PDF]
(1999). Collaborative Practices in Bilingual Cooperative Learning Classrooms. In cooperative learning environments, small groups of students work together to accomplish specific pedagogical tasks, and teachers act as facilitators. One highly significant characteristic of cooperative learning that has received little consideration so far is the shift in the participation frame that takes place when students are left alone to work on classroom tasks rather than having the teacher direct the learning process. Students are free to take their own time to work out their learning strategies, and they rely on peer group processes both to establish collaboration and guide their own learning. It is in such exchanges that learning processes can be made into observable activities. Central to the case studies described in this report is the fact that everyday informal conversational exchanges play an essential role in group processes, where one speaker is given primary rights of speaking, but where participants must compete for the floor and cooperate in achieving shared… [PDF]
(1999). Spanish and Academic Achievement among Midwest Mexican Youth: The Myth of the Barrier. Latino Communities: Emerging Voices: Political, Social, Cultural, and Legal Issues. A Garland Series. This book explores the relationship between Spanish language usage, English language proficiency, and the long-term educational outcomes of Mexican American youths. Language use patterns and language attitudes were examined among 38 high school dropouts, 188 high school students, and 36 college students, all Mexican Americans in Chicago. Chapters review relevant research and literature, provide the problem statement and methodology, present comparative analyses of the data from each informant group, discuss relevant findings, and suggest areas for future research. Findings reveal that a high use of Spanish and favorable attitudes toward Spanish in no way hindered either English language proficiency or long-term academic achievement among Hispanic youth. Instead, these factors accompanied higher levels of achievement among the youth surveyed. Additionally, high levels of English language proficiency and positive attitudes toward English did not guarantee high levels of academic…
(1988). The Role and Use of Educational Theory in Formulating Language Policy. TESL Canada Journal, v5 n2 p11-19 Mar. Discusses the relationship between research, theory, and policy in language policy formulation in the context of a "conflict" paradigm. In bilingual programs in the United States and Canada, the sociological context of the debate plays a major role in determining the choice of issues to investigate. (CB)… [PDF]
(2000). Proposition 227: Tales from the Schoolhouse. Bilingual Research Journal, v24 n1-2 p127-40 Win-Spr. Interviews with parents, teachers, and administrators of a California Bay Area elementary school explored the impact of Proposition 227 on parent involvement, student achievement, classroom instruction, and student and teacher emotions. Data indicate that an overemphasis on language of instruction overshadowed other critical issues such as prepared teachers, access to grade-level content, and appropriate instructional materials. (Author/TD)…
(1999). Making Peace: A Narrative Study of a Bilingual Liaison, a School and a Community. Teachers College Record, v101 n1 p106-34 Fall. Explores the role of bilingual liaisons in resolving conflicts and building bridges of understanding between schools and diverse communities, discussing the representation of individuals' voices and narrative forms that engage readers aesthetically and critically; addressing multiple conflicts affecting the lives of minority language students, their families, and schools; and noting the need to move to a paradigm of making peace. (SM)…
(1980). The Employability Skills Series: Field Trial Results of a Spanish Language Version for Hispanics. The previously validated Employability Skills Series was systematically translated into Spanish, and field tests were conducted, using criterion referenced measures, to establish if the materials were effective with Hispanic students. Data were collected on the achievement of 484 students on thirty-nine knowledge and twenty-five performance objectives of these competency-based materials written at approximetely a fifth-grade reading level and designed for use in a variety of instructional settings. Eighty percent of the students were at or above the criteria in sixty objectives. They showed significant improvement in their pretest-posttest gains in five of the six units. Further analysis of five factors (school level, English language ability, age, ethnic group, and reading level in Spanish) showed that (1) junior high students did not do as well as students in high schools, vocational-technical centers, community colleges, or adult centers; (2) bilingual students did better than…
(1980). American Indian Education Fact Sheets and Mini Review. Two fact sheets and a minireview are directed at improving American Indian education. The first fact sheet deals with curriculum development for Indian students by the classroom teacher. Curriculum, scope, and sequence are defined, and suggestions are made for using commercially prepared curriculum materials (which often ignore minority representation) as supplements to individually planned programs. A list of 14 centers and organizations that specialize in American Indian-oriented curriculum is included. The problems of stereotyping and depersonalization of Indians, prevalent in children's literature, are described in the mini review, and guidelines for selecting unbiased reading materials are discussed. Ten methods and strategies for effectively using the literature, a challenge to present young readers with truthful and meaningful materials, and a list of instructional materials and reading selections are given. In the second fact sheet, a brief history of American Indian… [PDF]