(1993). Negotiating What Counts: Roles and Relationships, Texts and Contexts, Content and Meaning. Linguistics and Education, v5 n3-4 p241-74. Presents a framework for examining the ways in which written texts are shaped by and related to the oral texts of classroom life. An ethnographic study of a bilingual sixth-grade class is described that examined the factors that affected what pairs of students writing a common social science text accomplished in face-to-face interactions. (MDM)…
(1993). Becoming a Mathematician: Building a Situated Definition of Mathematics. Linguistics and Education, v5 n3-4 p301-34. Illustrates how, through the words selected, the patterns of interaction experienced, and the range of events constructed in a bilingual sixth-grade classroom, students and teachers defined what counted as mathematics, mathematical actions, and being mathematicians. The patterns of language use and the range of mathematical events within the first week of class and across the school year were examined. (MDM)…
(1994). The Input Hypothesis and the Bilingual Learner. Bilingual Review/Revista Bilingue, v19 n2 p99-110 May-Aug. Discusses Krashen's monitor model and input hypothesis of language acquisition, focusing on the implications of this hypothesis among Hispanic bilinguals in an English speaking-teaching-reading-problem-solving environment. The hypothesis maintains that individuals acquire more language only when they are exposed to comprehensible input that is a little beyond their current level of competence. (eight references) (MDM)…
(1991). Social Interactions of Speech- and Language-Impaired Children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, v34 n6 p1299-1307 Dec. This study found that 17 preschool children with limited communication skills [specific language impairment, speech impairment, and English as a Second Language (ESL)] were more likely than normal peers to initiate with adults, shorten their responses, and use nonverbal responses. ESL children were least likely to initiate interactions. (Author/JDD)…
(1992). Bilingual Readers' Use of Background Knowledge in Learning from Text. TESOL Quarterly, v26 n1 p129-41 Spr. An experiment exploring Zimbabwean bilingual readers' use of background knowledge in reading comprehension is reported. In contrast to previous results, the bilingual participants of these experiments do use context to improve comprehension on some passages. (15 references) (Author/LB)…
(1994). Assessment Considerations in the Evaluation of Second-Language Learners: A Case Study. Exceptional Children, v60 n3 p237-48 Dec-Jan. This article presents the case study of a child who was classified as communication disabled but seemed to have suffered from language loss or arrested development of the primary language (Spanish) before attaining full competence in English. The child experienced a temporary delay of development in both languages but eventually mastered English. (DB)…
(1995). Current Issues Affecting Language Loss and Language Survival in California. Southwest Journal of Linguistics, v14 n1-2 p29-42. California is extremely linguistically diverse, with one of the largest numbers of deeply endangered indigenous languages. None of its 50 living Indian languages are being learned at home by children, with few native speakers left. Outlines some language activism that native Californians are using to help develop new speakers and save their languages from extinction. (Author/SM)…
(1975). Annual Evaluation Report on Programs Administered by the U.S. Office of Education FY 1975. This is the fifth annual comprehensive evaluation report of Office of Education administered programs. It updates the information in the FY 1974 report in incorporating the results of 15 evaluation studies completed during FY 1975 as well as additional information obtained from program operations and monitoring activities. In addition to an overview section, the report includes highlights of studies completed in FY 1975, brief descriptions of studies still in process at the end of FY 1975, examples of the uses of evaluation studies, and descriptions of each of the programs administered by the Office of Education as of June 30, 1975. Included in the description of each program is its legislative authorization, its funding history for the last ten years, its goals and objectives, its operational characteristics, its scope, information about its effectiveness, ongoing and planned evaluation studies, and sources of evaluation data. (Author/IRT)… [PDF]
(1984). An Overview of the Educational System in Canada. New Technologies in Canadian Education Series. Paper 1. Although there is no federal department of education in Canada, the Government of Canada supports education by providing funds for certain education-related activities in the 10 provincial and 2 territorial departments of education. Because of this financial support, the Federal Government exercises a strong indirect influence on the conduct of education at the provincial level and is continuously involved in educational policies. Each of the provincial and territorial departments of education is responsible for the organization and administration of education at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels within its boundaries. Because of the diverse racial and ethnic population, each province and territory has developed an educational system suited to its historical, social, economic, and political circumstances. Despite the many differences, the 12 educational systems are committed to similar aims including: (1) fostering growth and development of individual students; (2)… [PDF]
