CENTER FOR MULTILINGUAL, MULTICULTURAL RESEARCH

---

INDEX OF FULL TEXT ARTICLES

BY AUTHOR'S LAST NAME

Articles and resources listed here are not necessarily endorsed by the CMMR; they are listed for informational purposes only. If you would like to submit an item for inclusion on this page please write our webmaster. To suggest a site to be added to this web site please visit our "Submit a Site" page.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

• American Civil Liberties Union Briefing Paper on "English Only"

  by the ACLU. The ACLU opposes "English Only" laws because they can abridge the rights of individuals who are not proficient in English, and because they perpetuate false stereotypes of immigrants and non-English speakers. This briefing paper elobrates on these critical issues.

• Dialect Education: Not Only for Oakland

  by C. T. Adger. This digest suggests that under-informed about what dialects are, how they relate to each other, and what functions they fulfill, people have voiced views about language in society that cannot be scientifically justified.

• A Multicultural Nationalism?

  by T. Alexander Aleinikoff. This essay suggersts that cross-national group loyalties can neither be wished away or erased. Yet the idea of the American nation is worth defending against multicultural attack. Herewith some ground rules for a culturally diverse nation.

• Countering Prejudice Against American Indians and Alaska Natives Through Antibias Curriculum and Instruction

  by Deirdre A. Almeida. This Digest describes current inadequacies in teaching about Native Americans, even when teachers are making an effort to portray American Indians and Alaska Natives respectfully, and suggests ways to avoid common pitfalls. The Digest provides guidelines for detecting anti-Indian bias in the curriculum and offers a brief list of Native American-controlled publications and resources.

• Academic Invulnerability Among Mexican Americans: A Conceptual Framework

  by S. Alva and A. Padilla. This article reviews factors that Mexican American students who overcome a number of socioeconomic and cultural disadvantages use to succeed academically. Why do some Mexican American students do well while others fail despite sharing similar socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds? The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework that assigns a central role to the interaction among sociocultural, personal, and environmental factors in explaining the academic performance of Mexican American high school students.

• Re-envisioning American Indian Education
  
  

  by Marjane Ambler. Efforts to fundamentally change American Indian education have been few. Many universities and colleges include cultural content, calling it Native American Studies, ethnic studies, or comparative cultures. However, Native American Studies courses at most colleges and universities must be generic since they attract students from many tribes. This article highlights many of the obstacles faced by these students and provides suggested models for overcoming barriers.
  
  

• Regional and Social Dialects

  by American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Position paper on regional and social dialectal varieties of English.

• One Language Threat

  by Jorge Amselle. Article which suggests that advocates of official English need to recapture the focus of the debate over a common language. If they do not, the language issue will become the hegemony of restrictionists and xenophobes, and will indeed become the divisive issue that ethnic activists already claim it to be.

• A Guide to Family Reading in Two Languages: The Preschool Years

  by Theodore Andersson. This article focuses attention on bilingual children between birth and age five and considers their potential desire and ability to learn to read not only one but often two languages before entering kindergarten or first grade. The main focus of the study is family reading. This is a particularly rich field of study; for, whether the family under consideration is a small nuclear or large extended family, the number and ages of the children, the presence or absence of grandparents or other relatives, the particular relationships among the family members, and the time available for reading provide an almost infinite number of variables and possibilities.

• Academic Achievement for Secondary Language Minority Students: Standards, Measures and Promising Practices

  by K. Anstrom. This document summarizes, analyzes, and integrates findings from relevant research pertaining to the education of language minority students in the content areas. The study focused on the instruction of secondary-level language minority students in mainstream social studies, science, mathematics and language arts classes. Specifically, the document focuses on several key questions: What does the relevant literature pertaining to content area instruction of linguistically and culturally diverse learners (LCDLs) contribute to the theory and practice of (1) standards for LCDLs? (2) measures of achievement, proficiency, and/or academic literacy for LCDLs? (3) the field of promising practices in content area instruction for LCDLs? The report includes preparation of mainstream teachers to work with language minority students.

• Federal Policy, Legislation, and Education Reform: The Promise and the Challenge for Language Minority Students

  by Kris Anstrom and Anneka Kindler. Issues related to the education of language minority students need to be understood within the context of educational reform as exemplified in the recent passage of three ground breaking pieces of legislation, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA), and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. All three pieces of legislation require that new linkages be formed across old programatic boundaries, between local educational agencies (LEAs), state education agencies (SEAs), institutions of higher education (IHEs), and the federal government, and between community-based organizations and the schools. Knowledge of the issues and legislation on the part of those concerned with the education of language minority students and their involvement in all levels of the reform effort will help determine whether language minority students benefit from the reform movement. The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the issues and legislation pertinent to the attainment of educational equity and excellence for language minority students.

• Preparing Secondary Education Teachers to Work with English Language Learners: SCIENCE

  by K. Anstrom and S. Lynch. The focus of this report is on the education of secondary-level English language learners within mainstream science classes. The intent of this document is to give teachers and teacher educators a better understanding of how mainstream science instruction can be designed and implemented to enhance academic achievement for these students. Research for the report included an extensive search of the NCBE bibliographic database, the ERIC bibliographic database and various World Wide Web sites for information regarding effective curriculum and instruction, content standards, student assessment, teacher training and education. In addition, the national content standards documents for science (National Science Education Standards) and three other core areas (language arts, math, social studies) were analyzed to determine whether their theoretical bases were consistent with what educational research tells us is effective practice for English language learners.

• School Programs For African Males

  by Carol Ascher. Educators know all too well that they alone cannot solve the social and economic problems in the U.S. that so severely limit opportunities of African American males. Nonetheless, many educators and other concerned citizens are introducing new practices targeted specifically to their unique needs. Efforts are also being made to decrease the suspension and expulsion rates of black males, to lower their representation in general tracks and special education programs and raise it in programs for the gifted and talented, and to improve the recruitment and training of teachers and counselors in predominatly black schools. This digest article explores these topics.

• Reexamining English Only in the ESL Classroom

  by Elsa Roberts Auerbach. Despite widespread opposition to the English Only movement, support for bilingual education, and advocacy for language rights, many U.S. ESL educators continue to uphold the notion that English is the only acceptable medium of communication within the confines of the ESL classroom. Although the exclusive use of English in teaching ESL has come to be seen as a natural and commonsense practice which can be justified on pedagogical grounds, this article argues that it is rooted in a particular ideological perspective, rests on unexamined assumptions, and serves to reinforce inequities in the broader social order.
  

B

• Training, Development, and Improvement (TDI): A New Approach for Reforming Bilingual Teacher Preparation

  by Leonard Baca, Jim Bransford, Chris Nelson, Leroy Ortiz. The University of Colorado TDI BUENO Project addresses the need for improving and expanding training programs to increase both the quality and quantity of bilingual/ESL teachers in thirty IHEs in a twelve state area. This article provides the rationale for the development of the University of Colorado BUENO TDI Project and discusses findings from the first eighteen months of the three-year project.

• Literacy Development in Network-Based Classrooms: Innovation and Realizations

  by B. Bertram and J. K. Peyton. Electronic communication networks are in wide use for college-level language and writing instruction and are being adopted for use in elementary and secondary school classes. Teachers use network-based approaches to literacy instruction to support authentic reading and writing, collaboration, student centered learning, writing across the curriculum, and the creation of classroom writing communities. A case study of network-based college classrooms identified great diversity in the ways these goals were realized. Nevertheless, common factors shaped all of the implementations: institutional goals, practices, and gateposts; theories, personalities, and established practices of teachers; student characteristics and expectations; features of the technology; and available resources. These factors suggest that like any innovation, the introduction of computer technology to promote interaction and learning in educational settings is a complex process that cannot be divorced from the users or the setting. The authors suggest this complexity needs to be understood so that perceptions of and expectations regarding the value of the innovation are neither idealized nor superficial.
  
  

• Technology Trends and Their Potential for Bilingual Education

  by Ana Bishop. This Issue Brief presents an overview of the latest developments and trends in technology, along with the current uses they are being put to for educational purposes, and the ways in which these can best serve education in this country and abroad. In doing so, it explores the potential benefits of technology not just for bilingual learners, but also for teacher education, administrative planning and oversight, and even parent involvement in the scholastic life of bilingual students.

  NOTE: To read this article in PDF format you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Assessment for American Indian and Alaska Native Learners

  by Roger Bordeaux. This Digest examines the use of standardized, nationally normed testing in assessing the progress of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students. It describes studies that have shown the inadequacies of these assessment methods as well as theories that attempted to explain the poor test results of the AI/AN population. The Digest then describes alternatives to standardized testing, particularly performance based assessment, recommended by Native and non-Native educators and researchers.

• Brains Show Signs of Two Bilingual Roads

  by B. Bower. Unlike people who become bilingual after childhood, those who learn a second language at an early age rely on the same critical patch of brain tissue when speaking either tongue, according to a new study. Adult learners of language apparently recruit nearby groups of brain cells, suggest neuroscientist Joy Hirsch of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and her colleagues.

• Responding to Dialogue Journals in Teacher Preparation: What's Effective?

  by D. M. Brinton, C. A. Holten, and J. M. Goodwin. This article suggests that dialogue journals can lead novice teachers to a deeper and more personal learning experience in methodology or practicum courses. In order to discover how TESOL teacher educators can most effectively respond to the dialogue journal entries of teachers in preparation, the authors examined the commenting strategies of three teacher educators using dialogue journals in MA-level methodology and practicum courses.

• Baby Talk

  by Shannon Brownlee. U.S. News artilce in which Ms Brownlee reveals that learning language, researchers are finding, is an astonishing act of brain computation--and it's performed by people too young to tie their shoes. Geneticists and linguists recently have begun to challenge the common-sense assumption that intelligence and language are inextricably linked, through research on a rare genetic disorder called Williams syndrome, which can seriously impair cognition while leaving language nearly intact (box). Increasingly sophisticated technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging are allowing researchers to watch the brain in action, revealing that language literally sculpts and reorganizes the connections within it as a child grows.
  
  

• Technology as a Tool for Urban Classrooms

  by Gary Burnett. ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education article providing a synopsis of how technology can be used as a powerful tool in urban classroom settings including characteristics of good technology programs, various links to articles and successful programs implementing such techniques, as well as strategies for adapting programs for schools.

• Urban Education Resources on the Internet

  by Gary Burnett. ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education article providing overview of how the Internet is rapidly becoming one of the most important vehicles for educators and others to communicate and share information. Further, he offers resources and support to urban K-12 educators, bilingual and language minority students and educators, and a brief list of urban schools and districts on the Internet.

• Research Agenda for Adult ESL

  edited by Miriam Burt. Adult English as a second language (ESL) instruction is the fastest growing area of adult education. Although much is known about best practices in adult ESL, there are still unanswered questions about the adult English language learner, program design, teacher preparation, instruction, and assessment. The answers to these questions are critical, not only to improve the effectiveness of adult ESL programs, but also to improve the lives of adult ESL learners. This paper, prepared by the National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education (NCLE) in collaboration with the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) with support from Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL), addresses those issues.

• Blueprints for Indian Education: Improving Mainstream Schooling

  by Robin Butterfield. This Digest focuses on findings of the U.S. Department of Education's Indian Nations At Risk (INAR) Task Force (1991) and the White House Conference on Indian Education (1992) related to Native students who attend public schools. Task Force and Conference findings--produced in early 1991 and 1992, respectively--suggest systemic reforms that would (a) foster intercultural harmony in schools, (b) improve teacher preparation, (c) develop instructional curricula and strategies that support diverse cultural needs and learning styles, (d) include AI/AN parents in the educational process, and (e) adopt a new paradigm for evaluation of AI/AN student progress and success.

C

• Staff Development in Multilingual Multicultural Schools

  by Margarita Calderon. This ERIC Clearinghouse for Urban Education digest presents recommendations for a staff development program for a multilingual multicultural teaching staff based on a model that has been tested and shown to be effective.

• Standards of Program Quality and Effectiveness for Professional Teacher Preparation Programs for Multiple and Single Subject Teaching Credentials with a (Bilingual) Crosscultural, Language and Academic Development (CLAD/BCLAD) Emphasis

  by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Document that details the standards for teacher preparation programs preparing teachers for students of diverse language and cultural background.

• Stabilizing Indigenous Languages

  Gina Cantoni, Editor. A Center for Excellence in Education Monograph at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff that looks at the stabilizing of indigenous languages. This is a special issue of Northern Arizona University's Center for Excellence in Education monograph series, Perspectives. A blueprint to revitalize American Indian and Alaska Native languages.

