(1984). Reading Achievement of Native Spanish-Speaking Elementary Students in Bilingual vs. Monolingual Programs. Bilingual Review, v11 n3 p31-36 Sep-Dec. Compares word-attack and comprehension skill mastery of 65 native Spanish-speaking upper elementary students in a bilingual English/Spanish program and 55 native Spanish-speaking students of the same grade levels in an English monolingual program. There was no significant difference in the word-attack skills of the two groups but the bilingual group mastered significantly more comprehension skills than the monolingual group. (SED)…
(1997). Developing Parallel Tests across Languages: Focus on the Translation and Adaptation Process. This paper describes the General Educational Development (GED) Testing Service's Spanish Test Adaptation Project. The GED Tests are designed to give those who have not graduated from high school the opportunity to earn a diploma that is recognized by institutions of higher education and employers. The purpose of this project is to develop, based on an analysis of the issues, Spanish-language versions of the GED tests that parallel the English-language versions so that the GED candidates' Spanish-language scaled scores are comparable to the scores of candidates who take the English-language GED tests. In 1995, about 26,500 Spanish-language GED tests were taken on the mainland United States and about 14,600 were taken in Puerto Rico. The paper describes the processes followed to analyze three forms of the five-test GED battery to determine if items are translatable, to ensure that all items are valid, and that the resulting instruments measure comparable constructs. The process of… [PDF]
(1979). The Plattsburgh French Language Immersion Program: Its Influence on Intelligence and Self-Esteem. Language Learning, v29 n1 p45-52 Jun. Reports the results of a study examining the effect of one year's attendance in a French language immersion program on the intelligence and self-esteem of six year olds. (AM)…
(1997). What Do Our Students Want? Some Reflections on Teaching Spanish as an Academic Subject to Bilingual Students. ADFL Bulletin, v29 n1 p44-47 Fall. Discusses the teaching of Spanish to native Spanish speakers, looking at the history of the field and the experiences of bilingual students. Suggests that while bilingual educators and Spanish language teachers may see themselves as quite different from each other, their students may perceive their classes as similar. Reference is made to a study of five fifth-grade bilingual students. (MSE)…
(1996). Teaching through Technology. Breaking the Language Barrier. Teaching PreK-8, v26 n5 p16-18 Feb. Notes that it is important to lay the foundation for building English vocabulary and language skills using realistic situations. Reviews three computer programs that enable English-as-a-Second-Language students to achieve efficiency more quickly. The software titles reviewed are \Learning English–Home and Family Life and Neighborhood Life,\\Let's Go,\ and \The Rosetta Stone.\ (TJQ)…
(1995). Asian Parents as Partners. Young Children, v50 n3 p4-9 Mar. Forty parents, representing five different Asian groups living in California and Colorado, were interviewed about their attitudes toward their children's education. Found that, in general, Asian parents are interested in their children's school progress and are willing to help at school. Suggests ways to help teachers capitalize on this interest for the benefit of the children in their classes. (AA)…
(1995). Three Children, Two Languages, and Strategic Reading: Case Studies in Bilingual/Monolingual Reading. American Educational Research Journal, v32 n1 p67-97 Spr. The cognitive and metacognitive knowledge of a proficient bilingual sixth-grade reader who was Latina was studied by comparing her reading processes with those of a marginally proficient bilingual reader and a proficient monolingual reader. Four key dimensions are identified that distinguish the proficient bilingual reader's performance. (SLD)…
(1992). Using Bilingual Classification Exercises to Teach Inference to Spanish-Speaking High School Students. Language Quarterly, v30 n1-2 p28-38 Win-Spr. To assist a class of Hispanic teenagers whose English reading and writing skills were limited, a program using both Spanish and English, or a bilingual model, was implemented. Application of the \alternate language\ approach is described. (11 references) (LB)…
(1990). Effects of Feedback Tailored to Bilingual Students' Mathematics Needs on Verbal Problem Solving. Elementary School Journal, v91 n2 p165-76 Nov. Describes a study of the effect of teachers' verbal feedback on the ability of bilingual sixth graders to solve mathematical word problems. Treatment was based on Mayer's model of problem solving. Results indicated that theory-based feedback targeted to bilingual students' individual and class needs improved student mathematics performance. (GH)… [Direct]
(1991). Comparison of Deductive Abilities across Language. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, v22 n3 p389-402 Sep. To study deductive abilities across languages, 102 bilingual college students of two linguistic origins (Chinese and South Indian) were asked to solve deductions between sentences in their second languages. Implications of the lack of systematic differences between subjects with different native languages are discussed. (SLD)…
