(1981). Sociolinguistic/Ethnographic Issues and the Assessment of Bilingual Students' Language Proficiency. A teacher training program was implemented over a 2-year period in cooperation with the Tucson Unified School District, where over 28% of the students have been identified as having a primary language other than English. The goal of the training was to provide a forum wherein teachers and administrators would explore the application of ethnographic/sociolinguistic theories and methodologies as these can be applied to language proficiency assessment practices. The training was implemented in three phases. Phase I was a graduate level course for participating teachers which focused on models of language proficiency, and language proficiency in the bilingual classroom and community. Phase II consisted of the development of field techniques and a teacher observation instrument (TOS). Central to this instrument is a consideration of the social contexts used to describe students' language behavior. Phase III consisted of several stages: identification of issues for field testing of the… [PDF]
(1980). Inservice Training of School Psychologists in Nondiscriminatory Assessment of Bilingual Children. The goals of this nondiscriminatory assessment training model are presented in terms of training school psychologists to carry out their tasks with greater sensitivity to the needs of bilingual students and to work with the resources available within the school and the community. The two courses of an inservice program focusing on cultural-ethnic characteristics and its effects on classroom performance are detailed, in which a competency-based model is divided into instructional modules consisting of individual units. The evaluation procedure for the inservice program is also summarized, including an overview of the results which indicated that the major goals of the program were met. (JAC)…
(1978). Demystifying the Concept of Culture: Theoretical and Conceptual Tools, Monograph I. This monograph describes some concepts and methods developed in anthropology which may help parents, teachers, and other educators clarify their own cultural perspectives. Emphasis is placed on the role that these concepts and methods can play in helping educators, particularly bilingual teachers, deal more effectively with culture based educational problems. Specific topics addressed ethnocentrism; (3) ideal culture and real culture; (4) explicit culture and implicit definitions of culture and its personal nature; (2) cultural relativity and ethnocentrism; (3) cultural insider and cultural outsider; and (6) views of culture as culture; (5) cultural insider and cultural outsider; and (6) views of culture as fixed and changing. Taken into consideration is the role of the teacher as a cultural transmitter. The effectiveness of using the cross cultural perspective of anthropology with students and in training programs for administrators and teachers is also discussed. (EB)…
(1975). Super Me/Super Yo. A Bilingual Activity Book for Young Children [and] Guide for Parents, Teachers and Older Brothers and Sisters. This publication is a book for young children, written to help prevent drug abuse. The emphasis is on developing cognitive and emotional attitudes that will prevent drug abuse and other destructive activities. The book offers activities and stories in Spanish and English which are intended to: give children a sense of accomplishment; help children practice making choices; and teach children to understand and express their feelings. The guide that accompanies the activity book provides, in Spanish and English, directions for how to do the activities and suggestions for conversation related to each of the stories and activities. Recommended readings are listed at the end of the guide. (Author/AM)…
(1972). The Chicano Migrant Child. The paper deals with the culture and background of the Chicano migrant child and with his frustrations and conflicts in encountering the Anglo culture as represented by the school. It is pointed out that the Chicano migrant child, whose home base is in the Rio Grande Valley, lives in either a barrio or, in summer, a migrant camp and has little contact with the Anglo culture until he enters school; that the only contacts his parents have with the Anglo community are with the farmer, grocer, gas station attendant, and clergyman; that upon entering school, the migrant child finds himself in an educational environment which is totally foreign to him; and that after being unable to learn because of his inability to understand English, the Chicano migrant child usually does not return to school. Suggestions to correct the problem and to provide the child with an equal learning opportunity include (1) that teachers of Spanish-speaking children must understand the migrant child, his… [PDF]
(1978). Beyond Chinatown: The English Language Needs of Vancouver's Chinese Community. TESL Talk, 9, 1, 13-20, W 78. There are insufficient resources for providing instruction in English as a second or additional language for Vancouver's Chinese-speaking adult population. A pilot program designed to reach this population is described. The first volume of the series "Practical English," used in San Francisco, was revised for the pilot project. (SW)…
(2003). Enhancing Japanese College Students' English Reading and Vocabulary Skills by Using CALL Innovations. This article summarizes software which can help to enhance both local and specific reading skills (often done through what is known as intensive reading) and global or general reading skills (known as extensive reading). Although the use of computerized bilingual dictionaries (CBDs) and translation websites of various types does not appear to result in faster acquisition and better retention and productive activation of new target language vocabulary than what is possible for students using only bilingual book dictionaries, these findings have been limited to several hundred students studied so far. This article asserts that more research should be done on the beneficial language learning effects of using various computer assisted language learning reading software along with CBDs, especially when these are used more systematically to enhance specific essential lexical steps as recommended by the "Depth of Lexical Processing Scale." (Contains 29 references.) (SM)… [PDF]