• Becoming Bilingual in the Amigos Two-Way Immersion Program

  by Mary T. Cazabon, Elena Nicoladis, and Wallace E. Lambert. Research on the most effective forms of bilingual education (usually in terms of English achievement) suggests that two-way programs may be the best. Two-way bilingual education has been described in a national study as "the program with the highest long term academic success" (Thomas & Collier, 1997, p. 52). The students' success in these programs is undoubtedly due to a number of factors. These include opportunities for linguistic minority students to assume strong peer leadership roles in the classroom, an emphasis on grade-level academic instruction in both languages, sustained support for and use of multicultural curricula, and opportunities for non-English-speaking parents to form close partnerships with the school staff as well as with other parents. The purpose of the present report is to examine students' development in a two-way bilingual program by focusing on both their attitudes toward becoming bilingual (and possibly bicultural) and their school achievement in both languages. Although the authors do not have data to examine causal links between attitudes and achievement, they see this study as a first step toward showing the relationship between the two.

• The Role of Online Communications in Schools: A National Study

  by CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) and sponsored by the Scholastic Network and Council of the Great City Schools,. This study demonstrates that students with online access perform better. It isolates the impact of online use and measures its effect on student learning in the classroom. The study compared the work of 500 students in fourth-grade and sixth-grade classes in 7 urban school districts- half with online access and half without. The results show significantly higher scores on measurements of information management, communication, and presentation of ideas for experimental groups with online access than for control groups with no online access. It offers evidence that using the Internet can help students become independent, critical thinkers, able to find information, organize and evaluate it, and then effectively express their new knowledge and ideas in compelling ways.

• Language Minority Education in the United States: Implications of the Ramirez Report
  
  

  by Courtney B. Cazden. Controversy continues over the most reasonable conclusions to draw from the accumulated research evidence on the effectiveness of various program models for students who are not proficient in English. This paper examines a report prepared for the U.S. Department of Education on three program models for language minority children: structured English immersion strategy and early-exit and late-exit bilingual education.

• Teacher Talk: Cultural Diversity
  
  

  by the Center for Adolescent Studies at the School of Education.This electronic issue of Teacher Talk addresses the concerns of preservice teachers regarding diversity issues. Teacher Talk is published by the Center for Adolescent Studies at the School of Education, Indiana University. It is a publication for preservice and secondary education teachers that exists as a series of World Wide Web documents.

• Chinese Heritage Community Language Schools in the United States
  
  

  by Theresa Hsu Chao. This digest suggests that Chinese heritage community language schools (referred to here as Chinese language schools) are an integral part of the Chinese community in cities across the United States. According to a recent study by the National Council of Associations of Chinese Language Schools, approximately 82,675 students are taking Chinese in 634 language schools across the country. This article reviews the process and the schools.

• Multimedia CALL: Lessons to be Learned from Research on Instructed SLA

  by Carol A. Chapelle. This paper suggests that some design features and evaluation criteria for multimedia Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) might be developed on the basis of hypotheses about ideal conditions for second language acquisition (SLA). It outlines a relevant theory of SLA and enumerates the hypotheses it implies for ideal conditions such as input saliency, opportunities for interaction, and learner focus on communication. Implications of each hypothesis for multimedia CALL design and evaluation are outlined and exemplified.

• A Curriculum Discourse for Achieving Equity: Implications for Teachers When Engaged with Latina and Latino Students

  by R. Chávez Chávez. A discussion on constructing a curriculum discourse for Latina/o students. Focusing on the need for authenticity from within the community that values, respects, and dignifies the self by trusting the self for the good of self and others. The author suggests that constructing curriculum for achieving equity is an attitude that resonates from a longing to have all students think and do for themselves and others in compassionate ways rooted in respect, dignity, and high expectations.

• Forging Partnerships Between Mexican American Parents and the Schools

  by Nancy Feyl Chavkin and Dora Lara Gonzalez. According to the Bureau of the Census (1994), there are approximately 13 million Mexican Americans in the United States. In reviews of the status of education for Mexican American students it is reported that there is a decline in high school completion rates, a steady rise in the dropout rate, and high numbers of students two or more years behind grade level. This digest describes research supporting family participation in students' education. It then describes barriers to participation faced by many Mexican American parents and successful programs and strategies for overcoming those barriers. Finally, the benefits of two-way communication and school-family partnerships are described.

• Preparing Teachers for Muliticultural Classrooms

  by Ines Marquez Chisholm. This paper focuses on the need for the multicultural preparation of preservice teachers. The intent is neither to prescribe a uniform teacher education program for all institutions nor to encompass all aspects of a good teacher preparation program. Rather, this paper suggests institutional and programmatic practices that will prepare future teachers for classroom diversity.
  
  

• Two-Way Bilingual Education: Students Learning Through Two Languages

  by Donna Christian. In a growing number of schools in the United States, students are learning through two languages in programs that aim to develop dual language proficiency along with academic achievement. These two-way bilingual programs integrate language minority and language majority students and provide content area instruction and language development in two languages. A study of over 160 schools between 1991 and 1994 provides a picture of the current state of two-way bilingual education in the United States. Two-way programs typically share the goals of bilingual proficiency, academic achievement, and positive cross-cultural attitudes and behaviors, but they vary a good deal in the approaches and strategies they use to work toward those goals. A host of local factors affect such issues as student enrollment, program features and design, and instructional features. Emerging results of studies of two-way bilingual programs point to their effectiveness in educating nonnative-English-speaking students, their promise of expanding our nation's language resources by conserving the native language skills of minority students and developing second language skills in English speaking students, and their hope of improving relationships between majority and minority groups by enhancing cross-cultural understanding and appreciation.

• Vernacular Dialects in U.S. Schools

  by Donna Christian. Children from different backgrounds come to school speaking a wide variety of dialects. Should our schools try to teach all students to use a standard dialect? If so, how? If not, how should different dialects be handled in the school setting? What impact does speaking a non-school dialect have on students' academic success and on their interactions with others in and out of school? These complex and controversial questions are discussed in this digest article.

• Professional Development for Teachers in Culturally Diverse Schools

  by Nancy Clair and Carolyn Temple Adger. This digest focuses on professional development for teachers in culturally diverse schools. It summarizes what is known about effective professional development and the conditions that allow it to succeed. It provides three examples of professional development that are grounded in the academic achievement of English language learners as a fundamental ingredient to overall school success.

• Acquiring a Second Language for School

  by Virginia P. Collier. Given the misinformation that persists about second language acquisition among both educators and the public, this short publication is written to guide the reader through the substantial research knowledge base that the field has developed over the past 25 years.

• The Effect of Age on Acquisition of a Second Language for School

  by Virginia P. Collier. This article reviews a number of studies, including the author's own recently completed one, that point to an advantage which children in middle childhood appear to have over younger children and adolescents in formally acquiring a second language.

• Language Becomes War by Other Means

  by Clayton Collins of The Christian Science Monitor. This article suggests that language has long been equated with cultural clout - the "perfect instrument of empire," as Spain's Queen Isabella was said to have been told by an adviser. Today, the world's empires may be in retreat but active movements to leverage language for power have surged worldwide. This article provides a world wide perspective to language policy for political power.

• Helping Teachers Teach Well: Transforming Professional Development

  by T. B. Corcoran. This policy brief reviews what is known about professional development, where it is now, and where it needs to be. The brief discusses its organization, costs, and effects on practice. It also suggests some principles to guide professional development in the future and offers a framework for designing and assessing policies and programs.

• Anatomy of the English-Only Movement: Social and Ideological Sources of Language Restrictionism in the United States

  by James Crawford. Paper presented at a Conference on Language Legislation and Linguistic Rights, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, March 21, 1996.

• Best Evidence: Research Foundations of the Bilingual Education Act

  by James Crawford. A review of current research literature on the education of language minority students in the United States. The result of the review is the presentation of the "Best Evidence" as it relates to the research foundations of the Bilingual Education Act (Title VII of The Improving America's Schools Act). The author has organized the document according to the Congressional findings on the Bilingual Education Act.

• Bilingualism in America: A Forgotten Legacy

  by James Crawford. An historical perspective on bilingualism and bilingual education in North America. From Crawford's highly acclaimed book, Bilingual Education: History, Politics, Theory, and Practice.

• Endangered Native American Languages: What Is to Be Done, and Why?

  by James Crawford. The threat to linguistic resources is now recognized as a worldwide crisis. As many as half of the estimated 6,000 languages spoken on earth are spoken only by adults who no longer teach them to the next generation. An additional 40 percent may soon be threatened because the number of children learning them is declining measurably. In other words, 90 percent of existing languages today are likely to die or become seriously embattled within the next century. In formulating a response to this crisis, there are three questions that need to be explored: (1) What causes language decline and extinction? (2) Can the process be reversed? And (3) why should we concern ourselves with this problem? This articlel looks in detail at the situation of Native American languages in the United States.

• Language Loyalties: The Question of Minority Language Rights

  by James Crawford. What would be the legal impact of an English Language Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? This excerpt from Language Loyalties: A Source Book On The Official English Controversy, gives a detailed overview of the historical and legal precedents to explore this question.

• Surviving the English Only Assault: Public Attitudes and the Future of Language Education

  by James Crawford. Keynote address to the Michigan Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, November 16, 1996.

• BICS and CALP: Clarifying the Distinction

  by Jim Cummins, from Ontario Institute for Studies in Education clarifies aspects of the distinction between basic interpersonal communicative skills and cognitive academic language proficiency that he framed 20 years ago (Cummins, 1979) as a qualification to John Oller's (1979) claim that all individual differences in language proficiency could be accounted for by just one underlying factor, which he termed global language proficiency.

• Computer Assisted Text Scaffolding for Curriculum Access and Language Learning/Acquisition

  by Jim Cummins. This paper outlines the rationale underlying an innovative approach to computer assisted language learning that proposes to use target language text as input for learning. The text is made comprehensible to learners as a result of dictionary and learning strategy supports built into a multimedia CD-ROM design. The dictionary supports can be provided in learners' first and second languages (L1 and L2) and learning strategy supports include graphic organizers to facilitate comprehension of content as well as a variety of vocabulary building and grammar learning supports. These supports represent scaffolding that enables the learner/reader to process the meaning of texts that otherwise would have been inaccessible. Any text in electronic form can be imported into the system and used as authentic input for target language learning. Computer Assisted Text Scaffolding for Curriculum Access and Language Learning/Acquisition - Summary

• e-Lective Language Learning: Design of a Computer-Assisted Text-Based ESL/EFL Learning System

  by Jim Cummins. The "e-Lective Language Learning" system described in this paper proposes to use target language text as input for language learning by incorporating a variety of L1 and L2 dictionary and learning strategy supports into a multimedia CD ROM design. Any text in electronic form can be imported into the system and used as authentic input for target language learning. The built-in supports permit learners to comprehend text that would otherwise have been inaccessible. As considerable research has demonstrated, the more target language text learners read and comprehend, the more of the target language they learn.

• Immersion Education for the Millenium: What We Have Learned from 30 Years of Research on Second Language Immersion

  by Jim Cummins. The term "immersion education" came to prominence in Canada during the 1960s to describe innovative programs in which the French language was used as a medium of instruction for elementary school students whose home language was English. However, as Johnson and Swain (1997) point out, there is nothing new in the phenomenon of "immersing" students in a second language (L2) instructional environment. In fact, throughout the history of formal education the use of an L2 as a medium of instruction has been the rule rather than the exception. The Canadian French immersion programs, however, were the first to be subjected to intensive long-term research evaluation, although some large-scale research had been undertaken in other contexts prior to the Canadian experience.

• Rossell and Baker: Their Case for the Effectiveness of Bilingual Education

  by Jim Cummins. Rebuttal of the Rossell and Baker study. In 1996, Christine Rossell and Keith Baker published a review of research studies which they claimed addressed the effectiveness of bilingual education. (Rossell & Baker, 1996). Their findings looked impressive and are frequently cited by opponents of bilingual education. For example, they claimed that in ten studies comparing transitional bilingual education (TBE) with Structured Immersion in reading performance, no difference was found in 17% and Structured Immersion was superior in 83%. However, when we look at these research studies more closely, it turns out that 90% actually demonstrate the effectiveness of bilingual and even trilingual education.

• Analysis of Final Report Longitudinal Study of Structured English Immersion Strategy, Early Exit and Late-Exit Transitional Bilingual Education Programs for Language-Minority Children

  by Jim Cummins and Michael Genzuk. The U.S. Department of Education released the findings of an eight-year study designed to provide definitive answers to one of the most volatile questions in American Education: What types of programs work best in helping Hispanic students succeed in school? The issue has revolved around the effectiveness of bilingual education which involves using the child's primary language in addition to English as a language of instruction. This article also available in Spanish.

D

• Setting Expected Gains For Non And Limited English Proficient Students

  by E. DeAvila. Over the past twenty years programs designed to improve the language proficiency of Limited English Proficient (LEP) students have met with mixed results. Largely because of a lack of adequate evaluative documentation, results have been equivocal regardless of program quality. Much of the confusion has come out of variable approaches to the concept of growth and what can be expected from programs of this type. Recently, "expected gain" has become an important concept in documenting the educational development of Limited and Non English Proficient speaking students. An understanding of this concept requires an analysis of the relationship between quality of instruction and measurable student outcomes. This article looks at three key factors which both underlie this relationship and provide the necessary foundation upon which expectations for learning that can be derived or generated in a meaningful and defensible manner.

