(1986). 1986 Summer Prep Program E.S.L. Component. OEA Evaluation Report. The summer 1986 High School Preparation for Raising Educational Performance (PREP) program (in its third year of operation at 25 New York City high schools) included for the second year an English as a second language (ESL) component. Designed to help students who had recently immigrated develop the English language listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills needed for success in the mainstream, it also introduces them to high school requirements and expectations. An innovative aspect of the program was the teaching of ESL and basic skills within the context of specific themes that were also integrated with school-wide activities. This evaluation covers the following: (1) program description; (2) student and staff characteristics; (3) program implementation; (4) results of the student attitude questionnaire; and (5) conclusions and recommendations. The appendix provides a copy of the student questionnaire. According to the evaluation, the ESL component was well-organized,…
(1981). Awenen Niin? = Who Am I? 20 "Guess Who" Annual Rhymes in English & Ojibwe. Designed in consultation with Ojibwe elders and tested with students of all ages, the illustrated bilingual booklet uses rhyming "guess who" English riddles with Ojibwe translations to teach about the special characteristics and centrality of 20 woodland animals in American Indian culture. Animals included are the bald eagle, bear, beaver, buffalo, butterfly, deer, fish, owl, loon, moose, muskrat, otter, porcupine, rabbit, raccoon, skunk, snake, squirrel, turtle, and wolf. Each riddle is presented in both languages within a flower-decorated border on one side of each page, with a line drawing of the animal and its English and Ojibwe name printed on the opposite side of the page. Suggested student objectives include identifying each animal by its picture and by the clue given in both languages, responding correctly to each riddle, reading each riddle in both languages correctly, identifying two characteristics of each animal, discussing these characteristic strengths, and…
(1986). Flushing High School Project CERCA 1984-1985. OEA Evaluation Report. Project CERCA (Career Exploration through Reinforcement of Correlated Academics) at Flushing High School (New York) seeks to improve English language proficiency and performance in the academic content areas, to help develop native language skills, and to instill career awareness. The project serves a target population of Hispanic students, most of them with limited English proficiency (LEP). During its second year, instructional offerings were continued in four major areas: English as a second language, native language arts, content-area courses, and advanced placement courses; audio-visual programs were established; average ESL class sizes were reduced from 33 to 25 students; staff received in-house training for instituting the Metropolitan Guidance and Career Service System (METRO-Guide)–an interactive computerized system offering up-to-date and on-going career and college data to students; and more career capsule units were introduced. CERCA's strengths lie in its wide…
(1986). Project BETA, 1984-1985. OEA Evaluation Report. Project BETA is a multi-site program serving 224 recent immigrants in ninth through twelfth grade. Originally intended as an enrichment program for gifted and talented students with limited English proficiency (LEP), in practice, the program is open to all LEP students in three targeted languages: Korean, Vietnamese, and Haitian Creole/French. The project is part of the attempt to facilitate social and academic mainstreaming of LEP students by instilling in them a sense of pride in their native cultures through exposure to their histories, arts, and formal study of native languages. Increased parental involvement, and staff and curriculum development were secondary goals. Several changes have occurred since the program was proposed because only partial Title VII funding was available for both the resource teacher positions and the project director, and because lower than expected enrollment made most native language content-area classes impractical. Program objectives were assessed…
(1986). Project PROBE, 1984-1985. OEA Evaluation Report. Project PROBE is a multi-site program located in two high schools. It is intended to increase career awareness among approximately 200 Hispanic students and 100 Chinese-speaking students through instruction in content areas, English as a second language (ESL), students' native language, and computer literacy, supplemented by enrichment resources and career guidance services. ESL/Americanization classes were also to be provided for students' parents. However, hiring problems resulted in only partial implementation of the project. A resource teacher and a paraprofessional were hired for one school in February, but a hiring freeze prevented staffing of the other site. Despite the problems, the administrations of both schools support the program and have allocated special rooms for the project's second year. At the one school where the project was implemented, project objectives were assessed in English language development, mathematics, science and social studies, and attendance….