(2001). Standards for Diverse Learners. Educational Leadership, v59 n1 p43-46 Sep. To make standards inclusive for today's diverse student populations, educators must support and cultivate five conditions. Standards should be developmental and flexible, employ varied assessment tools, allow equitable access to meaningful content, involve the entire community in their implementation, and serve as a catalyst for other reforms. (Contains 15 references.) (MLH)…
(2005). Hmong-American Students Still Face Multiple Challenges in Public Schools. Multicultural Education, v13 n1 p27 Fall. Although much research has been done on bilingual students from a variety of backgrounds, little research has been done specifically on the needs of K-12 Hmong students. Hmong students are refugees and children of refugees who immigrated to the United States since 1975, leaving their home country of Laos. California public schools have approximately 36,000 K-12 Hmong-American students. Of that number, 85% are classified as Limited English Proficient (LEP) students and 15% are identified as Fluent English Proficient (FEP) students. In some schools, 80% of Hmong-American students in grades K-6 are LEP students. Hmong students comprise the third largest LEP group in California's public schools, with Vietnamese students the second largest group and Hispanic pupils the largest. Today, Hmong-American students still face a variety of challenges in public schools. This article examines research that provides some insights into the factors that affect academic success and/or failure of… [PDF]
(1995). Investigating Your Environment. The goal of this interdisciplinary curriculum is to enable students to make informed and responsible decisions about natural resources management by promoting an understanding of natural, social, and economic environments and the student's role in affecting all three. The included investigations utilize processes and techniques that help people examine different components of the environment and understand how they interrelate. The curriculum is broad based, practical, and designed for educators. Each of the lesson plans provides a framework in which succeeding activities and discussions build on previous lessons and lead to an understanding of environmental problems and possible solutions. Learners are then asked to synthesize the information they have gathered. Unit topics include: (1) Forests (in English and Spanish); (2) Measurement; (3) Plants; (4) Soil; (5) Water; (6) Wildlife; (7) Desert; (8) Dunes; (9) Ponds; (10) Range; (11) Riparian; (12) Wilderness; (13) Land Use… [PDF]
(1995). Special Issues Analysis Center (SIAC). Annual Report: Year Three. Volume III: SEA Report, Task 7. Summary of State Educational Agency Program Survey of States' Limited English Proficient Persons and Available Educational Services, 1993-1994. The report summarizes information submitted by state education agencies (SEAs) on the survey of states' limited-English-proficient (LEP) persons and available educational services for the 1993-94 school year. Results indicate that enrollment of LEP students in public and private schools continued to increase, comprising 7 percent of public school enrollment in grades K-12. California enrolled the largest number; New Mexico and Alaska had the highest proportion of LEP students. Data on progress of these students was found to be incomplete, but they indicated that dropout and retention rates were 1.7 and 2.5 percent, respectively, among institutions providing data. Definition and methods of identification of LEP students varied between and sometimes within states. Almost 2.4 million LEP students were reported enrolled in special programs to meet their educational needs; in public schools this represented 78.5 percent and in private schools, 30.4 percent of LEP students. The largest… [PDF]
(1988). The El Arco Iris Program. REACH: Realistic Educational Achievement Can Happen. Volume II, Part 6 of 6. El Arco Iris is a supplementary pre-school program for Hispanic 4- and 5-year-old children and their parents. The Brownsville (Texas) Independent School District operates the program. Ninety-five percent of the kindergarten children in this district begin school speaking little or no English and median family incomes are among the lowest in the state. El Arco Iris aims to upgrade the entrance-level readiness skills of children whose performance might be inhibited by language difficulties. Twice weekly parents and their children attend 90-minute sessions that include a television presentation in which a story is read and major concepts presented. A bilingual teacher presents the television lesson, which contains footage of locations in the community. Paraprofessional aides provide further instruction, show parents how to complete activities at home, and emphasize learning with children. Evaluation studies show positive gains in language for participants. Parents are unanimously…