• How to Recognize Excellent Educational Software

  by E. C. De Laurentiis. The author of this article proposes criteria to create excellent learning environments with computers. Many of these criteria apply to good education no matter what the learning device. He also suggests that despite its promise, and the vision of many futurists, technology has yet to make its mark on education.

• Ebonics and Culturally Responsive Instruction

  by Lisa Delpit. This article takes a closer look at some of the connections between language, teaching and cultural identity.

• Blueprints for Indian Education: Languages and Cultures

  by William Demmert. This Digest connects personal experience to that of other Native peoples and to the findings of two national studies. The Digest concludes with a summary of steps that must be taken at the local and federal levels, as recommended in the studies.

• EL INTERNET: Una Guía Para Padres de Familia

  Escrito por el Departamento de Educación de los Estados Unidos. Esta guía sobre el Internet para padres de familia tiene como fin ayudar a los padres‹sin importar su nivel de conocimientos tecnológicos‹a utilizar el mundo en línea como una importante herramienta educativa. La guía simplifica la abrumadora cantidad de información para los consumidores y ofrece a los padres una introducción al Internet y la forma de navegar por él. La Guía sugiera la forma en que los padres pueden permitir a sus hijos explorar los prodigios del Internet al mismo tiempo que los protegen de sus peligros potenciales.

• What to Expect Your First Year of Teaching

  by Amy DePaul, of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement. If you wanted to know what the first year of teaching school is like, you'd ask teachers who just completed their first year on the job. This book attempts to capture the fascinating and inspiring answers received. It is based largely on a series of discussions held among winners of the First Class Teacher Award sponsored every year by Sallie Mae, a corporation dedicated to education.The teachers talked in frank terms about what it's like to feel rebuffed by veteran teachers, to struggle with budget cutbacks, to see children in distress. But the obstacles they related are only half the story. They also share how they surmounted challenges, what they would want new teachers to know, and why being a teacher is so crucial to their sense of self.

• One Way to Avoid Biased Testing Procedures and Possible Inappropriate Special Education Placement for American Indian Students

  by John M. Dodd, J. Ron Nelson, William Spint. Because of the diversity among American Indian peoples, numerous tests and extensive research are required to develop tests for the many American Indian tribal groups. Since selling tests in sufficient numbers to make a profit is the goal for publishers, it is reasonable to assume that there will not be suitable psychometric tests available for all American Indian groups in the near future. When the dubious benefit for having such tests available is considered, perhaps their development should be discouraged. However, prevention of inappropriate testing is essential. One way to accomplish this is through culturally sensitive prereferral intervention.

• A Chronology of the Official English Movement

  by Jamie B. Draper and Martha Jiménez. Not since the beginning of this century has language received as much attention in the United States. Like the language battles of the early 1900s, those of the 1980s were rife with appeals to patriotism and unity casting language minorities in the role of outsiders who deliberately "chose" not to learn the English language. This article provides a chronological overview of these efforts.

• Video Recording in Ethnographic SLA Research: Some Issues of Validity in Data Collection

  by M.A. DuFon. In recent years increasing numbers of researchers have begun to investigate second language acquisition within the socio-cultural context in which it occurs using qualitative methods and approaches such as an ethnographic approach. This frequently entails audio and/or video recording of the participants in naturalistic contexts. Yet theoretical and methodological issues related to video recording have not yet received a great deal of attention in the second language acquisition literature. The purpose of this paper is to initiate such a discussion among SLA researchers. This is accomplished by reviewing the visual anthropology, educational anthropology, and ethnographic filmmaking literature on three questions concerning the collection of valid video recorded data: a) How should the interaction be video recorded? b) Who should be video recorded? c) Who should do the video recording? Examples are presented to illustrate the kinds of problems that might be encountered in each of these areas. The author presents reflections on the decisions made when videotaping so that other SLA researchers using video recording might gain some insights that will assist them when dealing with the theoretical, methodological and practical considerations of planning and implementing their SLA studies using an ethnographic approach.
  
  

  NOTE: To read this article in PDF format you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Overview of Foreign Language Education in the United States

  by Nadine Dutcher. This Overview presents a picture of language education in the United States, its context and its dimensions, especially at the secondary level of education. Topics include: Language in society; Language policy; Primary and secondary language education; Post-secondary language education; and Teacher education and professional development, including an annotated list of organizations that support teacher development. Separately we include a review of English as a second language education, a topic not of concern to the other participating countries but of strong interest in the United States. Sources for the Overview are U.S. government publications, reports from the professional associations of language teachers, academic researchers, and personal communication with language educators.
  

E

• The Impact of Call Instruction on Classroom Computer Use: A Foundation for Rethinking Technology in Teacher Education

  by J. Egbert, T. M. Paulus, Y. Nakamichi. The purpose of this study is to examine how language teachers apply practical experiences from computer-assisted language learning (CALL) coursework to their teaching. It also examines ways in which teachers continue their CALL professional development.

  NOTE: To read this article in PDF format you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  
  

• Asian-American Trends And Issues

  by ERIC. Annotated bibliographies and abstracts about equity and diversity posted by the ERIC Clearinghouse on trends and issues affecting Asian-Americans.

• Bilingual Reading Instruction

  ERIC. Reading is a discipline that requires a significant transfer of skills, knowledge, and concepts from one language to another for bilingual students. In the classroom, bilingual educators must provide instruction that builds a strong foundation for reading literacy in both the first and second language. The research and classroom practices highlighted in this pathway provide bilingual educators with specific methods and materials that can be used to build a strong foundation in reading.

• Classroom Materials On African American Studies

  by ERIC. Annotated bibliographies and ERIC abstracts highlighting classroom materials for African American studies and students. The documents and journal articles have been entered into the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. Most documents can be ordered from original sources or from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service, 1-800-443-ERIC.

• Family Involvement In Asian/Pacific Education

  by ERIC. ERIC abstracts on family involvement of Asian/Pacific Islanders. Most of the documents and journal articles have been entered into the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. Links to ERIC Abstracts provide detailed ordering information.

• Infusing Technology into Preservice Teacher Education

  by ERIC. This Digest examines the relationship between K-12 teachers' use of computer-based technologies to deliver and support classroom instruction and the training provided to prospective teachers by teacher education institutions. It offers an overview of obstacles faced by teacher educators in providing appropriate technology instruction and outlines approaches to addressing these obstacles.

F

• Effective Dropout Prevention and College Attendance Programs for Latino Students

  by O.S. Fashola & R. E. Slavin. Over the past ten years a number of programs designed to affect dropout rates and related outcomes have been implemented and evaluated in middle and high schools serving many Latino students. Collectively, these studies show that schools can make a dramatic difference in the dropout rates, school success, and college enrollment rates of at-risk Latino youth. The purpose of the paper is to review research on programs of this kind.

• Effective Programs for Latino Students in Elementary and Middle Schools

  by Olatokunbo S. Fashola, Robert E. Slavin, Margarita Calderón, and Richard Durán. The focus of this review is on the identification of programs that have been shown to be effective in rigorous evaluations, that are replicable across a broad range of elementary and middle schools, and that have been successfully evaluated or at least frequently applied to schools serving many Latino students.

• What Are The Characteristics Of The Bilingual Teacher Shortage?

  By Veronica Fern. Education Secretary Riley estimates that about two million new teachers will be needed in the next ten years. However, he cites significant barriers to providing an adequate pool of qualified teachers. These include the failure to recruit sufficient numbers of talented minorities to the profession, and the failure to prepare teachers adequately in the subject areas. This digest addresses the question of how do we best prepare teachers for linguistically- and culturally-diverse settings?

• Where Have All the Teacher Gone?

  by Mark Fetler. A rising need for teachers is projected for California and the nation during the next decade. Sound policy for teacher preparation should not only foster a capable workforce, it should also assure that the supply of qualified teachers balances with employment demand. A conceptual model is proposed to describe the flow of individuals through teacher preparation programs and the workplace. Evidence for a lack of balance between supply and demand is found in an upward trend of emergency hiring of teachers who do not meet all requirements for a credential and low employment rates for first-time college and university prepared teachers. The asymmetry between supply and demand could be redressed partly through better retention of working teachers and closer coordination of preparation programs with the needs of schools in their service areas.

• Maintaining Languages What Works? What Doesn't?
  
  

  by Joshua Fishman. This paper is adapted from the speech given by Dr. Fishman at the Second Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium on May 4, 1995.

• What Do You Lose When You Lose Your Language?

  By Joshua Fishman. Attitudes toward language-loss depend on your perspective. When a language is lost, you might look at that from the perspective of the individual. Many individuals suppressed their language and paid the price for it in one way or another. You can also speak from the point of view of the culture lost. The culture has lost its language. What is lost when the culture is so dislocated that it loses the language which is traditionally associated with it? That is a serious issue for Native Americans. We can ask it from the national point of view. What is lost by the country when the country loses its languages? This article focuses on language loss from only one of these perspectives, the perspective of the culture. Because losing your language is, technically, an issue in the relationship between language and culture. What is the relationship between language and culture?

• ESL Instruction in Adult Education: Findings from a National Evaluation

  by Nicholas B. Fitzgerald. This digest summarizes findings of the NEAEP that are pertinent to English as a second language (ESL) literacy education, including a profile of the ESL population served by adult education, the nature of ESL program participation, the impact of ESL instruction, and estimates of both current and future demand for ESL services.

• Facilitating Postsecondary Outcomes for Mexican Americans

  by Judith LeBlanc Flores. Postsecondary outcomes for Mexican Americans have not improved measurably since the mid-1980s. Although Hispanic students are attending and graduating from college in greater numbers, much of this growth is linked directly to their population growth. Despite increased representation among undergraduates and college graduates, Hispanic students complete college at a lower rate than the general student population. This digest addresses those factors that may facilitate postsecondary outcomes for Hispanic students, particularly Mexican-American students, who enroll in U.S. community colleges and 4-year institutions.

• Describing Students' Collected Works: Understanding American Indian Children

  by E. Franklin & J. Thompson. This article describes the collected written and visual works of one Dakota child, Monica, and three themes: relationships, cultural commitment, and romance visible in her works. Through a descriptive study of her works, Monica's teachers were able to understand her particular meaning-making efforts, the way in which various genres (e.g., personal narratives, realistic and romance fictional narratives, cards and letters, written and visual responses to books) supported her exploration and expression of meaning, and the struggles and tensions inherent in her creative process.

G

• Peer Coaching: An Effective Staff Development Model for Educators of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students
  
  

  by Paul Galbraith and Kris Anstrom. The leadership role on the part of educators of LCD students along with interdisciplinary cooperation between bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) and mainstream staff is critical for the effective education of LCD students. The education of these students has been perceived as the domain of only a small group of specialized individuals, namely ESL and bilingual teachers. This perception has often led to the isolation of LCD students from the rest of the school and to the provision of a separate curriculum for those students. This study suggests a staff development model to address these concerns.

• Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction And Sample Activities
  
  

  by Ann Galloway. This digest looks at the communicative approach to the teaching of foreign languages. It is intended as an introduction to the communicative approach for teachers and teachers-in-training who want to provide opportunities in the classroom for their students to engage in real-life communication in the target language. Questions to be dealt with include what the communicative approach is, where it came from, and how teachers' and students' roles differ from the roles they play in other teaching approaches. Examples of exercises that can be used with a communicative approach are described, and sources of appropriate materials are provided.

• Capturing Latino Students in the Academic Pipeline

  by Patricia Gándara, Katherine Larson, Russell Rumberger, and Hugh Mehan. This Brief reports on three California school-based programs aimed at improving the rate of both high school completion and college attendance among Latino students. While the aims of the three programs are similar, their strategies differ according to the segment of the population they target and the ways in which they deploy their resources. Yet each has proven to be effective. ALAS targets the lowest-achieving Latino students who are at the greatest risk of dropping out of high school. AVID targets underachieving students with above-average test scores who have the potential to take more-demanding college preparatory courses in high school. Puente targets students with varied levels of achievement with the aim of ensuring that they finish high school and go on to college. The report describe each of the programs and the evaluation results that exist to date.
  
  

• Choosing Higher Education: Educationally Ambitious Chicanos and the Path to Social Mobility

  by Patricia Gandara. This is a study of high academic achievement found in the most unlikely places: among low-income Mexican Americans from homes with little formal education. It examines the backgrounds of 50 persons, male and female from one age cohort, who met most of the predictors for school failure or "dropping out." All came from families in which neither parent completed high school or held a job higher than skilled labor; the average father finished grade four and most were sons and daughters of farmworkers and other unskilled laborers. Most began school with Spanish as their primary language, yet all completed doctoral-level educations from the country's most prestigious institutions. This study investigates the forces that conspire to create such anomalies. Its aim is to suggest how such outcomes might be the product of design rather than accident.

