(1998). Finding the "Right Measure" of Explanation for Young Latina/o Writers. Language Arts, v76 n1 p49-56 Sep. Describes a second-grade teacher-researcher's efforts to foster her Latino/a students' growth in writing. Focuses on her strategies (sometimes successful, sometimes not) to make the tacit aspects of writing explicit to her bilingual students via classroom talk. Searches for the right measure of explanation in two areas: fostering revision and genre distinctions. (SR)…
(1998). Linking Schools, Human Services, and Community: A Puerto Rican Perspective. Social Work in Education, v20 n2 p121-30 Apr. School-based linkage to social services helps to coordinate scarce resources and encourage community participation. A longitudinal study of Puerto Rican families with children in bilingual classes is reported. Recommendations for developing and sustaining school-linked services to better reach Latino communities in urban areas are provided. (Author/EMK)…
(1999). Overcoming Obstacles To Understanding and Solving Word Problems in Mathematics. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, v19 n2 p149-63 Jun. Investigates the effects of problem re-wording, language format, students' grade level, and academic achievement on understanding and solving word problems among Filipino-English bilingual students. Reveals that better understanding and solution performance occurred when problems were (1) re-worded, (2) in the students' first language, and (3) for students in higher levels of schooling and academic achievement. (CMK)…
(1998). Instructional Strategies for Children with Limited-English Proficiency. Journal of Early Education and Family Review, v5 n5 p21-22 May-Jun. Describes the Optimal Learning Environment (OLE) Curriculum, a resource for teachers of Spanish-speaking children, which looks for the upper range of the bilingual child's academic, linguistic, and social skills. Details principles governing the OLE curriculum, including the effect of students' sociocultural background and learning handicaps on oral language and reading. (HTH)…
(2001). Transfer and Variation in Cognitive Reading Strategies of Latino Fourth-Grade Students in a Late-Exit Bilingual Program. Bilingual Research Journal, v25 n4 p539-61 Fall. A study examined how 50 bilingual fourth-graders utilized cognitive reading strategies to enhance comprehension of expository texts in Spanish and transfer strategic reading behaviors to English reading. Results indicate that strategic behaviors in the native language undergirded second-language reading behaviors and were more important in that respect than second-language proficiency. (Contains 50 references.) (TD)…
(1999). First Steps for Bilingual Learners. MCT, v18 n1 p30-36 Aut. Describes the First Steps program for bilingual learners in elementary school. After discussing learning as developmental, examines factors in effective learning (problem solving, embeddedness, working memory, interaction, and time); explains the developmental curriculum of First Steps; discusses First Steps as a resource for teaching; and looks at bringing mainstream English and English-as-a-Second-Language teachers closer. (SM)…
(1992). A Comparison of Performance on the California Achievement Test Administered Mid-Year between Students of Native Spanish Bilingual and Monolingual Backgrounds. A study tested the assumption that there would be no significant difference in the test scores of the California Achievement Test between students of monolingual Hispanic and bilingual Hispanic backgrounds. The sample tested two groups of first-grade children (21 children in all) with Hispanic backgrounds in Elizabeth, New Jersey. A comparison of the test scores indicated that there was no significant difference between the two groups. The hypothesis that a comparison of performance on a California Achievement Test administered mid-year will show no difference in reading readiness between students of bilingual and monolingual Hispanic backgrounds at the first grade level was proven. (Three tables of data are included; an appendix of test data is attached.) (Author/SR)…
(1980). Supplement for Curriculum Guide for Science: Lao-Speaking Students. Kindergarten-Grade 8. Working Draft. This supplement to the Chicago public schools' science curriculum, for use with Lao-speaking students in grades K-8, is designed to help students make the transition to learning science in English. English-Lao vocabulary lists, independent learning activities and teaching aids (in both languages), and study questions (in Lao) are included to permit the child to use his/her knowledge of the Lao language in the study of science and to relate the study of science in Laos to the understanding of universal scientific concepts. Concepts studied at this level are living things, the universe, and the behavior of matter and energy. Information for the teacher is also provided as background for understanding differences in the study of science that result from geographic location and culture. (CMG)… [PDF]
(1975). Many Languages Are Spoken Here. Teacher, 93, 2, 68-70, Oct 75. Whether you have one or forty students who are not fluent in English, there are ways you can help them learn. (Editor)…