(1988). Using the Gap Reduction Model To Evaluate a Successful Bilingual/ESL Program. Procedures and results of an evaluation of the Choctaw Bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) Program, conducted in east central Mississippi, are discussed. The program, which is in its fifth year, is implemented using Title VII funds in three of the six Bureau of Indian Affairs elementary schools on the Mississippi Choctaw Reservation. The Bilingual/ESL program focuses on increasing students' proficiency in English in a manner that does not devalue Choctaw language or culture. It involves formal classroom instruction and parent training. A major component involves the training of instructional personnel in ESL instructional methods. The means used to evaluate the project was the gap-reduction design advocated by G. K. Tallmadge et al. During the evaluation, the program served 139 students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 3. All students were dominant Choctaw speakers with limited English proficiency. A comparison group of 194 non-ESL students in kindergarten through…
(1996). Title VII Special Alternative Grant BRIDGES: Collaborative Teaching in Bilingual and ESL Project Evaluation 1994-1995. This document presents evaluation results for Cicero Public School District 99 for the Illinois Title VII Special Alternative Program Grant for the 1994-1995 school year. This was the first year of funding of the special alternative grant and the BRIDGES program, which provided collaborative teams of bilingual and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers to develop means to support each other and their students and the parents of their students through training, collaboration, and development of materials and resources. One of the main purposes of the program was to develop the student's literacy skills in English, mathematics, and science. The evaluation demonstrated that the project was successful in meeting its major goal of developing collaborative teams of bilingual and ESL teachers. The timing of the grant and report deadlines did not allow for collection of data to indicate that literacy skills, science skills, and mathematics skills increased among students whose teachers… [PDF]
(1981). Social Studies: Level Two–Identity. Resource Book=Araling Panlipunan: Ikalawang Antas–Pagkakakilanlan. Hanguang Aklat. [Chinese/English Edition.]. This Pilipino resource book, written in English and Chinese, is a companion volume to the Level Two Identity teacher's guide designed for children in grades three and four, and part of Berkeley, California Unified School District Asian American Bilingual Center's effort to foster the total growth of the child. Together the two books form the basis of the social studies component. The materials that the resource book contains correspond to their order in the teacher's guide, where the materials needed to do an activity are listed under that activity. The teacher needs to procure those activities bearing an \Other\ marking; those marked \AABC\, except for charts and storybooks, are in the resource book. The book's pages are perforated along the binding so that the materials can be taken out for photocopying, coloring, mounting, cutting, or other preparation for classroom use as the instructions in the teacher's guide specify. (Author/SG)…
(1995). Continuities and Discontinuities in Question Use: Puerto Rican Kindergartners at Home and at School. Research Report #11. This study explores continuities and discontinuities between patterns of question use during lessons in a bilingual classroom and in the homes of two Spanish-dominant Puerto Rican kindergartners. Ethnographic techniques, including participant observation, audiotaping, and interviews were used to collect data in the classroom and the homes over the course of 1 school year. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were integrated into the data analysis. Both continuities and discontinuities were found in question use in the two settings. The teacher used three patterns of questioning, including the recitation script which is associated with teacher-centered lessons in school. The mothers used the same script in lessons, though the children participated more actively in the script at home than they did at school. Question use was more elaborated in school, and requests for clarification were used more frequently at home. Implications for teaching practice and for further research with… [PDF]
(1991). Intergenerational Literacy: An Evaluation of Program and Progress. The Latin American Literacy Project Final Evaluation. In this evaluation of The Latin American Literacy Project, eight major recommendations are made based on firsthand observations of the project, discussions with staff and students, the evaluation of new program implementations, the interpretation of results from language proficiency and achievement tests, and the analysis of extensive video recordings. The report includes an assessment of the children's program and an assessment of the adult program. The eight recommendations are: (1) advance the bilingual aspect by making more explicit the proportional approach used in the transition from Spanish to English in the children's programme; (2) make the intergenerational components of the two programmes more prominent by scheduling celebrations of achievement for the participants in the project, and teaching towards these dates; (3) increase the community based activities in support of the programme and the intergenerational literacy aspect; (4) monitor the progress of children leaving… [PDF]
(1993). Whole Language: How Does It Support Second Language Learners?. Seven false but common assumptions about bilingual learners are examined, and whole language principles offering alternatives to those assumptions are presented. The seven assumptions include the following: (1) learning proceeds from part to whole; (2) classes should be teacher-centered; (3) lessons should serve students' future needs; (4) learning occurs as individuals practice skills and form habits; (5) learning oral language precedes learning to read and write; (6) bilingual learners have limited potential; and (7) learning should take place in English to facilitate assimilation. Particular emphasis is given to the last assumption, and ways of working with English-as-a-Second-Language learners using their native language are suggested. Both research and anecdotal evidence are offered in support of the alternative techniques. (MSE)… [PDF]