• Review of Research on the Instruction of Limited English Proficient Students
  
  

  by Patricia Gándara. The following report was written at the request of the Latino Caucus of the California Legislature and was completed in April of 1997 as the debate surrounding Proposition 227 was getting underway. The impetus for the report was the concern of the caucus that much of the rhetoric in the press and on the street was that "bilingual education had failed." The Caucus asked the question, "Is there research evidence that bilingual education works?" Hence, the task that was put to us was "not" to provide an accounting of studies and essays on all sides of the issue, but to essentially "present the case" for bilingual education. We called upon many of the most distinguished researchers in the field and asked them to provide guidance in answering the question that had been posed to us. (Their names are listed at the end of the report). This report represents a synthesis of their recommendations along with some analysis of basic education data.

  This publication is available only in PDF format.

• The Education of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students: Effective Instructional Practices

  by Eugene Garcia. This report suggests that linguistically and culturally diverse students can achieve academic success when provided with appropriate instruction tailored to meet their specific needs. Recent research has documented effective instructional practices used with students from homes and communities where English is not the primary language of communication. These descriptive studies identified specific schools and classrooms whose language minority students were particularly successful academically.

• Integrating Language and Content: Lessons From Immersion

  by Fred Genesee. Among the most interesting and effective innovations in second language education during the last three decades have been the immersion programs developed in Canada. The first immersion programs were developed to provide Canada's majority-group English-speaking students with opportunities to learn Canada's other official language. Since that time, immersion programs have been adopted in many different areas of North America, and alternative forms of immersion have been devised. This report presents a selective review of research findings from the extensive evaluations that have been undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of immersion programs in Canada and the United States. It focuses on selected aspects of second language learning and discusses implications of immersion research findings for the design and development of second language programs in other school settings for other kinds of learners.

• Diversifying the Teaching Force: Preparing Paraeducators as Teachers

  by Michael Genzuk. This digest suggests that the nation's nearly 500,000 paraeducators working in K-12 classrooms embody a promising source of prospective teachers. Paraeducator-to-teacher programs capitalize on the attributes that paraeducators bring to the program and the program streamlines their pathway into teaching. Studies suggest that paraeducator-to-teacher program graduates bring a wealth of community and student knowledge to their practice, attributes that are highly regarded in today's diverse classrooms.

• Paraeducator-To-Teacher Pipeline: A 5-Year Retrospective on an Innovative Teacher Preparation Program for Latina(os).

  by Michael Genzuk and Reynaldo Baca. This article from the "Journal on Education and Urban Society" provides a 5-year retrospective on the experience of planning and carrying out a paraeducator-to teacher pipeline program. Described are how the project works, lessons learned to date, and directions for the future.

• Para-Educators: A Source for Remedying the Shortage of Teachers for Limited English-Proficient Students

  by Michael Genzuk, Magaly Lavadenz, and Stephen Krashen. This article suggests bilingual paraeducators are a promising source of bilingual teachers. It discusses possible barriers and support to the process of preparing this potential work force to take its place among the ranks of the nation's teachers.

• Advances in Research in Bilingual Education

  by Gustavo Gonzalez & Lento F. Maez. As we prepare students to meet the challenges of the 21st century, research must be utilized to guide the implementation of innovative and comprehensive school-wide instructional practices that focus on helping all students meet high standards. The findings and conclusions from the research studies discussed here can be applied to help linguistically and culturally diverse students reach high levels of achievement and performance.

• Funds of Knowledge: A Look at Luis Moll's Research Into Hidden Family Resources

  by Norma Gonzalez, James Greenberg, and Carlos Velez. How can committed city teachers boost the literacy skills of their poor, minority students? According to some educational researchers, the answer lies in a more "sociocultural" approach to literacy instruction.

• Funds of Knowledge: Learning from Language Minority Households

  by N. González, L. C. Moll, M. Floyd-Tenery, A. Rivera, P. Rendón, R. Gonzales, and C. Amanti. This Digest describes a research model that has shown that classroom practice can be developed, transformed, and enriched by drawing upon the existing funds of knowledge in minority students' households. Funds of knowledge refers to those historically developed and accumulated strategies (e.g., skills, abilities, ideas, practices) or bodies of knowledge that are essential to a household's functioning and well-being. Through participant-observer visits to minority student households, researchers and teachers became aware of these funds of knowledge.

• Teacher Research on Funds of Knowledge: Learning from Households

  by Norma González, Luis C. Moll, Martha Floyd-Tenery, Anna Rivera, Patricia Rendón, Raquel Gonzales, and Cathy Amanti. This report is from the University of Arizona National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning. The article reports the conceptualization of working-class Latino students' households as being rich in funds of knowledge has engendered transformative consequences for teachers, parents, students, and researchers. The qualitative study of their own students' households by teachers has unfolded as a viable method for bridging the gap between school and community.

• The Effects of Electronic Mail on Spanish L2 Discourse

  by Manuela González-Bueno. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of using e-mail as a tool to promote foreign language learning in and out of the classroom. The study identifies the following features of the foreign language generated through the electronic medium, some of which have already been observed in previous studies: (a) greater amount of language; (b) more variety of topics and language functions; (c) higher level of language accuracy; (d) more similarity with oral language; (e) more student initiated interactions; and (f) more personal and expressive language use. These observations are expected to expand the generalizations made in previous studies, and more finely tune theoretical propositions, about how to integrate electronic communication in the classroom in order to facilitate foreign language learning.

• Reading in the Bilingual Classroom: Literacy and Biliteracy

  by Kenneth Goodman, Yetta Goodman and Barbara Flores. The purpose of this monograph is to examine the issues of reading in bilingual education. The focus is primarily on the contemporary classroom in the United States. The authors examine the problems, issues, trends, and research. They also include suggestions on promising directions.

• Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Teaching

  by A. Lin Goodwin. The nation's schools are increasingly multiracial even as the teaching force continues to be predominantly white. This juxtaposition of burgeoning "minority" school populations against dwindling numbers of "minority" teachers has drawn much scholarly attention. Yet, few studies include data on Asian and Pacific Islander (API) teachers rendering information partial, at best. This ERIC digest reviews available data on APIs in order to assess their presence in the teaching profession.

• A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Bilingual Education
  
  

  by Jay P. Greene. With the sponsorship of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, the Public Policy Clinic of the University of Texas' Government Department, and Harvard University's Program on Education Policy and Governance, the researchers have conducted a systematic, statistical review of the literature on the effectiveness of bilingual education. With this technique known as meta-analysis to summarize the scholarly research, they find that children with limited English proficiency who are taught using at least some of their native language perform significantly better on standardized tests than similar children who are taught only in English. In other words, an unbiased reading of the scholarly research suggests that bilingual education helps children who are learning English.

H

• Bilingualism and Bilingual Education: A Research Perspective

  by Kenji Hakuta. This article reviews numerous areas including the following topics: bilingualism defined, what is bilingual about bilingual education? second language learning, bilingualism and cognitive development, and cross-language transfer of skills and knowledge.

• A Critical Period for Second Language Acquisition? A Status Review
  
  

  by Kenji Hakuta. In a recent court declaration urging that immigrant students be exposed to English as early as possible, an advocate wrote: "‹the optimal time to learn a second language is between age three and five or as soon thereafter as possible, and certainly before the onset of puberty" (Porter, 1998). Such statements derive from the critical period hypothesis for second language acquisition, the origins of which are attributable to Penfield and Roberts (1959) and more prominently perhaps to Eric Lenneberg (1967), who amassed evidence in support of the view that first language acquisition is a biologically constrained process, with a specific timetable ending at puberty. In a single paragraph of the book (p. 176), Lenneberg speculated about the implications for second language acquisition, noting that after puberty, second languages are acquired consciously and with great effort, and often not very successfully. The purpose of this paper is to make explicit the assumptions underlying this hypothesis, and to highlight what we know, and don't know, about its empirical status.

  This publication is available only in PDF format.

• Development of a Research Agenda for the Education of Limited-English Proficient and Bilingual Students

  by: K. Hakuta, J. Banks, Christian, Durán, Kaestle, Kenny, Leinhardt, Ortiz, Hinojosa, Lucinda Pease-Alvarez, & Snow. The Committee to Develop a Research Agenda for the Education of Limited-English-Proficient and Bilingual Students was convened to undertake a comprehensive review and synthesis of research on the education of limited-English-proficient and bilingual students an recommend research needs and priorities for the future. A report of the committee's work, Improving Schooling for Language-Minority Children: A Research Agenda, was published in early 1997. A second report published in February 1998, Educating Language-Minority Children summarizes for teachers and education policymakers what has been learned over the past three decades about educating language-minority students.

• How Long Does It Take English Learners to Attain Proficiency?

  by K. Hakuta, Y. G. Butler and D. Witt. One of the most commonly asked questions about the education of language minority students is how long they need special services, such as English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and bilingual education. The purpose of this paper is to pull together findings that directly address this question. This study reports on data from four different school districts to draw conclusions on how long it takes students to develop oral and academic English proficiency.

  This publication is available only in PDF format.
  
  

• Using E-Mail To Communicate With Students Can Make You A Better Teacher

  by Kerry Hannon. This article suggests using e-mail to communicate with students can make you a better teacher - and increase class participation.
  
  

  This publication is available only in PDF format.

• ESL Versus Mainstream Classes: Contrasting L2 Learning Environments
  
  

  by Linda Harklau. Language minority students are often placed in mainstream, English medium classrooms long before they develop the degree of language proficiency necessary to compete on an equal footing with native speakers of the school language. With the ever-increasing presence of such students in U.S. schools, ESL and content are educators are working to better integrate their respective curricula and instructional roles. In order to accomplish this integration, significant instructional difference in these two contexts must be identified, and systematic comparisons must detail how L2 learners fare in each of these instructional environments. What do students lose and gain in their transition from ESL to the mainstream? This question was addressed in a 3 1/2 year ethnography of the L2 learning experiences of newcomer students attending a high school in northern California.

• Inner City Life Through Drama: Imagining the Language Classroom

  by Shirley Brice Heath. Both language learning theorists and practitioners of teaching English as a second language or dialect have argued that role playing moves language learners beyond their usual performance in ordinary classroom presentations. This paper tells the story of how inner city youth organizations use dramas that young people write, cast, and direct to enable them to retain their first language or dialect while gaining standard English and preparing for job entry. The story ends with implications for the language classroom.

• Easy Does It: Introducing Pupils to Bilingual Instruction

  by Glenn Ole Hellekjaer. Bilingual instruction is the Council of Europe's preferred term for teaching content in a foreign language. This article looks at some of the ways in which bilingual instruction differs from foreign language and subject-matter instruction, and what this means for teaching. It pays particular attention to the process of introducing upper-secondary school pupils to this novel form of instruction, and offers practical suggestions on how to teach and organize such a class. Next it looks at how foreign language and subject-matter instruction can help or hinder bilingual instruction. Last, it discusses briefly the need for a whole school policy to support a bilingual program.

• American Indian Culture and Curriculum: A Guide to Literature
  
  

  by Mary Hermes. Located within the recent scholarship in Indian Education, this brief annotated bibliography concentrates on the subject broadly referred to as "culture and curriculum." If culture is understood as the collective values, practices, and will of a people, then cultural practices in Indian education can only be understood as acts of self-determination.
  
  

• Beyond Culture: Communicating With Asian American Children And Families

  by Gary Huang. To explore the complexities of communication with Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) children and their families, this digest describes the overt and covert dimensions of the various API cultures, and discusses APIs' socioeconomic background and life experiences that affect their communication behavior. The goal is to help practitioners improve communication with APIs and, thus, more effectively educate API children.

• Learner Contributions to Knowledge, Community, and Learning

  by Beverly Hunter and John Richards. The nature of work and learning in our knowledge-based society and economy requires active participation by individuals and groups in the construction of knowledge. Active construction of knowledge, participation in collaborative learning, and building on learners' interests and experiences outside of school are major threads in educational reform and new curriculum standards. This paper provides examples of student work that not only demonstrates their own learning as young "knowledge" workers, but also makes a contribution to their community, to the learning of others, and to the base of knowledge available on the Internet.

I

J

• Teacher-As-Researcher
  
  

  by Beverly Johnson. This ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher Education Digest focuses on teacher as researcher. The article reviews "action research" a deliberate, solution oriented investigation that is group or personally owned and conducted. It is characterized by spiraling cycles of problem identification, systematic data collection, reflection, analysis, data-driven action taken, and, finally, problem redefinition. The linking of the terms "action" and "research" highlights the essential features of this method: trying out ideas in practice as a means of increasing knowledge about and/or improving curriculum, teaching, and learning

• Plugging In: Choosing and Using Educational Technology

  by Beau Fly Jones, Gilbert Valdez, Jeri Nowakowski, & Claudette Rasmussen. This publication introduces what we know about effective learning and effective technology, and puts it together in a planning framework for educators and policy makers. After reading about effective learning and technology, educators can follow the instructions to actually use the framework to plan technology and technology enhanced programs that complement learning. Published in 1995 by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.

K

• The Hmong Literacy Project: Parents Working to Preserve the Past and Ensure the Future

  by Hee-Won Kang, P. Keuhn, and A. Herrellby Hee-Won Kang. This article suggests that for some adults, the development of literacy may be a practical matter of economic advancement or survival. For others, it may be a matter of broader concerns such as preservation of a culture and helping to brighten the future of their children. The Hmong Literacy Project, funded by the National Institute for Literacy, encompassed all of these concerns.This article is a description of the implementation and some of the results of the project.

