(1980). Reading Curriculum for Beginning Hispanic Bilingual Children Based on Direct Instruction. Addressing the needs of Hispanic bilingual children with learning problems, the manual is arranged to help teach beginning students vowels and the concepts of shapes in a step-by-step manner based on Englemann's principles of direct instruction. Equivalent Spanish/English chapters are designed to teach pronunciation and identification of vowels for reading remediation and to teach the concepts of shapes such as the triangle, square, rectangle, and circle. Vowels and shapes are selected as the teaching topics because they are major areas of learning difficulties for the Hispanic child having special needs. It is stated that once an instructor becomes familiar with the manual, an easy transfer can be made using the manual's principles to teach other concepts. Review and testing sections are included at the end of each chapter. Results of a field test with 120 bilingual first graders indicate that the manual's direct method of teaching significantly increases students' learning of…
(1979). Children's Learning of Number and Numeration Concepts. A Final Report. A study was conducted to examine the learning of mathematical concepts by English dominant and Spanish dominant primary school children. The concepts considered were number, numeration, and computational procedures. Using the case study method, a three step procedure was designed to study individual math objectives: (1) objectives were first identified in the curriculum; (2) these objectives were then included in a teacher survey for ratings on item difficulty as perceived by the teachers; and (3) students were observed while learning the identified math objectives. Among the findings of the study were: (1) field independence tends to be associated with achievement in mathematics, while field sensitivity tends to be associated with lower levels of achievement; (2) field independent students tend to perform better on the precise thinking exercises, demonstrating a higher ability to use and apply rules; (3) the ages of children within a grade do not seem to be related to achievement;…
(1979). Building Communicative Competence in the Bilingual/Bidialectal Classroom. Cultures differ in rules that govern communicative behavior, and these differences can cause teacher/student miscommunication in the classroom and can also interfere with the academic performance of minority group children. These differences can be overcome, however, by knowledgeable teachers who endeavor to build and expand the communicative competence of minority group children. Teachers can accomplish this by fostering children's ethnic identity and pride while expanding their communication skills to include those of the dominant culture. To achieve this, teachers should provide a broad range of experiences to expose children to the full repertoire of communicative strategies and rules as they are defined by each culture. Teachers should also provide activities that expand children's social sensitivity and metalinguistic awareness and that afford opportunities to practice newly acquired dominant culture skills. The goal is to produce individuals who are capable of functioning in…
(1968). Guidelines for Implementing an Effective Language Program for Disadvantaged Mexican-Americans in the Elementary School; Guidelines for Implementing an Effective Workshop on ESOL. A bilingual language program for Mexican American students in elementary schools and a workshop for teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages are outlined to aid effective implementation of such activities. Guidelines include goals and objectives; administration and organization; methods, techniques, and activities; and evaluation. The guidelines for a workshop also contain an additional section on courses of study and materials. Both sets of guidelines offer examples of evaluation instruments. (SW)… [PDF]
(1975). Built-In Assessment Instruments in an Instructional Program Designed for Spanish-Speaking Children. Instructional materials and procedures to be used by Spanish-speaking children learning English call for assessment strategies not normally employed. Assessment scores aid in the selection of students, in student placement, in identifying children in need of remediation, and in assessing student performance at the end of the program. Assessment scores, along with attendance records, are useful in evaluating program effectiveness and in conducting followup studies which evaluate student progress beyond the program. Assessment strategies and procedures are described which have been incorporated into SWRL's English Language and Concepts Program for Spanish-Speaking Children (LCS), a program proven to be robust at a high level of effectiveness. (Author)… [PDF]
