(1997). The Status of Children's Fiction Literature Written in Spanish by U.S. Authors. Bilingual Research Journal, v21 n2-3 p203-12 Spr-Sum. Between 1991 and 1995, 262 books for elementary grades were published in Spanish through U.S. publishers, but only 78 of these were originally written in Spanish by U.S. Hispanic authors. Not all genres were represented, few books were for the higher elementary grades, and most authors were female. Implications for reading achievement among Hispanic children are discussed. (TD)…
(2000). Teaming for Learning Success. Primary Voices K-6, v8 n4 p20-27 Apr. Describes how team teaching benefited two first-grade classrooms, one a bilingual instruction classroom and the other an English instruction classroom, by expanding opportunities for language use and transforming the two classrooms into a more inclusive community of learners as these young children used first and second languages to build bridges to each other and their curriculum. (SR)…
(1996). High Sights: Linking LEP Programs to Systemic Reform Helps Ensure Inclusion. Northwest Education, v1 n1 p36-39 Win. Briefly describes federal legislation, federally funded programs, and publications supporting the inclusion of limited-English-speaking (LEP) programs in schoolwide programs. Includes a list of regional, state, and national sources of assistance in designing programs for language-minority students. Notes the growing trend toward systemic inclusion of LEP programs. (SAS)…
(2002). Defining and Documenting Success for Bilingual Learners: A Collective Case Study. Bilingual Research Journal, v26 n1 p23-44 Spr. A case study of three Eastern urban schools examined the difficulties inherent to measuring bilingual program success. Results indicate that significant data sources were available, but they were rarely disaggregated in a fashion conducive to showcasing bilingual programs. Teacher involvement in establishing, reviewing, and monitoring assessment systems was also minimal. (Contains 45 references.) (TD)…
(2006). Reading through Linguistic Borderlands: Latino Students' Transactions with Narrative Texts. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, v6 n3 p293-322. This study examines the biliteracy development of a group of bilingual Latino third graders in an elementary school in the south-west USA. It focuses on the role of language in children's reading comprehension of narrative texts in Spanish and English in a school context. The authors frame their analysis within the \Continua of Biliteracy\ model (Hornberger, 1989, 2003), highlighting how the youngsters drew on their linguistic resources to negotiate the contexts and contents of biliteracy. Data come from the students' 24 retellings of story books, alternating between Spanish and English. The data were analyzed using story grammar and sociolinguistic analysis. The findings of the study show how, for young bilingual and bicultural students, their languages themselves exist on a continuum.That is, in developing their biliteracy, these children navigate linguistic borderlands through their use of Spanglish, reflecting their sociolinguistic and sociocultural realities where there are not… [Direct]
(1996). Phonemics within the Transitional Bilingual Program: From Haitian Creole to English. Two studies investigated the intrinsic and contextual difficulties of English spelling for native Haitian Creole-speaking children (NHCSs), and the effect of phonemic awareness on the achievement on beginning spellers. Each study had 20 NHCS kindergarten children as subjects. In the first, the subjects were trained in English phonemics (blending, isolation, segmentation, deletion), then tested for phonemic awareness. Results showed the children made errors in increasing order of severity in segmentation, deletion, blending, and isolation, and made significant errors in cluster onsets and cluster coda. The second study had an experimental group of 10 students and a control group of similar size. The experimental group was trained in the same aspects of phonemics and also in pronunciation of syllables illustrating onset rime, vowel coda, cluster onset, and cluster coda, incorporating instruction addressing error patterns found in the first study. Results indicated a significant…
(1994). Longitudinal Study of a Bilingual Program for Four Year Olds. This paper reports on a longitudinal study of the Project Preschool PLUS bilingual program conducted by two elementary schools in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The program serves limited English proficient (LEP) students, the majority of whom qualify for free or reduced price lunches. It emphasizes whole group, small group, and individualized instruction, as well as field trips. Standard diagnostic tests were administered to students at the beginning and end of the school year during the preschool program, while the California Achievement Test (CAT) was administered to kindergartners and first-graders who had completed the program. The study found that Project PLUS was able to make noteworthy impacts on the preschoolers who finished the program. Seventy-one percent of these students were developmentally at or above their chronological age by the end of the school year. On all subscales of the CAT, the former PLUS students scored significantly higher than a control group of similar… [PDF]
(1983). Implications of Structured Immersion for the ESL Elementary Curriculum. Structured immersion, or transfer instruction, is proposed as a bridging program between English as a second language or bilingual programs and the all-English medium classroom. The theoretical background underlying the transfer of knowledge and skills from a child's first language to English is reviewed. Based on the assumption that learners will acquire a second language if they receive comprehensible input in it, curriculum guidelines are suggested for teaching limited English proficient children the functional English they will need for different areas of the curriculum. A model for transfer instruction designed to help children transfer to English the concepts and skills they have acquired in their first language is described. Finally, applications of the transfer instruction curriculum model to content subjects and to the teaching of study skills and learning strategies are discussed, and suggestions for simplification of instructional materials are presented. (AMH)…