• Should English be the Law?

  by Robert D. King. Language is tearing apart countries around the world, and the proponents of "Official English" may be ready to add America to the list. An article in the Atlantic Monthly.

• The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.

  by Martin Luther King Jr. This page contains a few of King's more famous works and includes some of the material found in The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.at the MLKJ Website at Stanford University. Included are the Letter from Birmingham Jail, August 28th Address at March on Washington (The "I Have a Dream" speech), Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, and the I See The Promised Land (aka "I've Been To The Mountaintop", King's last sermon). Free registration may be required.

• Electronic Collaboration: A Practical Guide for Educators

  by by Ann Koufman-Frederick, Martha Lillie, Laurie Pattison-Gordon, Daniel Lynn Watt, and Richard Carter. A collboration of the Northeast & Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University, the National School Network, & the Teacher Enhancement Electronic Community Hall. This full-text guide features an 11-step process for making online collaborative projects successful. Offerings include: explanations of various kinds of online collaborations -- discussion groups, data collection and organization, document sharing, synchronous communication, and online workshops and courses, tools and websites that can be resources for creating each of these forms of collaborative environments, and tips for moderating online collaborations. Examples of school-based online collaborations appear throughout the guide.

  You can download/view the full report in a PDF file also.
  
  

  NOTE: To read this article in PDF format you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Bilingual Education: A Focus on Current Research

  by Stephen D. Krashen. The core of the case for bilingual education is that the principles underlying successful bilingual education are the same principles that underlie successful language acquisition in general. These principles are: (1) We acquire a second language by understanding messages, by obtaining comprehensible input. (2) Background knowledge can help make second language input more comprehensible, and can thus assist in the acquisition of the second language. (3) The development of literacy occurs in the same way as second language acquisition does.

• The Dropout Argument

  by Stephen Krashen. Critics of bilingual education have cited the high Hispanic dropout rate as evidence against bilingual education. Since most bilingual programs are Spanish-English, it is concluded that bilingual education must be responsible. This note reviews what is known about dropout rates among Hispanic students.

• Has Whole Language Failed?

  by Stephen Krashen. The "failure" of whole language in California has been widely reported. The author attempts to give a clear definition of whole language, discuss some of the research, and provide some information about the impact of whole language in California.

  You can download/view the full report in a PDF file also.
  
  

  To read this article you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Why Bilingual Education?

  by Stephen Krashen. Bilingual education continues to receive criticism in the national media. This Digest examines some of the criticism, and its effect on public opinion, which often is based on misconceptions about bilingual education's goals and practice. The Digest explains the rationale underlying good bilingual education programs and summarizes research findings about their effectiveness.

• African Languages at the K-12 Level

  by Patricia Kuntz. Although the teaching of African languages at the elementary and secondary levels is rare, a number of schools offer one or more of the following major African languages at these levels: Arabic (North Africa), Hausa (West Africa), Swahili (East Africa), Wolof (Senegal), Yoruba (Nigeria), and Xhosa and Zulu (South Africa). This digest suggests these programs have adequate instructional materials, learning time, effective teaching practices, and curricula designed by scope and sequence.

L

• Senate Testimony on Ebonics

  Testimony submitted by William Labov, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania, Past President of the Linguistic Society of America, member of the National Academy of Science.

• Teaching Science to Language Minority Students in Elementary Classrooms

  by Bernard Laplante. This article proposes a number of language and science related teaching strategies that are appropriate for elementary science teachers working with language minority students. Each of the nine strategies proposed are described and their theoretical underpinnings discussed. When appropriate, classroom examples are given. Commonly held teachers' beliefs (about language and science) are discussed, as these beliefs are sometimes contrary to the theoretical underpinnings of alternative strategies and impact negatively on their implementation in the classroom. It is hoped that this approach will allow teachers to reflect on their classroom practice not only in terms of teaching strategies but also by considering how their own beliefs guide this practice.

  NOTE: To read this article you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Funds of Knowledge for Teaching

  by Mary S. Leighton, Amy M. Hightower, Pamela Wrigley. Funds of Knowledge for Teaching" (FKT) is a project of the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology and the College of Education at the University of Arizona. At the core of this project is a notion of culture as a dynamic entity--a way of using social, physical, spiritual, and economic resources to make one's way in the world. In FKT, anthropologists, teacher educators, and teachers learn about the funds of knowledge possessed by students and their families in order to gain insight about connections among ordinary curricular goals and students' experience in the community. Together they devise new academic materials, strategies, and activities that build more sturdily on what students know and can do outside of school.

• Model Strategies in Bilingual Education: Professional Development
  
  

  by Mary S. Leighton, Amy M. Hightower and Pamela Wrigley. From the projects described in this federally sponsored report, educators can learn much about how to develop a highly qualified instructional workforce for language minority students. Illustrates research-supported principles of professional development with the experiences of communities of scholars, practitioners, and teacher aspirants at selected sites. Commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs.

• Dealing with Diversity: Some Propositions from Canadian Education

  by Benjamin Levin and J. Anthony Riffel. Increasing diversity in the population is a major issue for educators in North America, presenting political as well as educational challenges. This paper examines Canadian educational policy responses to four kinds of diversity - bilingualism (French/English), multiculturalism, the situation of aboriginal peoples, and the problem of poverty. A description of each issue leads to some speculations or propositions on the nature of diversity and appropriate educational responses to it.

• Official English and English Plus: An Update

  by V. W. Lewelling. The issue of an official language has surfaced periodically throughout U.S. history. On the surface, the idea appears to be a symbolic gesture-to give English, the de facto language of the country, official status. However, proposals have also called for prohibition of state laws, ordinances, orders, programs, and policies that require the use of other languages. Concern over the implications such an amendment could have for U.S. citizens and residents whose native language is other than English led to formation of an English Plus language advocacy coalition of more than 50 civil rights and educational organizations. This digest reviews these topics.

• Linguistic Society of America Statement on Language Rights

  by Linguistic Society of America. In this Statement, the Society addresses some of the misconceptions and urges the protection of basic linguistic rights.

• Caring, Community, and Personalization: Strategies to Combat the Hispanic Dropout Problem

  by A.T. Lockwood. This article examines the context in which Hispanic students drop out of school--and what one exemplary middle school has done to battle these contextual factors. A web of interlocking factors synergize to make dropping out of school much more likely for Hispanic students. Factors include racial and ethnic identity, gender, socioeconomic status, academic performance, self-concept, family organization, and language fluency.

• Emphasis on Equity: The Calexico School District's Secondary-Level Strategies for Hispanic Youth

  by A.T. Lockwood. In this document attention focuses on secondary-level curricular strategies that have been successful in not only significantly diminishing the dropout rate of Hispanic students, but also accomplishing a variety of other worthwhile goals. It features the educational strategies of the Calexico School District in Calexico.

• Ensuring Academic Success for Hispanic Students: Three Elementary School Programs

  by A.T. Lockwood. To bond Hispanic students to schools and prepare them for productive roles as citizens in a democratic society, school staff need to familiarize themselves with the many outstanding programs available to strengthen their current instructional and social agenda, and to implement programs best suited to the individual needs of their student populations. Many demonstrably effective programs at the elementary or middle level already are flourishing in schools around the country. This article focuses on three of those programs: Success for All, the HOSTS Program (Helping One Student To Succeed), and Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI). This article illustrates what each of the three programs looks like in application.

• Transforming Education for Hispanic Youth: Exemplary Practices, Programs, and Schools

  by Anne T. Lockwood and Walter G. Secada. The document contains six chapters. The first, The Hispanic Dropout Problem and Recommendations for Its Solution, provides statistics on the Hispanic dropout rate, and an overview of findings from the Hispanic Dropout Project. Included are the probable reasons for the dropout problem and the best methods of solving it. Chapters Two through Five describe the implementation of effective programs for Hispanic youth in elementary and secondary schools. Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) in mathematics, Helping One Student to Succeed (HOSTS), and Success for All are presented among the successful models. The final chapter incorporates interviews with four members of the Hispanic Dropout Project in a discussion of what leads to Hispanic dropout and how to en sure a better future for the education of Hispanic students.

  NOTE: To read this article you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• The Roles of Native Languages in English-Only Programs for Language Minority Students

  by Tamara Lucas and Anne Katz. The use of the native language appears so compelling that it emerges even when policies and assumptions mitigate against it. This article explores the complexities of the use of students' native languages in schooling, describes and illustrates various ways these languages were used in the English-based but multilingual programs, and argues that programs for language minority students should be reconceptualized to move beyond the emotional and politically heated debate that opposes English-only instruction to native language instruction.

M

• Digital Divide Persists
  

  
  

  by Courtney Macavinta. Although more Americans are getting online, race and class lines still are sharply segregating those who have access, according to a report issued today by the Commerce Department. In the agency's third annual look at the so-called digital divide between technology "haves" and "have-nots," the 1998 data shows that those living in rural areas and those at the lowest income levels have much less access to computers and Net connections in comparison to upper-income households in urban areas. Although 40 percent of U.S. households were online last year, there is a perpetuating trend in which whites are on the Net at a much greater rate than African Americans, Latinos, or those of Asian/Pacific Islander descent, according to the report, Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide, which is based on U.S. Census data.

• Summary Report of the Survey of the States' Limited English Proficient Students and Available Educational Programs and Services

  by Reynaldo F. Macias and Candace Kelly. This 1996 report summarizes the information submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs by State Educational Agencies (SEAs) in the Survey of States' Limited English Proficient Students and Available Educational Programs and Services for the 1994-95 school year. The explicit purpose of the annual SEA Survey is to collect information on the number of limited English proficient (LEP) students in the various states and outlying territories and jurisdictions and the educational services provided or available to them.

• English Literacy in the U.S.: National Policies, Personal Consequences

  by S. L. Mckay and G. Weinstein-Shr. This article examines the relationship between U.S. national policies on literacy, available literacy programs, and individual lives. Beginning with a discussion of the expanding role of English literacy in U.S. immigration policies, this article examines the pressures to become literate in English with consideration given to the resources that are available to do so. Language use in immigrant families is discussed with a focus on native language loss and the consequences of this loss for intergenerational relationships. The article concludes with suggestions for an approach to literacy in which the links between national policies and personal lives are made explicit.

• Myths and Misconceptions About Second Language Learning: What Every Teacher Needs to Unlearn
  
  

  by Barry McLaughlin. By discussing commonly held myths and misconceptions, this paper attempts to clarify a number of important issues in the area of second language learning. These include the ease and rapidity with which children learn a second language, the optimal age at which to begin second language instruction, the importance of the extent of exposure to the second language, the relationship between oral communication skills and academic language skills, and cultural and individual differences in language learning styles. Each myth presented in this paper is followed by a discussion of related research on second language learning and its implications for classroom teachers.

• Educating All Our Students: Improving Education for Children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds

  by Barry McLaughlin & Beverly McLeod. Researchers at the National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning have identified instructional strategies that are effective for educating students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. They have also studied reform efforts that have important lessons for the school, the teacher, and the classroom. This research has a bearing on how schools can be organized and how teachers can teach to meet the needs of all their students.

• School Reform and Student Diversity: Exemplary Schooling for Language Minority Students
  
  

  by Beverly McLeod. The National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in collaboration with BW Associates of Berkeley, California, was contracted by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) to study good educational practice for LEP students. Researchers conducted a nationwide search for schools that have successfully met the challenge of educating LEP and other language minority students to high standards.

• Young Seminoles and Natural Math

  by Linda C. Medearis. A descriptive review of a two-year research project with the children and families of the Oklahoma Seminole Nation Head Start.

• Contextual Factors Surrounding Hispanic Dropouts

  by Hugh Mehan. The prevailing discourse poses dropping out as a failure of individuals. The purpose of this paper is to try to interrupt that discourse and to furnish a different "way of talking that can unpack, inform, critique but still imagine what could be" in public urban high schools in the United States. The different way proposed represents dropping out in social, not personal, terms, as an institutional production that reproduces the structures of inequality in the educational, economic, and civic domains of everyday life.

• Electronic Text and English as a Second Language Environments

  by Carla Meskill, Jonathan Mossop, Richard Bates. School-age children for whom English is not the native language have immediate and critical needs regarding English language and literacy. The majority of these children are not in any of the nation's bilingual programs. Thus they are restricted in their participation in academic activity during the period needed for their second language and literacy acquistion, a period which is typically from five to seven years. During this time, English as a Second Language (ESL) learners receive instruction in second language and literacy through specialized English as a second language instruction as well as "incidentally" in regular mainstream classroom classes. Providing opportunities for ESL learners to develop English language and literacy skills is a continual challenge and concern for schools. Recent interest in technologies as a means of supporting language development has brought ESL teaching professionals around the country to include computers, multimedia, and telecommunications as tools for instruction. In addition to ESL-specific instruction, non-ESL or mainstream teachers are coming to view these technologies as a means by which ESL learners who cannot otherwise participate in class activities can be actively involved in language and literacy practice.