(1997). Negotiating Meaning in a Deaf Bilingual Setting. A qualitative study was undertaken in a bilingual school for the deaf to examine how meaning is negotiated during literacy events in this setting. Analysis was conducted with reference to Vygotsky's theory of the Zone of Proximal Development, similar to the theory of scaffolding, in which one who is more "expert" enables one or more "apprentices" to learn or do more than they could on their own. Data were gathered through classroom observation, teacher interviews, and documentation of students' hearing status. The three teacher informants were third-, seventh- and ninth-grade teachers. It was found that each teacher used different kinds of leading (scaffolding) within routines to achieve linguistic purposes. One teacher's method featured basic development and awareness of language and communicative competence in the context of emerging literacy. A second approach was the use of discussion and discovery to help students negotiate meaning and develop metalinguistic… [PDF]
(2003). Native Language Immersion. This paper describes the benefits of indigenous mother tongue immersion programs, examining the Total Physical Response approach to immersion for beginning learners and focusing on the development of Maori and Hawaiian mother tongue language immersion programs. The paper discusses the importance of immersing students in a language-risk environment, noting that an effective natural approach to immersion is based on four principles: comprehension precedes production, students learn new language in stages, the objective of language learning is to be able to carry out a conversation in that language, and classroom activities need to lessen student anxiety. It cautions that it is very important to introduce English early on in bilingual programs in the United States and that the idea of never speaking English can be overdone. It also questions delaying English instruction for a considerable period, suggesting that bilingual programs should be fully bilingual with a strong English… [PDF]
(1999). The Language Proficiency Handbook: A Practitioner's Guide to Instructional Assessment. This guide is useful for pre-kindergarten educators who work with second language students who wish to document their students' language development over time. Although the purposes may vary among various practitioners and audiences, overall this handbook is intended to provide guidance in how to capture students' language proficiency in reliable and valid ways through instructional assessment activities. This handbook is built around a series of rubrics that serve as documentation forms for varied methods of assessment. The rubrics, representing holistic scales and focused-analytic matrices, cover four basic areas of language proficiency: listening; speaking; reading, and writing. Whenever possible, the connection between language and content is made. The instructional assessment ideas described suggest pathways towards second language learners' attainment of Illinois state English language learning goals: reading with understanding and fluency; writing to communicate for a variety… [PDF]
(1981). Questioning the Federal Role in Educational Research. Educational Researcher, v10 n4 p22-24 Apr. Reviews the Reagan administration's proposed budget cuts for education, educational research, and social science research. Holds that examples used to bolster the administration's criticisms of social and behavioral research come from the late 1960s/early 1970s, and ignore federally funded work currently focusing on educational practice, policy, and finance issues. (GC)…
(1995). Toward a Community-Based Transition to a Yup'ik First Language (Immersion) Program with ESL Component. Bilingual Research Journal, v19 n3-4 p571-85 Sum-Fall. In the small Alaskan village of Manokotak, the community participated in the school's shift from an "English submersion" program to Yup'ik immersion plus ESL. Discusses community involvement and participative planning, first-year goals, scheduling of instructional time in each language, staff development, materials development, cultural relevance versus competency based education, student evaluation, and problems during the change process. (SV)…
(1994). Quality Education for Inuit Today? Cultural Strengths, New Things, and Working Out the Unknowns: A Story by an Inuk. Peabody Journal of Education, v69 n2 p12-18 Win. Addresses the issue of how educators can provide the best understanding of quality education for Inuit people, emphasizing cultural influences, culture conflict, and language of instruction (English versus native languages). The article examines how to develop programs and instructional materials in Inuktitut that will support learning from both cultures. (SM)…
(1995). Learning Me Your…Science Language. Multicultural Teaching, v13 n3 p13-15 Sum. Demonstrates how science instruction can only be effective when teachers are aware of differences in children's language and their culture. The author argues that it is important to recognize when linguistic or cultural understandings lead children to wrong answers that to them seem totally logical. (GR)…
(1991). Innovations in Foreign Language Education: An Evaluation of Three Hungarian-English Dual-Language Schools. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v12 n6 p459-76. The results of the first year of an ongoing evaluation of Hungarian-English dual-language programs in Hungary are reported, including foreign language proficiency for secondary school students, parent and student attitudes and motivation regarding participation in the programs, and problems in implementing the immersion model in Hungary. (seven references) (Author/LB)…