(1969). A Selected ERIC Bibliography on the Education of Urban American Indian and Mexican American Children. ERIC-IRCD Urban Disadvantaged Series, Number 5. The selected bibliography on American Indian and Mexican American children in urban schools contains abstracts of 36 documents. Two themes in the writings about these minority groups are noted. One trend stresses concern about assimilation and the acculturation process, while another theme stresses the need for bilingual schooling. (NH)… [PDF]
(1970). The Relative Effects of Early Spanish Language Instruction on Spanish and English Linguistic Development. An Evaluation Report on the Pecos Language Arts Program for the Western States Small Schools Project. Relative effects of early Spanish language instruction on English and Spanish language development of school children with Hispanic or Mexican American backgrounds were examined. The study endeavored to answer questions relative to Spanish language learning in the elementary grades and to inspire educators in geographical areas with a Spanish-speaking population to consider the development and implementation of a bilingual/bicultural program relevant to local population needs. Data were obtained on attitudes toward Spanish usage, instruction, and language development from an experimental and a control group composed of elementary students from 2 schools. In addition, questionnaires were used to determine attitudes of school personnel involved and of parents of children in the study. Findings revealed that (1) students improved in Spanish vocabulary, spelling, and reading comprehension as a result of early Spanish language instruction; (2) Spanish language programs had no notable… [PDF]
(1971). Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages: Problems and Priorities. English Record, v21 n4 p39-47 Apr. Many problems in English as a second language (ESL) programs arise because learners and teachers have subscribed to false statements and labels concerning cultural situations and teaching methods. The teaching approach should make provision for the differing learning styles of the pupils. A bilingual-bicultural program should be instituted in all schools to enable the ESL learner to develop his native language skills and to understand his cultural heritage as a source of pride, as well as to know English well enough to communicate with his English-speaking neighbors and to avail himself of all educational opportunities. Colleges and educational agencies must develop teachers and other personnel to teach ESL with these concepts in mind. (VM)… [PDF]
(1971). Assumptions for Bilingual Instruction in the Primary Grades of Navajo Schools. A review of some assumptions made in the development and implementation of a bilingual-bicultural curriculum for Navajo students in the early primary grades is presented. The curriculum set out to develop and expand the students' abilities for learning, teaching them how to learn, so they could cope with change. It set out to sensitize them to the two cultures, so that they could cope with both; it also set out to structure what the teachers taught and to generalize how they taught, so that the students could cope with the school situation. The basic heuristic of the curriculum is to find the inherent and make them pervasive like growing veins in the organism. It is what the curriculum considers inherent and what the curriculum has done with the inherent that will characterize the assumptions reviewed in this paper. These assumptions include: (1) Randomization of pupil participation assures individual attention for all members of the class; (2) Teaching technique affects learning… [PDF]
(1970). Peso Bilingual Language Development Project. Project Evaluation, June 30, 1970. The "PESO" Bilingual Language Development Project was a 1-year pilot study in 4 West Texas county school districts involving 451 Anglo and Mexican American 1st- and 2nd-grade students. The project contained 3 components: (1) the development of bilingual oral and written language skills–instruction in the Spanish language, and the concomitant development of concept formation ability, self-image, and cultural awareness; and instruction in English, within the regular school program, (2) the development of a well-trained staff of bilingual teachers, and (3) through parent involvement, the development of a positive relationship between the school and community concerning the bilingual program. The objectives of the instructional component were achieved to a significant level; however, the attempt to develop Spanish written language skills failed. Testing indicated the need for an entire year to develop Spanish oral language skills. Staff development and parent involvement… [PDF]
(1971). Project Sell, Title VII: Final Evaluation 1970-1971. This evaluative report consists of two parts. The first is a narrative report which represents a summary by the evaluation team and recommendations regarding project activities; the second part provides a statistical analysis of project achievements. Details are provided on evaluation techniques, staff, management, instructional materials, activities, community involvement, and external problems. The second part involves component analyses and a quantitative study of program achievement. (VM)… [PDF]
(1975). Year-One Evaluation of French in the Elementary Schools. Research Report 75-17. During the 1974-1975 school year eight itinerant French teachers travelled among 20 elementary schools teaching oral French to Grade 6 and Grade 7 students. Each teacher was responsible for two or three schools, The course was based on the book Le Francais Partout-Cours Preliminaire (1967) ed.). The study described in this report was initiated to provide a baseline of data for evaluating and monitoring the program in subsequent years and to describe the 1974-75 program and provide information for changes and improvements. The results of this study indicated that there were definite gains in the students' aural skills in French. A large percentage indicated that they felt the program should continue, and slightly fewer wanted to take another French course in the following year. The itinerant teachers expressed general satisfaction with the program. They all said they would be willing to devote as much time to it in the following years, though the travelling, large class sizes, and… [PDF]