  NOTE: To read this article in PDF format you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  
  

• Expert and Novice Teachers Talking Technology: Precepts, Concepts, and Misconcepts

  by C. Meskill, J. Mossop, S. DiAngelo, and R.K. Pasquale. This study compares and contrasts the "technology talk" of novice and expert teachers of K-8 language and literacy (ESOL). Interview data with eight teachers - two expert (experienced teachers and technologies users), five novice (limited experience in teaching and teaching with computers) and one transitional expert (experienced teacher and non-technology user) serve to illustrate the conceptual and practical differences between those who have adapted technologies as powerful teaching and learning tools and teachers who, in spite of specific formal training in instructional technology, speak about it and its application in starkly contrasting ways. These contrasts are presented as a set of four conceptual continua that can help in explicating novice starting points, transitional issues, and the expertise of computer-using language professionals.

  NOTE: To read this article in PDF format you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  
  

• Re-Thinking the Education of Teachers of Language Minority Children: Developing Reflective Teachers for Changing Schools

  by Robert Milk; Carmen Mercado; Alexandria Sapiens. The authors suggest that as teaching contexts change, so, too, must teacher training and staff development programs adapt to reflect shifting realities. Impetus for change in teacher education is particularly strong in today's environment and is currently being driven by three significant forces: political, demographic, and programmatic. Each of these forces is described in this paper.

• Bilingual Education: New Visions for a New Era
  
  

  by Barbara Miner. This article looks at two California schools with large Latino populations take very different tacks to preserve bilingual literacy in the wake of Proposition 227's "English-only" provisions.

• Evaluation of English Language Development Programs in the Santa Ana Unified School District

  by Douglas E. Mitchell, Tom Destino, and Rita Karam. Summary of the report on data system reliability and statisticfal modeling of program impacts in the Santa Ana Unified School District's English language development and bilingual programs.

• Early Reading Instruction, Non-English Language Background, and Schooling Achievement

  by H. Molina, D. Farrell Siegel, and R. A. Hanson. This paper presents the results of several related studies that examine the relationship among early reading instruction, non-English language background, and the schooling achievement of high school seniors. Collectively, these studies challenge the current thinking about when students should begin receiving formal reading instruction, and that being from a non English language background (NELB) is generally synonymous with being academically disadvantaged. To the contrary, they indicated that NELB students, particularly those who are provided with early reading instruction, are generally not at a disadvantage in terms of standard education measures taken in high school. That is, after controlling for social class and family size, being from a non-English language background probably has positive effects on the general achievement levels of children. These findings add support to bilingual programs utilizing NELB language and cultural assets.

• From College to First-Year Teaching How the United States Compares to Several Other Countries
  
  

  edited by Jay Moskowitz and Maria Stephens. Up to one-third of new U.S. teachers leave the profession within the first few years. One reason for this "wastage" of teaching resources, according to the Commission, is our typical "sink-or-swim" attitude toward teacher induction. In contrast, new teachers in some other countries are provided with resources and guidance that help them to make a successful transition from being students themselves to becoming self-confident, skilled professional teachers. This paper reviews a cross-national study of teacher induction practices.

• From Students of Teaching to Teachers of Students: Teacher Induction Around the Pacific Rim

  edited by Jay Moskowitz and Maria Stephens. This publication is the result of the second phase of a study on teacher training and professional development sponsored by APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). Phase I of the study described teacher preparation systems across APEC members, to identify key issues and challenges for teacher preparation and professional development, and to identify promising practices for the future of teacher preparation. The findings of Phase II, focusing on policy and practices of teacher induction in 11 participating APEC members, are presented here.

N

• Linguistic Diversity and Reform: Can Practices be Identified?

  by Adel Nadeau. This 1997 paper draws on the author's experiences leading a major school reform effort in an urban elementary school with a large limited English proficient (LEP) student population. The discussion offers insights into successful reform practices premised on the language and academic needs of LEP students. The context for reform as it existed at the author's school is presented first. Pedagogical premises that apply to programs for LEP students are outlined next, followed by the reform practices.

• Teacher Professionalization and Teacher Commitment: A Multilevel Analysis

  from National Center For Education Statistics. This report reviews teacher professionalization-the movement to upgrade the status, training, and working conditions of teachers. This report is concerned with the effects of teacher professionalization on elementary and secondary teachers in the United States. The analysis assesses the effects of teacher professionalization by examining the relationships between a selected set of characteristics, traditionally associated with professions and professionals, and one of the most important aspects of the quality and performance of teachers: their commitment to their teaching careers.

• Technology @ Your Fingertips: A Guide to Implementing Technology Solutions for Education Agencies and Institutions

  by National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Decisions about technology can be daunting for a school, particularly if no one there has experience with hardware, software, or networking. That's why the Department's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produced a publication now available (in HTML) on the web. The 100 page publication tells how to.define your needs and technical requirements; develop a "needs assessment"; determine what resources you have and what resources you will need; implement, support, and maintain your technology solution; provide effective training, and more.

  You can download/view the full report in a PDF file also (1,053K)

  NOTE: To read this article in PDF format you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Technology and the New Professional Teacher: Preparing for the 21st Century Classroom

  by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Task Force on Technology and Teacher Education. A group of educators from diverse institutions and backgrounds was assembled to consider ways that NCATE can provide leadership and support initiatives to meet the technology challenge facing teacher education institutions. The first section of the report presents the task force's vision of what teachers must be able to do in order to take advantage of technology for instruction and student learning, identifies current teacher education program deficiencies, and suggests what teacher education programs need to do to correct the deficiencies and bring vision into reality. The second section advances three broad recommendations regarding what NCATE can do to: (1) stimulate more effective uses of technology in teacher education programs, (2) use technology to improve the existing accreditation process and to reconceptualize accreditation for the 21st century, and (3) improve and expand its own operations through greater uses of technology. Brief case illustrations that demonstrate innovative technology use in a variety of teacher preparation programs appear throughout the text to highlight and illustrate points made in the report. The task force finds that a watershed for education and training has been created by rising costs for P-12 and higher education, by educational reform efforts at the state and federal levels, and by developments in modern information technology that have already affected the U.S. economy and society.

• The Debate Over English Only

  by National Education Association (NEA). This article reviews: Reasons Against English Only; NEA Resolutions; Language Inclusion History & English Only Legislation; Community Recommendations; and English Only Resources.

• Prisoners Of Time

  by the Natioanl Education Commission on Time and Learning. The report of the National Education Commission on Time and Learning suggests that learning in America is a prisoner of time. For the past 150 years, American public schools have held time constant and let learning vary. The rule, only rarely voiced, is simple: learn what you can in the time we make available. It should surprise no one that some bright, hard-working students do reasonably well. Everyone else-from the typical student to the dropout- runs into trouble.

• LINGO JINGO English-Only and the New Nativism

  by Geoffrey Nunberg. This essay suggests that the story told by the English-only movement is nonsense from beginning to end. No language was ever less in need of official protection.

O

• Full Text of Ebonics' Resolution Adopted by Oakland Board of Education - December 18, 1996
  
  

  by Oakland Board of Education. Resolution of the board of education adopting the report and recommendations of the African-American Task Force; a policy statement and directing the superintendent of schools to devise a program to improve the English language acquisition and application skills of African-American students.

• Syncretic Literacy: Multiculturalism in Samoan American Families

  by A. Duranti E. Ochs. On the basis of research on the Samoan American community of urban Los Angeles, the authors argue against two common misconceptions of multiculturalism: (1) that language is a precise indicator of cultural orientation; and (2) that members of multicultural communities are in one culture at a time. The notion of syncretic literacy is introduced to account for the ways in which the same language (in this case, Samoan or English) can be used for distinct cultural practices and the ways in which different cultural practices can be merged within the same literacy activity.

• Teacher Recruitment and Training in After-School Programs

  by Office of Educational Research and Improvement U.S. Department of Education. Paper suggesting that after-school programs can be a great source of prospective teachers by starting teacher cadet programs for middle school and high school students. after-school environments can introduce prospective teachers to diverse student populations and at-risk students. By beginning to work with at-risk students and their families prior to entering the teaching force, future teachers will be better aware of the challenges they will face in regular classrooms.

• Technology in After-School Programs

  Office of Educational Research and Improvement U.S. Department of Education. Paper suggesting that computers and access to the Internet provide tremendous opportunities for after school learning to reinforce reading, math, and writing skills as well as to complete homework and school assignments that focus on doing research, gathering information, and writing reports. More complex math, science, and art projects often necessitate simulations and problem solving that can also be enhanced by using computers. In addition, technology can enable schools to reach families at home and bring other community resources such as museums, libraries, and local projects to kids via telecommunications. In a recent survey on after-school programs, parents cited access to technology and computer literacy as their number one priority for after-school activities.

• Junior Historians: Doing Oral History with ESL and Bilingual Students

  by Irma M. Olmedo. Teaching social studies to bilingual or ESL students in the U. S. can create both linguistic and cultural difficulties. Because social studies textbooks and materials use abstract vocabulary, teachers need to develop comprehensible examples for students with limited English skills and information retrieval skills and a knowledge base to make the curriculum content accessible. Many teachers are already rethinking the way the social studies is taught in order to find ways to make the subject more interesting and comprehensible to students. One approach helps students understand that history is filled with stories. By employing oral history approaches with bilingual and ESL students, teachers can "bring history home" and help students understand that history is not just something that happened long ago and now lives only in their textbooks, but rather that they and their communities are players on the historical stage.

• If Ebonics Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?

  by Wayne O'Neil. A linguist addresses some of the more common questions about Ebonics and the Oakland School Board resolution, and some of the misconceptions about the resolution spread by the mainstream media.

• Comprehensive Planning: Guidance for Educators of American Indian and Alaska Native Students

  by ORBIS Associates. This Digest provides brief descriptions of key federal legislation and initiatives calling for school reform. Each description is followed by a series of questions that can help American Indian and Alaska Native communities closely examine local school reform plans.

• Mexican American Women: Schooling, Work, and Family

  by Flora Ida Ortiz. The Bureau of Census (1994) reports there are approximately 13 million U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. Over 30 percent reside in the South and over 45 percent in the West. The lives of Mexican American women, wherever they reside, are affected profoundly by schooling, work, and family. This report shows the interdependence of these factors; changes in one affect the others.

• Using The World Wide Web to Integrate Spanish Language and Culture: A Pilot Study

  by Maritza M. Osuna and Carla Meskill. This pilot study investigates the potential role of Internet resources as a means to gain a deeper sense of the culture of the Spanish-speaking world for college students. Thirteen college students enrolled in the first quarter of Basic Spanish were instructed to utilize the Web to complete five activities that expanded on the aspects of culture studied in the class. Data collected demonstrate that the Web is a suitable tool to increase language and cultural knowledge, as well as a means to increase motivation. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

P

• Educating Teachers for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: A Model for All Teachers

  by JoAnn Parla. All educators must face the reality of culturally and linguistically diverse students in today's classrooms according to the author. School districts which never before had to instruct these students are now finding they must meet this need. Often, the number of bilingually trained personnel in these areas is limited. This article discusses issues related to the multicultural classroom. It presents a teacher-training component that includes information on cultural sensitivity, linguistic diversity, and teaching strategies.

• Creating a Community of Scholarship With Instructional Conversations in a Transitional Bilingual Classroom

  by G. Genevieve Patthey-Chavez, Lindsay Clark and Ronald Gallimore. This report explores the ways in which instructional conversations between a teacher and her students contributed to building an academic community in a transitional bilingual fourth-grade classroom. Through an analysis of reading lesson transcripts, classroom events, and student essays and journal assignments, this report shows how classroom experiences fostered the development of students' understanding of the concepts of sacrifice and responsibility. This report describes how, at both the individual and classroom community level, instructional conversations deepened student understandings of the texts they read in class by encouraging students to make connections between particular textual concepts and their own experiences. In addition to tracking student gains in understanding, this report shows how the conversations helped build a classroom community that incorporated the cultural beliefs and concerns of the students.

• Moving In and Out of Bilingualism: Investigating Native Language Maintenance and Shift in Mexican-Descent Children

  by Lucinda Pease-Alvarez. Recent research has emphasized the economic, social, and cognitive advantages available to bilinguals. Yet for many immigrant groups, bilingualism is a temporary phenomenon. Most immigrant children arrive in the United States as monolingual speakers of their native language, develop bilingualism as they acquire English, establish English-speaking households, and raise their children as English-speaking monolinguals. According to survey data, even Spanish, a language thought to be particularly enduring in the United States, seldom lasts beyond the second or third generation

• Cultural Differences and the Construction of Meaning: Implications for the Leadership and Organizational Context of Schools

  by Robert A. Peña. This article investigates the relationships between student achievement, student culture and practitioners' attitudes and expectations. Student achievement was defined as academic performance but also included perceptions, rationales and explanations for student behaviors and conduct. Student culture described students' Mexican American origins, customs and beliefs. Practitioners' attitudes described how middle school personnel generally perceived Mexican American high and underachieving students, and practitioners' expectations described how personnel interacted and behaved toward Mexican American students.