(1983). Evaluation of the ESOL/Bilingual Program: Validation and Reliability of the Assessment Measures. The Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS) provide English language instruction to approximately 3,800 students with limited English proficiency. This report represents results of an evaluation of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)/Bilingual services offered during 1981-82. The first phase focuses on the entry/exit testing process, and was designed to evaluate the individual instruments used for testing as well as the entry/exit testing process in general. The entry assessment battery utilized consisted of three instruments: the Language Assessment Scale (LAS), the Minimum English Competency Test (MEC), and the Entry Teacher Evaluation interview. The exit battery consisted of a parallel form of the MEC, the LAS, and the Exit Teacher Evaluation. Major objectives of the evaluation were to determine: (1) the validity of the MEC as an entry/exit assessment of students' English proficiency; (2) whether parts of the battery are redundant; and (3) the… [PDF]
(1984). The Effects of a Structured Immersion Approach to Minority Language Asian Students: Results of a Longitudinal Evaluation. The evolution and evaluation of an elementary level structured immersion program in English as a second language are described. The program provides all academic instruction in English, but at a level that students can understand. It is ungraded, uses bilingual teachers who speak the students' native language, and has both developmental and direct instructional components. Vocabulary is carefully controlled and lessons are carefully sequenced to build on students' existing knowledge and proficiency. Evaluation of the program was undertaken through administration of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, with the Language Assessment Scale as a supplemental measure of language skills. Two analyses were performed. In one, the performance gains of children in grades 3-6 were found to be significant in almost all academic areas tested. In the second, performance gains of non-English-speaking and limited-English-speaking children at the end of grade 2 and enrolled in the program for at…
(1981). Compulsory School Leavers in 1979 with Home Languages Other than Swedish. Interim Report 2. The National Swedish Board of Education studied 7,095 pupils (mostly immigrants) with home languages other than Swedish who were in grade 9 of compulsory school in 1978-79. The part of the research reported on here focused on students taking special English or mathematics courses, students taking adjusted courses of studies at workplaces, and both groups' education/work situations a year later. Few differences were found between other home language speakers and Swedish speakers. For example, grade 9 pupils with other home languages took special English or mathematics courses only slightly less extensively than Swedish home language pupils. The greatest differences were found between Swedish home speakers and other home language students with less command of spoken Swedish than the average Swedish pupil. These pupils (13% of ninth graders) took special courses less frequently than others. However, a larger proportion took adjusted courses of studies at the workplace. Amongst both…
(1981). Compulsory School Leavers in 1979 with Home Languages Other Than Swedish. Interim Report 3. The Swedish National Board of Education studied 7,095 youths (mostly immigrants) who left compulsory school in 1979 and who spoke home languages other than Swedish. The part of the study reported on here revealed that no less than 42% of them stated that they always spoke Swedish with at least one parent, while 22% never spoke Swedish with their parents. The study found that among those who did not go on to upper secondary school, unemployment was 14% among those with other home languages and 8% among those whose home language is Swedish. Additionally, those with home languages other than Swedish were unemployed longer, and those who went on to vocational lines of upper secondary school were more likely to drop out during the first year. Although there were few major differences in employment, continued schooling, and occupation between other home language pupils having a good knowledge of Swedish and the average Swedish pupil, the differences between other home language pupils…
(1985). Acquisition of Literacy under Linguistic Minority Conditions: An Example from Scandinavia. A study of the native language literacy of Finnish immigrant children in Sweden had as subjects the 81 Finnish immigrant pupils in grades 3-6 of a Swedish industrial city. At the time of the study, about 20 percent attended Finnish-medium classes, 34 percent attended Swedish-medium classes, and about 46 percent attended bilingual classes. Native language reading ability and Swedish language skills were measured by reading speed and comprehension tests and a standardized language skills test. Subjects' primary mental abilities were measured by addition, word analogy, visual reasoning, and synonym tests. The teachers' evaluations of the students' Swedish ability were available. The results of comparisons of these factors indicate that the immigrant children generally had poor reading skills in both Finnish and Swedish. In deductive and evaluative reading, the immigrant students did not approach the standard of students in Finland, despite normal results in visual reasoning tests. The…
(1973). Project SUN (Spanish, Ute, Navajo). Education Journal of the Institute for the Development of Indian Law, 2, 2, 14-16, Sep 73. A part of the Southwest Board of Cooperative Services, Project SUN (Spanish, Ute, Navajo) is a multilingual, multicultural program for children in grades K-3. (KM)…
(1973). Developing a Bilingual Culturally-Relevant Educational Program for Chicanos. Aztlan, 4, 1, 61-84, Spr 73. …
(1982). Teaching the Non-English-Speaking Child: Grades K-2. Language in Education: Theory and Practice, No. 45. Many teachers not trained in English as a second language (ESL) often feel at a disadvantage when they are working with children whose first language is not English. This book addresses this disadvantage by giving practical information and teaching aids. The first area investigated is registration. Questions are suggested and the use to which answers can be put is outlined. A second issue is helping children adjust to a new culture. It is suggested that teachers talk to members of the ethnic group under consideration. Questions leading to examination of the similarities and differences between cultures are suggested. Next, oral fluency, reading, and writing acquisition are discussed and activities are proposed for the basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Ways of fostering concept development are described and an outline of facts relating language learning to concept development, along with suggested applications is provided. Finally, a number of lesson plans… [PDF]
(1981). Articulation Skills in Spanish-Speaking Children. The purpose of the research was to develop an articulation test for Spanish-speakers and to field-test the instrument in both a monolingual Spanish-speaking environment and a bilingual Spanish/English environment. Such a test is needed because there has been little available to enable the diagnostician, whose clientele includes Spanish-speakers, to determine if speech production is normal, deviant, or due to the interaction of two languages. The test consists of 40 black and white drawings testing 23 different consonant phonemes in respective word positions. To obtain normative data from a monolingual Spanish-speaking environment, 97 children aged three to six years, from four schools in Mexico, were tested. A second study was undertaken with 148 Spanish-speaking children in southern New Mexico. This study was conducted by speech pathologists in the school district; the children tested were classified as either monolingual Spanish speakers or bilingual Spanish-dominant speakers….
(1981). English for Driving–Visuals for Use with Student Workbook and Teacher's Guide. Intended for use in conjunction with an accompanying student workbook and teacher's guide, this flip chart consists of illustrations of vocabulary items critical to understanding a driver education training class. A short explanation and a list of questions and responses for use with the visuals are also included. Among those items illustrated in the visuals are automobiles/automobile parts, traffic signs, and driving maneuvers. (The related student workbook and teacher's guide are available separately–see note.) (MN)…