(1975). Meeting the English Language Needs of Indochinese Students. Educational Administrator Series, No. 2. Indochinese Refugee Education Guides. This guide is intended to assist school administrators in their initial planning for meeting the needs of Vietnamese and other Indochinese refugees entering their schools. To insure that the students can participate in the activities of the school and community as rapidly as possible, teaching the English language must be given high priority, and at the same time the students' cognitive development must be monitored. The guide answers the following questions: (1) Can the school expect Indochinese children to adjust to the school without special provision? (2) How much English can we expect Vietnamese students to know when they come to the school? (3) What models exist for organizing instruction in English for speakers of another language? (4) How much time should be budgeted for the teaching of English? (5) What pitfalls should a school avoid in attempting to meet the English needs of Indochinese students? (6) Where can a school turn for help in teaching English to Vietnamese… [PDF]
(1975). Effects of a Bilingual/Bicultural Career Guidance Project on the Occupational Aspirations of Puerto Rican Adolescents. This study examined the effects of a career project on the level of occupational aspirations of bilingual/bicultural Puerto Rican adolescents. The experimental treatment utilized role modeling techniques, field trips and group discussions. The career guidance project consisted of six lessons and involved career role models and counselors who were both bilingual and bicultural. The subjects in the study were Ruerto Rican boys and girls. The experimental group experienced the career guidance project, while a comparison group received no experimental manipulation, but instead engaged in work-experience activities. Two dimensions of occupational aspirations, level of occupational aspiration and level of occupational choices, were examined. Instruments were administered to both groups before and after the project; four weeks later, the instruments were again given to both groups. On the basis of the findings, it was concluded that the career guidance project did have an effect on raising…
(1975). A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Sensory Stimuli in Teaching Beginning Reading to Disadvantaged Children. This study compared 5 groups (45 each) of disadvantaged first grade children learning to read 16 basic sight vocabulary words. The subjects were enrolled in 1 of 16 classrooms on three campuses of a school district in Texas located on the southern border between the United States and Mexico. Furthermore, all spoke Spanish as their first language. None could read Spanish or English prior to training but each had developed a listening and speaking vocabulary in English. Each group was designated by type of stimuli used in training. All stimuli patterns had in common the presentation of each word in printed form and presentation of each word by audiotape reproduction. Results were analyzed for four variables: stimuli patterns, sex of the students, word length, and similar and dissimilar words. The most effective stimuli pattern was that utilizing the greatest number of stimuli. However, an analysis of variance did not reveal a statistically significant difference at the .05 level for…
(1974). Emerging Role of the Teacher Aide in Navajo Education. A Guide Book. Based on the experiences of 52 Navajo teacher aides in a 10 week training course (1974), this teacher aide guide book for all grade levels is primarily descriptive, though "helpful hints" are provided for teacher aides in Bureau of Indian Affairs schools for Navajo children. Emphasizing the importance of the teacher aide's role in the "team teaching process", teacher aides are encouraged to envision their role as a "vital link in the team teaching process" and to seek further professional training so that they ultimately qualify as teachers. Brief sections on the American Indian, in general, and the history of Indian education, in particular, are followed by chapters dealing with: curriculum development (definitions, contributions, and suggestions); language arts (emphasis on the importance of communication skills); the English phonetic system (illustrations, arranged for easy reproduction, include pictures with written and printed alphabets);… [PDF]
(1961). The Presentation of Welsh as a Second Language: Some Suggestions. Pamphlet No. 8. This pamphlet offers some suggestions on the use of Welsh as a second language in Welsh schools. In the present-day situation the goal of a bilingual Wales is far from realized; it appears that equal fluency in both languages is seldom achieved. A case is made for: (1) thorough grounding in a child's home language before the introduction of a second; and (2) the introduction of the second language at an early age. It is also noted that the precarious position of Welsh vs. English calls for special handling of English as a second language in Welsh-speaking Wales. Attention is drawn to the need for the introduction of Welsh in nursery schools. Suggestions are made for the use of nursery rhymes, songs, etc, and for considerate and sympathetic teaching to insure a positive attitude in the child. It appears that the whole school system needs to be adjusted to achieve the bilingual goal. Finally, consideration is given to the teaching of Welsh as a second language to older children. The… [PDF]