• "I 'on Know Why They Be Trippin'"

  by Theresa Perry. An essay on the political furor that greeted the Oakland School Board's resolution on Ebonics, and some of the issues that were glossed over during the noisy national debate that followed.

• Our Nation on the Fault Line: Hispanic American Education

  by President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. A report to the President of the United States, the Nation, and the Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education. The report includes an analysis of the current status of Hispanic American educational attainment, which is not optimistic, but, in fact, devastating to both Hispanics and the nation. Hispanic American progress toward achievement of the National Education Goals and other standards of educational accomplishment is constrained by the persistent gap in educational attainment between Hispanic Americans and other Americans, which is already intolerable.
  
  

• Mandarin Chinese for Elementary Students Project CLASS: Chinese Language Achievement through Sequential Study

  by Project CLASS. Comperhensive, sequential program to assist stuents to acquire the Mandarin Chinese langauge. Student Text, Student Workbook, and Teacher's Manual are provided in PDF format.

  NOTE: To read this article you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Q

• An Educator's Guide to Evaluating The Use of Technology in Schools and Classrooms

  by Sherri Quiñones and Rita Kirshstein. Evaluating educational technology programs can be a challenging endeavor. This guide represents a joint effort among the U.S. OERI, the Office of Educational Technology, and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. The guide should be viewed as a tool for individuals who have little or no formal training in research or evaluation. Its intended informal style and accompanying worksheets provide the basic principles of evaluation and are designed to help district and school personnel gain an overview of and ideas for evaluating local technology initiatives. The guide is not meant to be the key to conducting a perfect evaluation. Rather, the goal of this handbook is to provide educators a resource with which to jump into the evaluation process, learning as they go.

R

• Developing Target Second Language Skills Through Problem-Solving Activities in Mathematics
  

  
  

  by L. Radford, J. Netten, and G. Duquette. This article provides classroom teachers with clear directions and specific classroom strategies which will enable students to develop target second language skills through the teaching of mathematics. Students learn a number of problem-solving strategies and they apply these strategies to specific, real context situations using arithmetic and algebraic formulas. Students are encouraged to co-operate and communicate in finding solutions to the mathematical problems they face and thus develop communications skills related to the problem solving activities.
  
  

  NOTE: To read this article you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Final Report: Longitudinal Study of Structured English Immersion Strategy, Early-Exit and Late-Exit Transitional Bilingual Education Programs for Language-Minority Children

  by J. David Ramírez, Sandra D. Yuen, & Dena R. Ramey . This is the Executive Summary of the Final Report: Longitudinal Study of Structured English Immersion Strategy, Early-Exit and Late-Exit Transitional Bilingual Education Programs for Language-Minority Children, February 1991, as prepared for the United States Department of Education under contract no. 300-87-0156.

• Technology and Teacher Professional Development

  Rand report. Summarizes the first of four workshops organized to take advantage of the experience and insights of those already implementing new technologies in the schools. This workshop examined professional development needs and consisted of a one and one-half-day conversation with educators and experts working to apply communications technology to the school system.

• American Indian Language Policy and School Success
  
  

  by Jon Reyhner. This article looks from a historical perspective at what impact the implementation of the American Indian Languages Act might have on Indian education.

• Effective Language Education Practices and Native Language Survival
  
  

  edited by Jon Reyhner. Effective Language Education Practices and Native Language Survival is the proceedings of the Ninth Annual International Native American Language Issues (NALI) Institute co-sponsored by the NALI Board of Executors and the Montana Association for Bilingual Education and held in Billings, Montana, June 8 & 9, 1989.

• Teaching Indigenous Languages

  by Jon Reyhner. Teaching Indigenous Languages contains a selection of papers presented at the Fourth Annual Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium "Sharing Effective Language Renewal Practices" held at Northern Arizona University (NAU) on May 1, 2, and 3, 1997. This conference brought together nearly three hundred indigenous language experts, teachers, and community activists to share information on how indigenous languages can best be taught at home and at school.

• Teaching Indigenous Languages Home Page

  by Jon Reyhner. Contains over 40 full text papers on preserving, promoting, and teaching indigenous languages plus some 50 full text columns on American Indian/Alaska Native education from the newsletter of the National Association for Bilingual Education. Well worth the visit.

• A Brief History of Language Restrictionism in the United States

  by Thomas Ricento. A review of the history of language restrictionism in the United States and commentaries on current efforts to declare English the official language.

• The Ebonics Controversy in My Backyard: A Sociolinguist's Experiences and Reflections

  by John R. Rickford. A Sociolinguists, from the Department of Linguistics at Stanford University, discussion of the controversial language debate on Ebonics.

• The Internet and the Humanities: The Human Side of Networking

  by Margaret Riel. Current developments in communication technology now provide new options for students to extend themselves across distances and through time. This technology invites children to leap off the "shoulders of giants" onto satellites and use this global perspective to participate in new ways with their peers and other experts in distant locations. It is possible that these experiences will help make the power or the written word more apparent to new generation of citizens This paper on the Internet and the humanities focuses on the human side of networking. How do classrooms change when they are part of a global network like the Internet? What future images of schooling can we see from the vantage point of satellites? The paper is organized around two general topics followed by some reservations about technological solutions and problems.

• Transferring Literacy Skills From L1 to L2: From Theory to Practice

  by Cheryl A. Roberts. Do literacy skills developed in L1 transfer to L2? Many researchers and practitioners in ESL/BE are aware of research evidence which supports such transfer, but research is not always applied to practice. In this paper, the author discusses definitions of literacy, reviews research related to the transfer of literacy skills, and suggests some practical applications of research findings.

• Bilingual Special Education Teacher Preparation: A Conceptual Framework
  
  

  by Diane Rodriguez and Angela Carrasquillo. The purpose of this article is to discuss a conceptual framework for bilingual education teacher preparation. The framework described is based on information provided by experienced bilingual special education field specialists (teachers, administrators, clinicians, and professors) about the competencies bilingual special education teachers need to demonstrate in order to meet the unique needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities. The article describes five areas relevant to the preparation of bilingual special education teachers: language proficiency, assessment, planning and delivery of instruction, culture and advancement in the profession.

  NOTE: To read this article you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Language Minority Children in a Third Language Immersion Context: Evidence for Educational Enrichment
  
  

  by Kellie Rolstad. This study examines the effects of Korean/English two-way immersion on third language speakers who received no first language support, and includes assessments of self-concept, ethnic identification, academic progress and language proficiency. The effects of this third language immersion experience on these language minority children were assessed longitudinally, ending during the children's sixth and final year in the program, as well as cross-sectionally in comparison with similar children in other programs. The findings show that, except for the tendency for first language ability to decline among the third language children, the immersion experience has not been detrimental to the third language children, and hence that third language immersion may, in fact, constitute a source of educational enrichment despite the lack of first language support. These findings suggest that submersion damage is likely related to what I call "sociolinguistic status" rather than to supposed linguistic deficits incurred as a result of a home/school language switch. The implications of this study, while only suggestive, provide further evidence of the social causes of submersion damage, and support the feasibility of immersion education for third language speakers as a form of educational enrichment, provided that the children have at least a basic proficiency in the majority language.

• Mystery on the Bilingual Express: A Critique of the Thomas and Collier Study
  
  

  by Christine Rossell. A critique of the study suggesting that the methodology of the study is unscientific. The criteria for a scientific study are basically four-fold. First, there should be a treatment group-for example, LEP students in a bilingual program and one or more comparison groups-forexample, similar LEP students in one or more types of all-English programs. Second, the achievement of these students should be compared after some time period in their respective programs. Third, any differences between the students initially should be controlled for statistically in order to give each group a level playing field. (This is not necessary if there is random assignment.) Fourth, the same students must be followed over time since there is no way to statistically control or match on initial differences, nor would it make any sense to do so if different students are in the study at different points in time. This article contends that although all four characteristics are essential, only the first two are found in the Thomas and Collier study.

• Bilingual Education: The Controversy

  by Richard Rothstein. A Phi Delta Kappan article suggesting that our commonly held notion of how earlier generations of immigrants were educated -- often used as the chief argument in support of English immersion -- is a myth.

• Summary Results From the Latino Ethnic Attitude Survey

  by Daniel L. Roy. Summary of the findings of the Latino Ethnic Attitude Survey (LEAS). The 182 page report, titled Strangers in a Native Land: A Labyrinthine Map of Latino Identity, dealt specifically with middle-class Latinos of all national origins in the United States. Using the Latino Ethnic Attitude Survey, attention was focused on five related sets of issues. The first set deals with how middle-class Latinos identify themselves, including any contextual differences (self-identity). The second set includes whether their identity or ethnicity is an issue at work, in their community, or in the larger society (a sense of place). The third set considers their language preference. The fourth set looks at how generational differences affect middle-class identity; and finally, the fifth set includes normal geodemographic information related to gender, education, income levels, and zip code.

• How Paraeducators Build Cultural Bridges In Diverse Classrooms
  
  

  by Robert Rueda and Carmen DeNeve. In their efforts to accommodate cultural diversity in the classroom, schools have taken a variety of approaches - few of them ideal. In this article, the authors examine how educators can use the "funds of knowledge" available in culturally diverse families and communities to build bridges between the home cultures of students and the cultures of their schools.

• Teachers' Beliefs About Reading Assessment With Latino Language Minority Students
  
  

  by Robert Rueda and Erminda Garcia. This study investigated teachers' belief systems or mental models and everyday practices regarding the nature, function, and uses of assessment with a special focus on reading with Latino language minority students. These mental models can be seen as integrated systems of concepts, scripts, and scenes which function to lend meaning to the action systems of classrooms.

• Rating Instructional Conversations: A Guide

  by Robert Rueda, Claude Goldenberg and Ronald Gallimore. The current focus on more effective ways to foster literacy in school-age children, especially language minority students, has led to the development of alternative instructional approaches. One such approach is the instructional conversation (IC), based on early work in the Hawaiian Kamehameha Elementary Education Project (KEEP), on neo-Vygotskian theory, and on recent classroom-based research on reading comprehension.

• Assessing the Educational Progress of Children of Immigrants

  by R. G. Rumbaut. This review is intended to provide some insight into the determinants of the educational progress and adaptation of the children of these new immigrants in California public schools. Results from a comparative research study of the educational performance of children of immigrants in San Diego schools (including dropout rates, grade-point averages [GPAs], achievement test scores, and educational aspirations), focusing on the largest groups: Mexicans, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, and East Asian groups is given. This is followed by a review of three illustrative case studies of the adaptation of immigrant high school students who reside in different parts of California: Southeast Asian refugees, Punjabi Sikhs from India, and Mexican immigrants.

• The Hazards of Changing Schools for California Latino Adolescents

  by R. W. Rumberger, K. A. Larson, G. J. Palardy, R. K. Ream, and N. C. Schleicher. This report examines student mobility among California Latino adolescents. Student mobility may be especially important in California because of its highly mobile population. Latinos are the largest and fastest growing segment of the state population. According to California Department of Finance estimates, the Latino public school population is projected to triple in size between 1986 and 2006, while the non Latino white population is projected to decrease. Consequently, if student mobility can be problematic for both students and schools, as previous research suggests, it is especially important to understand the nature of mobility among the Latino population.
  

S

• A Longitudinal Model for Interpreting Thirty Years of Bilingual Education Research
  
  

  by Jesus Salazar. This article summarizes the results from the re-analysis of two recent bilingual education studies: Greene's (1998) meta-analysis and Thomas and Collier's (1997) longitudinal study. First , the article presents the ten main criteria identified over the past three decades by the research community for conducting a methodologically adequate bilingual education study. Second, based on a power analysis of Greene's data, it is argued that a major reason why many bilingual education studies over the past thirty years remain uninterpretable is because of the high occurrence of Type II errors. Third, based on an effect size analysis of Thomas and Collier's data, it is maintained that their longitudinal model best explains thirty years of bilingual education research. When Thomas and Collier's data are converted into effect sizes, their model becomes a longitudinal meta-analysis, and their findings support the results from Greene's and Willig's (1985) meta-analyses. This article concludes by making recommendations for enhancing the evaluation of Title VII programs.

  NOTE: To read this article you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Writer's Workshop and Children Acquiring English as a Non-Native Language

  by Katharine Davies Samway. Although there is no single way to implement a writers' workshop, there are some key elements that are integral to the implementation and maintenance of this very important classroom event. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the process, ethnographic insights, and valuable examples of the writer's workshop process.

• A Guide to Culture in the Classroom

  by Muriel Saville-Troike. This discussion of the role of culture in the bilingual classroom explores the relationship of language, culture, and education. It provides in service and pre-service training procedures for developing cultural competencies in bilingual educators; and suggests applications of cultural information to classroom practices, curriculum development, and evaluation. These concepts and methods may prove useful not only in bilingual programs, but for improving equal educational opportunity for all minority-group students, and for all those commonly labeled the 'disadvantaged'.