(1975). Spanish Speaking Children in American Schools. International Migration Review, 9, 3, 379-382, F 75. Discusses the background of and the need for the New York City Board of Education's new program to improve the education of "all Spanish speaking pupils whose difficulties with English impede their learning", which was begun in October 1974 and was to be fully implemented throughout 1975. [Available from Center for Migration Studies of New York, Inc., 209 Flagg Place, Staten Island, New York 10304]. (Author/JM)…
(1989). Proceedings of the Annual California State University, San Bernardino, Reading Conference (13th, San Bernardino, CA, May 17, 1989). A compilation of conference papers highlights the active role of the learner. The titles of the papers and their authors include: "Whole Language: Celebrating the Student within the Learning Community through Literature" (Dorothy J. Watson); "Integrating the Curriculum for Better Learning and Teaching" (Stephen B. Kucer); "Non- and Limited-English Speakers in Every Classroom: How Can We Help Them?" (Kathryn Z. Weed and Diana J. Sommer); "Creating Stories about Science through Art, Literature, and Drama" (Linda Prentice and Patricia Tefft Cousin); "The Bilingual Learner and Children's Literature in Spanish: Let the Celebration Begin!" (Joan S. Mims); "Celebrating Poetry" (James H. Rupp); "Beginning Reading: The Next Stumbling Block" (Darlene M. Michner); "Developmental Trends in the Interpretation of Motives, Beliefs and Feelings of Story Characters" (Donna W. Emery); "Study Strategies in Social… [PDF]
(1988). Handbook for Teaching Khmer-Speaking Students. Between 1975 and 1987, 140,000 Cambodians arrived in the United States; most have settled in California. This handbook for teachers and administrators who work with Khmer students and their parents begins with an overview of Cambodian history, and pays special attention to events since the Communist takeover in 1975. The second chapter, \Educational Background of Khmer Refugees,\ describes educational policy in Cambodia from the third century up to 1975, the subsequent situation in refugee camps, and the problems of Khmer families newly arrived in this country. Chapter 3 provides an introduction to the Khmer language. Chapter 4, \Recommended Instructional and Curricular Strategies,\ details the benefits of fostering and maintaining native language literacy among the Khmer and discusses bilingual teaching methods. A bibliography contains references, suggestions for further reading, and lists of materials in the Khmer language. Appendixes list California school districts ranked by…
(1986). Project PAN, 1985-1986. OEA Evaluation Report. In 1985-86, the first year of a three-year funding cycle, Project PAN provided bilingual instruction in two New York City high schools, John Bowne and Newtown. The project reached 355 students of Chinese/Vietnamese, Korean, Pakistani, and Indian origin, most of whom had recently arrived in New York and were of limited English proficiency (LEP). Project PAN provided instruction in English as a second language, native language arts, and bilingual instruction in science, social studies, typing, and career orientation. A transitional program emphasizing the successful integration of students into their newly-adopted society, Project PAN was designed and implemented to achieve bilingualism for both LEP students, who learned English and their native language, and English proficient students, who learned the language of their ethnic group. Title VII funded most of the project's administrative and support-services position, and instructional services were funded by tax-levy and other…
(1986). Bilingual Learners: How Our Assumptions Limit Their World. Five common assumptions are held by teachers about learners: (1) adults should choose what children need to learn; (2) oral language must be mastered before written language can be introduced; (3) real, whole language is too difficult for students learning language; (4) language learning is different in different languages, and simultaneous learning will be confusing; and (5) specifically for bilinguals, teaching in English is essential to school success and acculturation. There is research to dispute each of these assumptions. One instructional approach that incorporates recent research and rejects the assumptions is the whole language approach, which integrates all four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), exposes children to language in real, functional contexts, encourages language exploration, and builds on the students' existing linguistic strengths. (MSE)… [PDF]
(1986). Project BACIS, 1984-1985. OEA Evaluation Report. In 1984-1985, the final year of funding, Project BACIS provided instructional, resource, and supportive assistance to three different populations of recent immigrants from Cambodia, Haiti, and Vietnam at three high schools in New York City: Christopher Columbus (Bronx), Samual J. Tilden (Brooklyn), and Walton High School (Bronx). At each site the program maintains a resource room, equipped with materials in the students' native languages. Over half of the students were Haitians; the other students were speakers of Khmer, Vietnamese, and various Asian languages. Program staff at each site worked with varying numbers of students. All students spoke their native language at home and were reading below grade level. The Vietnamese and Cambodian students suffered major interruptions in their education as a result of political upheaval in their native countries. At each site, students received instruction in English as a second language (ESL). Although the project proposed that both native…