(1970). Studies in Language and Linguistics 1969-70. The eleven essays in the present volume are by faculty members at the University of Texas at El Paso and deal generally with issues peculiar to the American Southwest. It is hoped, however, that the collection contains \enough that is of universal interest to avoid the taint of parochialism.\ Essays discuss (1) problems involved in teaching in bilingual situations: Patricia G. Adkins, \The Linguistic Puzzle of Figurative Language and the ESL Student,\ and Ray Past, \Does Johnny's Teacher Need Linguistics?\; (2) questions of linguistic theory and methodology: Edward L. Blansitt, Jr., \Phonology, Grammar, and Semology,\ and William M. Russell, \The Inverse Dictionary: A New Tool for Linguists\; (3) Spanish in the American Southwest: Dolores Brown, \A Two-Syllable Affective Affirmation in Spoken Spanish,\ Jack Emory Davis, \Annotated Bibliography and American Spanish,\ Charles Elerick, \The Contrastive Semology of Spanish and English Verbs of Visual Perception,\ Jacob Ornstein,…
(1974). The Effect of Personal and Impersonal Rewards on the Learning Performance of Field Independent-Dependent Mexican-American Children. The effect of cognitive style and learning conditions on the rote verbal learning performance of Mexican American subjects classified as field independent or field dependent was investigated. Field dependent referred to a strong perceptual influence caused by the context or background while field independent referred to an ability to overcome the influence of a surrounding perceptual field. The sample consisted of 44 Mexican American children, 9 1/2 to 12 years, enrolled in a Southern California public school. The Portable Rod and Frame Test classified subjects as field independent or dependent. The learning component consisted of 3 stages: (1) the response learning stage, which reflected when the subject recalled the response as a unit, (2) the associative one stage, which reflected the first correct association between stimulus and response, and (3) the associative two stage, which indicated actual mastery of the correct association. The subjects were tested in a distraction free… [PDF]
(1971). The Academic Achievement of Spanish-Speaking First Graders in Connecticut. The Spanish-speaking school pupulation in the Northeast has grown significantly in size, but not in success in recent years. The Coleman Report revealed widespread and sustained inequality of educational opportunity for Puerto Ricans. However, the limited amount of other research on Puerto Rican students indicates that the problem lies in the schools rather than in the students. That is, the deficiencies that Puerto Rican children show in verbal ability and academic achievement might not exist if initial instruction and testing were in Spanish, the children's native language. This study sought to demonstrate this using a population of 217 first-grade Spanish-speaking children in Connecticut. The Interamerican Test of General Ability, Level I, was administered by the same male bilingual examiner first in Spanish and then in English. The Puerto Rican first graders scored significantly lower on the English forms than all ethnic groups, including Puerto Rican, in Coleman's study on the… [PDF]
(1971). A Chocktaw Orthography. This paper describes a system for Choctaw orthography and discusses the principles and rules that can be used to govern the spelling system for the language. The orthography system is based on a study of documents written by comtemporary Chocktaws. The system proposed here seeks to be as accurate a representation of the spoken language as possible while providing a more or less uniform spelling for each morpheme; the vowel and consonant systems are discussed. Where both these conditions cannot be met, the criterion of accurate representation is preferred. The overriding consideration is to achieve a spelling system that is acceptable to a speaker of Choctaw and easy for him to learn, essentially a phoneme system. A sample text with translation is included. For a related document on Choctaw morphology, see FL 002 865. (VM)…
(1972). Materials Acquisition Project, Volume 2, Number 8 [9]. Bibliographic data, physical characteristics, contents, prices, and ordering instructions for Spanish and Portuguese instructional materials are provided for each entry. Subject categories include general works, social science, language arts, pure science, technology, the arts, literature, and history. Materials are classified according to the Dewey decimal system by subject matter, with related subject areas utilized. The annotation provides an objective description of materials and often includes suggestions concerning appropriate grade level and utilization of materials. The bibliographic materials are generally adapted for use by bilingual teachers. Many works included in the compilation have been translated from foreign languages into Spanish. (RL)…