(1970). Evaluation of the Second Year (1968-1969) of the Sustained Primary Program for Bilingual Students in the Las Cruces, New Mexico Public School System. Evaluating the 2nd-year K-3 bilingual program in 4 elementary schools, this document assessed (1) the increase in achievement level of Spanish-speaking pupils through use of a sustained K-3 program; (2) the student achievement level between bilingual and monolingual programs; (3) the involvement of Spanish-speaking parents as advisors and learners; (4) whether a 12-month 200-day school year serves the learner better than a 180-day regular school year; (5) the increase in measurable mental abilities of Spanish-cultural/linguistic-background children; (6) the enhancement of positive feelings of student self-worth; (7) the development of skills for bilingual-bicultural interaction; and (8) a school curriculum which utilized the culture and language of Spanish-background pupils. Two experimental groups and a control group were evaluated via appropriate forms of the California Short-Form Test of Mental Ability and the Metropolitan readiness and achievement tests, and 4 other instruments…. [PDF]
(1971). Initial Reading in Spanish for Bilinguals. "Initial Reading in Spanish" is a project designed to produce a detailed, descriptive analysis of procedures used to teach Spanish-speaking children in the United States to read in their native language. This document describes the procedures in developing and evaluating such a reading program. The initial step in the program was to observe Spanish reading instruction in several Mexican schools. Observations of procedures and methods used in Mexico were used to devise a program tested in four locations in the United States. Several forms were developed to standardize the procedures for evaluating the program. Extensive videotaping was done in the four experimental classrooms. The final report on the project shows the results of the observations and evaluations made during the project and describes the teaching methodologies that were used. This report summarizes the teaching methodologies and the general results of the project. (VM)… [PDF]
(1976). I Learn the Vietnamese Syllables. Grade 1. This textbook is the first in the reading series developed by the Ministry of Education in Saigon and was the official Ministry textbook series used in all public schools in Vietnam. The books in this series have been reprinted in their entirety from the original editions for use in elementary schools in the United States which have Vietnamese students. This textbook introduces the Vietnamese alphabet which contains many vowels and consonants identical in form but not pronunciation to those of English. Practice is offered with the vowel system, the vowel nucleus, the consonant system, and tones. Also included are three children's songs and a list of letters in both script and cursive writing. All illustrations are provided in black and white; therefore, references to colored illustrations in the text should be ignored. (CFM)…
(1986). The Effect of Bilingualism on Child Development. An Investigation in South Tyrol. Rassegna Italiana di Linguistica Applicata, v18 n3 p29-62 Sep-Dec. An examination of the influence of early bilingualism (German and Italian) on personality, social behavior, perception, and linguistic competence of four- to six-year-old Italian preschoolers (N=65) found no significant differences in social behavior, but some differences in terms of self-confidence, self-control, memory, and oral skills. (CB)…
(1987). Implementing Two-Way Bilingual Programs. Equity and Choice, v3 n3 p17-21 Spr. Implementing two-way bilingual programs requires the following: (1) planning; (2) clear goals; (3) teamwork between teachers, administrators, and parents; (4) specialized training for teachers; and (5) assessment of students' initial skills. (PS)…
(1988). Some Key Issues in Teaching Latino Students. Language Arts, v65 n5 p465-72 Sep. Reports a recent classroom analysis of Latino students who were doing well academically (as reflected both in teachers' assessments and in achievement tests). Finds that teachers were theoretically equipped, able to make curriculum judgments, and received support from colleagues. (MS)…
(2003). Cross-Language Interference in the Phonological Awareness of Spanish-English Bilingual Children. This study examines whether Spanish-English bilingual children's phonological awareness (PA) performance reflects specific contrasts between English and Spanish by focusing on children's segmentation of vowels treated as single units in English but as two units in Spanish (/eI/ and /aI/). The role of oral language proficiency, specifically vocabulary, in the phonological awareness of bilingual children is also explored. Bilingual kindergartners and first graders in English or Spanish literacy instruction and a comparison group of monolingual English-speaking peers were administered tests of expressive vocabulary in English and Spanish and a phonemic segmentation task in English. Bilingual children, particularly those with higher Spanish language proficiencies, tended to hypersegment long diphthongized vowels. English language proficiency predicted correct performance on English phonemic segmentation more powerfully for children with low Spanish language proficiency and for children… [PDF]