(2000). Creativity and Giftedness in Culturally Diverse Students. Perspectives on Creativity. The 11 chapters in this text address issues concerned with identification and educational intervention with gifted students who are from culturally diverse backgrounds. Chapters have the following titles and authors: (1) \The Culturally and Linguistically Diverse School Population in the United States\ (Angela Reyes-Carrasquillo); (2) \Culturally Diverse Gifted Students: A Historical Perspective\ (Giselle B. Esquivel and Sara G. Nahari); (3) \Learning Styles and Creativity in Culturally Diverse Children\ (Fern Sandler and Giselle B. Esquivel); (4) \Social and Emotional Characteristics of Gifted Culturally Diverse Children\ (Mary Kopala); (5) \Bilingualism and Creativity\ (Mario Martorell); (6) \Multicultural Issues in the Testing of Abilities and Achievement\ (Robert J. Sternberg); (7) \Identifying Gifted and Creative Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Children\ (Emilia C. Lopez); (8) \Educating the Culturally Diverse Child: An Integrative Approach\ (Charlene M. Alexander and…
(2002). University/Public School Partnership Provides a Jump Start for Three-Year-Olds. 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 ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the university, with an enrollment representative of Corpus Christi's population. This chapter focuses on the process of collaboration between faculty at the ECDC and the Zavala Special Emphasis School (SES). The collaboration was an effort to replicate the regular education 3-year-old program at the ECDC and expand early start opportunities to an additional 44 low-income children in the school district. More specifically, the chapter addresses how collaboration served to develop and implement an early childhood program, the Zavala Early Childhood Development Center, to: (1) advance early childhood education through comprehensive high-quality teaching… [PDF]
(2003). Bilingual Writers' Awareness of Audience in L1 and L2 Persuasive Writing. First (L1) and second language (L2) composing studies have documented similarities between skilled and unskilled native L1 writers and L2 writers. To date, there have been very few investigations on how bilingual writers attend to audience when composing in two languages. This study reports how four bilingual writers attended to audience in persuasive writing in Malay and English and how their process skills compared to the quality of their written products. Findings suggest that the bilingual writers' strategies remained constant across languages, yet differed according to whether they were skilled or less skilled writers in general. Theoretical and educational implications resulting from the study are discussed. (Contains 50 references.) (Author/SM)… [PDF]
(1981). The Immersion Centre and the Dual-Track School: A Study of the Relationship between School Environment and Achievement in a French Immersion Program. Canadian Journal of Education, v6 n3 p68-90. Achievement test scores for 417 fifth graders in both school settings indicated superior language achievement by the 164 immersion centre students. Questionnaire data from 94 teachers and administrators provided reasons for these differences. Implied that programs should focus on maximum use of French and meeting teachers' materials and resources needs. (NEC)…
(2002). The Role of Teacher-Talk in a Dual Language Immersion Third Grade Classroom. Bilingual Research Journal, v26 n2 p461-83 Sum. An ethnographic study and discourse analysis examined how a third-grade bilingual teacher in a dual-language immersion classroom used her teacher-talk to provide support for her students' learning in sociocultural, linguistic, cognitive, and academic areas. All areas of support were closely interrelated in her teaching, and all were necessary to student success. (Contains 39 references.) (Author/SV)…
(2003). Survey of Residential and Day Schools for Deaf Students in the United States that Identify Themselves as Bilingual-Bicultural Programs. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, v8 n1 p79-91 Win. A survey of 71 day and residential schools found 19 identified themselves as bilingual-bicultural (BiBi) programs. Of the 19 programs, 37% reported use of manually coded English. Fluency in American Sign Language of instructional and support staff varied, with 47% reporting no more than half of instructional staff were fluent. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)…
(1990). The Initial Learning of Novel English Words: Two Single-Subject Experiments with Minority-Language Children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, v33 n4 p707-16 Dec. These two single-subject, alternating treatment design experiments with a total of seven young children (Navajo speaking and Spanish speaking) found that receptive learning of novel words in a second language reaches a preestablished criterion in fewer trials under a bilingual compared with a monolingual condition. (Author/DB)…
(1989). The Writing of Anglo and Hispanic Elementary School Students in Bilingual, Submersion, and Regular Programs. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, v11 n3 p257-80 Sep. Evaluates the writing of Hispanic students in bilingual and submersion programs, comparing it with the writing of native English speakers in regular programs. Five dependent variables are evaluated: rhetorical effectiveness, overall quality of writing, productivity, syntactic maturity, and error frequency. (46 references) (Author/OD)…