(1980). A Comparison of Bilingual Oral Language and Reading Skills among Limited English-Speaking Students from Spanish-Speaking Backgrounds. Monograph 2. This study investigated whether there were significant differences in the acquisition of oral language and reading skills among limited-English-speaking, Hispanic elementary school students receiving instruction through three different bilingual reading approaches, and what other variables might be important. The three reading approaches were: (1) teaching reading in the native language prior to the formal introduction of English reading; (2) teaching reading in the native language and English concurrently; and (3) teaching reading in English exclusively. Three groups of children were studied: 6 year olds, 8 year olds, and 10 year olds. In oral English, findings indicated statistically significant differences among the 6 and 8 year olds: students receiving English-only instruction performed better than students receiving bilingual instruction. In English reading, the findings indicated statistically significant differences only among 6 year olds: students receiving English-only… [PDF]
(1979). Bilingual Teaching in Content Areas: Navajo/English. A Navajo/English bilingual program uses the student's knowledge of his first language, offers the opportunity to speak in two languages, and helps the student move from the home experience to the school experience. It gives instruction in content materials to all students either in English or in Navajo and direct language instruction in both languages. The skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing are emphasized throughout the program. Students with little communication experience are given an aural-oral language program, and students with some reading and writing skills in their first language are given exercises to enhance second language learning. Vocabulary is presented through the structures of both languages and is taught in other areas of the curriculum. The effective bilingual program involves parents, teachers, and students and uses local bilingual resources. It emphasizes language concept development and assists each student in developing self-esteem. (EM)…
(1975). Three-Year Evaluation of a Large Scale Early Grade French Immersion Program: The Ottawa Study. Language Learning, 25, 1, 1-30, Jun 75. The school performance of pupils in grades K-2 of the French immersion program in operation in Ottawa public schools is evaluated in comparison with that of pupils in the regular English program. (Author/RM)…
(1975). Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Program Used in School Situations Characterized by High Pupil Absenteeism and Attrition. System, 3, 1, 48-53, Jan 75. A report is made of a follow-up on a 1971-1972 tryout of the SWRL English Language and Concepts Program for Spanish-Speaking Children. The follow-up report is based on data collected from 6 school districts involving 24 schools at the end of the 1972-1973 school year. (RM)…
(1989). Bilingualism in School. School Research Newsletter. School Research Newsletter, 7 Aug. This newsletter discusses a Swedish research project investigating the command immigrant school children living in Sweden have of their native language and of Swedish as a second language. The project's objective is to describe the children's language proficiency and factors promoting or inhibiting it in the classroom. The study is undertaken in the context of Swedish policy promoting active bilingualism in immigrant children. Factors affecting bilingual instruction are outlined, including student background characteristics (group and individual), language use, and teaching models and processes. The sample groups for the pilot and main 3-year study are described, data collection methods are chronicled, the analysis of language proficiency is sketched, and the applicability of the results is discussed briefly. (MSE)… [PDF]
(1989). Bilingual/E.S.L. Materials Development, Grades 1-8, 1987. OREA Report. New York City's program in Bilingual/E.S.L. Materials Development, Grade 1-8 was established to develop and/or update curricula and informational materials relevant to bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language instruction. Curriculum development teams worked on independent activities. The project had 10 proposed curriculum initiatives, but the teams attempted 14 individual projects. One project was completed by the end of the funding cycle, two were completed after the funding period, one was dropped to avoid duplication of efforts, several were very close to completion, and the remaining projects were drafted with a projected 1988 completion date. Recommendations for program improvement include selection of more projects that focus on updating rather than developing curricula, concentration on fewer projects using more full-time staff, appointment of a review panel to guide and advise project staff, requiring dissemination of products by all projects, use of word processing to… [PDF]
(1986). William H. Taft High School Project HOLA, 1985-1986. OEA Evaluation Report. Project HOLA at William H. Taft High School (Bronx, New York) assists foreign-born and Puerto Rican-born students to quickly assists foreign- and Puerto Rican-born students to quickly acquire English language skills and an American cultural orientation; to maintain or improve their Spanish language skills and cultural knowledge; and to be mainstreamed as soon as possible. This report evaluates the success of the project during the 1984-85 and 1985-86 school years. Included in the report are a description of the project, the students, and the short-range and long-range objectives; and conclusions and recommendations. Summative examinations were given participants and analysis of those data indicates the following: (1) students met English language achievement objectives in both the fall and spring semesters; (2) native language gains were statisically significant; (3) the program objectives were met in science and social studies, but not in mathematics; (4) the overall passing rate…