(2002). Building outside the Box. Public-Private Partnership: A Strategy for Improved Public School Buildings. This publication describes the creation of a new school building for James F. Oyster Bilingual Elementary School in Washington, DC. Despite the success of its academic program, the school's 70-year-old building had become unsafe and unsuitable for teaching and learning and was threatened with closure in 1993 because of the district's fiscal crisis. This publication discusses how the 21st Century School Fund, working with the Oyster Community Council (the school's PTA), the local school restructuring team, the principal, and neighborhood residents, formed a public-private partnership that saved the school and increased city revenue. The District of Columbia agreed to divide the school property in half to make room for a new school and a new residential development. They also agreed to dedicate property taxes and revenue from the sale of the land to repay a revenue bond. In exchange, LCOR, the private developer of the new 211-unit apartment building, agreed to design and build a new… [PDF]
(2002). Book Choices for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Parents: Strategies for Sharing Books in Bilingual Homes. This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the university, with an enrollment representative of Corpus Christi's population. The chapter details a study, involving parents and grandparents of children at the ECDC and another district school (Zavala Elementary), which examined the effect of parent literature choices on the second-language literacy learning of children involved in dual-language and immersion programs. Findings showed that parents at both the more Spanish-dominant Zavala school and the ECDC selected English-language books to read to their children, although their reasons differed. Zavala parents valued the academic and economic role of English, while ECDC parents… [PDF]
(2002). Use of Children's Literature in a Comprehensive School Guidance Program for Young Children. This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the university, with an enrollment representative of Corpus Christi's population. Asserting that bibliotherapy, the therapeutic use of books, can play an instrumental role in comprehensive school guidance programs, this chapter describes how ECDC school counselors promoted health care literacy using children's literature as part of a comprehensive developmental guidance program for very young children. Children's stories were used to promote a more positive sense of self, to help children learn about the world, and to help children cope with stress, as well as to provide insight into problems, affirm thoughts and feelings, stimulate… [PDF]
(2000). How on Earth Did You Hear About Us? A Study of Exemplary Rural School Practices in the Upper Midwest. As part of ongoing research into rural school improvement, the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) at the request of its Rural Advisory Council set out to find, examine, and profile exemplary, successful school improvement programs in rural schools and districts in the upper Midwest. This paper is a summary of the first year results of a study that came from this initiative. In it are profiled four rural schools and the exemplary educational initiatives they have successfully installed and carried out. Federal Hocking High School (Ohio) adopted the "Coalition of Essential Schools" (CES) and "Expeditionary Learning-Outward Bound" programs and implemented block scheduling, multifunctional lunch periods, daily advisory meetings, team teaching, graduation portfolios, senior projects, and community internships. Dawson-Bryant Elementary school, a K-5 school in southeastern Ohio, adopted the "Success for All" model, which focuses on reading… [PDF]
(1982). Researching the Linguistic Outcomes of Bilingual Programs. Bilingual Review, v9 n2 p97-108 May-Aug. Reviews three linguistic studies from 1970s in light of approaches used in 1980s: (1) pretest-posttest analysis of spoken Spanish and English of Mexican American bilingual children; (2) assessment of Spanish grammar among Culver City Spanish Immersion pupils, and (3) effect of summer vacation on Spanish language retention among English speakers from the Culver City program. (EKN)…
(1978). Ethnography of the Bilingual Classroom. International Review of Education, v24 n3 p295-307. Four primary classrooms, three bilingual and one monolingual, were studied. Final observations showed that "language climate" and the extent to which the two languages developed were influenced by the teacher's style, the organization of the school day, and by the ethnic balance of the class and the neighborhood. (SJL)…
(1990). Intergenerational Literacy: A Developmental, Bilingual Approach. Young Children, v45 n4 p10-15 May. Describes the development and implementation of EL Paso Community College's model Intergenerational Literacy Project, which brings Spanish-speaking parents and their children together in the classroom in an effort to improve the two groups' literacy skills in English and Spanish. (BB)…
(1994). \When I Was Two in Pakistan . . .\ Discovering the Past with Bilingual 5 and 6 Year-Olds. Multicultural Teaching, v12 n2 p6-11 Spr. Demonstrates how much young children learn when they are engaged with their subject. The project described (Speaking about the Past) involves parents, affirms the home languages of bilingual children, develops their language skills in these and in English, and meets National Curriculum requirements in many subjects. (GLR)…