• Language Choice and Global Learning Networks: The Pitfall of Lingua Franca Approaches to Classroom Telecomputing

  by Dennis Sayers. How can other languages be used in conjunction with English to further intercultural and multilingual learning when teachers and students participate in computer-based global learning networks? Two portraits are presented of multilingual activities in the Orillas and I*EARN learning networks, and are discussed as examples of the principal modalities of communication employed in networking projects between distant classes.

• The Politics of Language

  by Lynn Schnaiberg. Comprehensive overview of the bilingual education debate. Provides full text coverage and additional informational links. (Education Week)

• A Guide to Communicating With Asian American Families

  by Wendy Schwartz. The enrollment of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) students is increasing drastically, so it is important for school and community people to learn how to communicate with API families. Since APIs communicate very differently from native-born Americans and other immigrants, this guide describes how the backgrounds and cultures of the various API groups affect their attitudes and behavior.

• Hispanic Preschool Education: An Important Overview

  by Wendy Schwartz. This digest describes strategies and programs specially designed to meet the early education needs of Hispanic children, particularly those whose families suffer from poverty. It also reviews efforts to recruit the children; to involve their parents in activities that will enhance their children's learning; and to provide parents with literacy, job, and other skills training, and a range of social services.

• No More Excuses: The Final Report of the Hispanic Dropout Project

  by Walter G. Secada, Rudolfo Chavez-Chavez, Eugene Garcia, Cipriano Muñoz, Jeannie Oakes, Isaura Santiago-Santiago, and Robert Slavin. The final report of the Hispanic Dropout Project summarizes the project's findings, data, and recommendations, based on its work nationwide. It addresses the role of the following constituencies: students, parents and families, schools and school staff, local and state policymakers, and institutions of higher education, including the research and development establishment. For each constituency, the group presents typical comments advanced to explain inaction, followed by evidence of inaction, distilled from the data of the Hispanic Dropout Project and concrete illustrations from sites the project visited.

  NOTE: To read this article you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Embracing Ebonics and Teaching Standard English: An Interview with Oakland Teacher
  
  

  by Carrie Secret. This 31-year veteran of Oakland classrooms explains the effects of the Standard English Proficiency program, which recognizes the systematic, rule governed nature of "Black English" while helping students learn Standard English, and how respect and cultural awareness can help teachers reach their students.

• The Ecology of a Chicano Student at Risk

  by M. Seda and D. J. Bixler-Marquez. The objective of this case study was to identify, in a holistic manner, the individual, aggregate, and interactive effect of socioeconomic status (SES), cultural, psychosocial, and academic factors that shaped the at-risk status of a Chicano fourth grader. A prescriptive dimension of the study was to provide a set of recommendations that could be used to place the subject on the path of academic and social recovery.

• New Skills for New Schools: Preparing Teachers in Family Involvement

  by A.M. Shartrand, H.B. Weiss, H.M. Kreider, and M. Elena Lopez. Researchers at the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) have collected data to determine not only why training teachers to work successfully with families is so critical, but also how to train teachers to work in partnership with parents and families. In addition to identifying the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for teachers to prepare for family involvement, the findings confirm three needs of teachers: (1) more direct experiences with families and communities, (2) support in making school conditions conducive to family involvement, and (3) opportunities to share successful experiences and outcomes with their colleagues.

• Assessing Integrated Language and Content Instruction
  
  

  by Deborah J. Short. Integrated language and content instruction has become a popular alternative to traditional ESL instruction. Researchers have recommended this instructional approach to develop students' academic language ability and facilitate their transition to mainstream classes. Practitioners have also favored this approach to prepare students for mainstream classes, increase student motivation and interest with content themes, and make ESL students feel part of the mainstream school curricula. This article addresses the issue of assessment in integrated classes and provides a framework for organizing assessment objectives. It recommends using alternative assessment measures, such as checklists, portfolios, interviews, and performance based tasks.

• Integrating Language and Culture In Middle School American History Classes

  by Deborah J. Short. This report describes preliminary findings from a study examining middle school American history classes with English language learners. The study has investigated the construction of social studies knowledge in these classes and the development and implementation of lessons that address the cultural and educational backgrounds of the learners while integrating language, content, and culture objectives. Attention is paid to teacher accommodations, student oral and written participation, and the infusion of multicultural issues and perspectives.

• Classroom Strategies For Encouraging Collaborative Discussion
  
  

  by Carmen Simich-Dudgeon, Patricia Anne DiCerbo. This article is written primarily for English as a second language (ESL), bilingual and mainstream teachers who have English language learners in their classroom. The methods and activities described throughout can be successfully adapted for use with elementary, middle, and high school students. In reworking these activities for their own classrooms, teachers will want to consider the literacy and English proficiency levels of their students, along with such factors as age, cultural and education background, and learning style.

• Enhancing Education Opportunities for Hispanic Students Who are Deaf

  by M. Smith. An article looking at the unique challenge being faced by Hispanic students who are hearing impaired. The purpose of this article is to review some basic facts about hearing impairment then discuss the effects this disability can have on Hispanic students. Specific suggestions are offered for meeting the needs of these students and their families.

• An Introduction To Educational Technology

  by Matthew Soska. For many years, teachers used the computer to provide supplemental or additive exercises. In recent years, advances in computer technology have motivated teachers to reassess the computer and consider it an integral part of daily learning. Today, technology gives teachers the capacity to significantly enhance their students' language and cognitive development. They can utilize the technologies briefly described here for instructional testing and assessment; to teach culture; to help students learn academic content and develop critical thinking skills; and to expand students' speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.

• South Africa Department Of Education Language In Education Policy

  The South African Schools Act, 1996. Two policies are highlighted, the Language in Education Policy, and the Norms and Standards Regarding Language Policy Published in Terms of The South African Schools Act, 1996. While these two policies have different objectives, they complement each other and should at all times be read together rather than separately. This Language-in-Education Policy Document is seen as part of a continuous process by which policy for language in education is being developed as part of a national language plan encompassing all sectors of society, including the deaf community.

• National Profiles Of Languages In Education: Israel Language Policy

  by Bernard Spolsky and Elana Shohamy. Article focusing on Israel's language policy reporting Israel as highly multilingual, with a 20% Arabic-speaking minority and large number of languages used by its enormous immigrant population, Hebrew is the dominant language for official, public and private use of the 5,500,000 citizens. In spite of the widespread official and ideological policy support for Hebrew, English has continued to flourish and spread in all sectors of the Israeli population. Article reviews language education policy and language education system.

• Content Assessment in the Native Language

  by Charles W. Stansfield. Not all students are able to participate in the assessment program. Typically, schools defer or exempt students from participating if they cannot speak, read, and write English. Consequently, the test results obtained by schools often give an incomplete and, sometimes, misleading picture of the quality of student achievement at the school. In schools where there are a large number of non-native English speaking students, the school may exclude all of those students from participating in the assessment program. Thus, the official reported results may have little relationship to the actual status of educational achievement in the school. This digest reviews the problem and the situation and offers solutions.

• Drop-Out Rates Among American Indian and Alaska Native Students: Beyond Cultural Discontinuity

  by Richard St. Germaine. American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students regularly face obstacles that can impede their progress in school. Educational theorists and researchers have provided various explanations for this high failure rate, each with its own set of prescriptions. Recently, much attention has focused on cultural discontinuity. This Digest suggests that addressing cultural obstacles is an important but incomplete approach to increasing AI/AN students' success.

• American Indian Learning Styles Survey: an Assessment of Teacher Knowledge:

  by K. Swisher. This study is an exploratory effort to determine current thinking about learning styles from the perspective of those groups closely associated with American Indian students, i.e., teachers and administrators of the schools attended by American Indian students. The study assumes that there is a pervasive, but not clearly defined, understanding by practitioners of learning styles relating to American Indian people. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of teacher knowledge about learning styles and to determine the extent to which this knowledge is applied in classrooms attended by American Indian students.

T

• Official English? No!

  by TESOL. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) recommendations for countering the oofficial English movement in the U.S. This document includes: TESOL's statement on language rights, a brief history of language restrictionism in the United States, and a chronology of the official English movement.

• The Instructional Conversation: Teaching and Learning in Social Activity

  by Roland Tharp and Ron Gallimore. Newly understood through the principles of socio-historical theory, real teaching is understood as assisting the learner to perform just beyond his or her current capacity. This assistance in the "zone of proximal development" awakens and rouses to life the mental capacities of learners of all ages. This assistance is best provided through the instructional conversation, a dialogue between teacher and learners in which the teacher listens carefully to grasp the students" communicative intent, and tailors the dialogue to meet the emerging understanding of the learners.

• Effective Instructional Conversation in Native American Classrooms
  
  

  by Roland G. Tharp and Lois A.Yamauchi. Instructional conversation (IC) is a dialog between teacher and learner in which prior knowledge and experiences are woven together with new material to build higher understanding. IC contrasts with the "recitation script" of traditional western schooling, which is highly routinized and dominated by the teacher. IC varies in form in different cultures, as do other discourse forms. Analysis of the research on the formal and informal learning of American Indians lends insight into possible ways in which instructional conversations in classrooms with these children can be modified to promote learning. Effective instructional conversations for Native Americans are influenced by four basic psychocultural factors identified by Tharp (1989): a) sociolinguistics; b) motivation; c) cognition; and d) social organization. These factors are implicated in activity settings that are more likely to produce effective ICs in Native American classrooms. "Ideal" activity settings--those most likely to produce and maintain ICs for Native American students are proposed and illustrated in this article.

• Instructional Conversations in Native American Classrooms
  
  

  by Ronald Tharp and Lois Yamauchi. Research indicates that the instructional conversation (IC) can be an effective method for raising the low academic achievement levels of various groups of Native American students. The IC is a dialog between teacher and learner in which prior knowledge and experiences are woven together with new material to build higher understanding. A description of factors and their role in implementing ICs among Native American populations is discussed.

• School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students

  by Wayne P. Thomas and Virginia Collier. This publication presents a summary of an ongoing collaborative research study that is both national in scope and practical for immediate local decision-making in schools. This summary is written for bilingual and ESL program coordinators, as well as for local school policy makers. The research includes findings from five large urban and suburban school districts in various regions of the United States where large numbers of language minority students attend public schools, with over 700,000 language minority student records collected from 1982 1996. A developmental model of language acquisition for school is explained and validated by the data analyses. The model and the findings from this study make predictions about long-term student achievement as a result of a variety of instructional practices. Instructions are provided for replicating this study and validating these findings in local school systems. General policy recommendations and specific action recommendations are provided for decision makers in schools.

  NOTE: To read this article you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Hispanic College Students Broaden Vistas

  by Joseph Torres. Under a cloud of new affirmative-action turmoil in higher education, the class of 2001 is arriving on campus -- but for Hispanics, the figures we've been reading in the papers aren't the only story. Other numbers, fed by immigration and determination, add up to brighter prospects for the nation's 32 million Latinos. As Latino students matriculate and choose their majors, they can be found venturing into fields that not so long ago were deemed out of reach. Degrees earned by Hispanics in just about every field are dramatically increasing, according to a recent report by the American Council on Education.

• Mentoring the Bilingual Teacher

  by María E. Torres-Guzmán. The purpose of this article is to present a review of the literature on mentoring bilingual teachers and to pose alternatives to extant models. A question and answer format has been used to provide a definition of mentoring, discuss implementation efforts and problems encountered, identify salient issues emerging from the pairing of mentors in bilingual settings and suggest mentoring alternatives.

• The Education of Latino Students: Is School Reform Enough?

  by Henry Trueba & Lilia Bartolomé. This digest provides a critique of the various educational strategies that have been used with Latino students, and suggests alternatives that may prove more effective. Interestingly, some of the recommendations included here were first made nearly 20 years ago, but they have not yet been widely implemented.

• Age-Related Factors in Second Language Acquisition

  by Charles William Twyford. The author of this article analyzes a number of factors --cognitive, sociocultural, affective, and linguistic-- that may account for age differences in second language acquisition.
  

U

• Improving Opportunities: Strategies of the Secretary of Education for Hispanic and Limited English Proficient Students
  
  

  by U.S. Department of Education. The strategies in this booklet aim at meeting the unique educational needs of Hispanic and LEP students in the context of this emphasis on high standards and high achievement. The strategies in this booklet reflect the priority the Department of Education places on the education of Hispanic and LEP students and respond to the recommendations proposed by the President's Advisory Commission, the Hispanic Dropout Project, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

  NOTE: To read this article you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Proceedings of the Second National Research Symposium on Limited English Proficient Student Issues

  by the USDOE Office of Biligual Education and Minority Language Affairs (OBEMLA). Focus on Evaluation and Measurement (NCBE Publications)

• Proceedings from Third National Research Symposium on Limited English Proficient Students

  by the USDOE Office of Biligual Education and Minority Language Affairs (OBEMLA). Focus on Middle and High School Issues (NCBE Publications)

V

• The Degree that Parents and Significant Others Influence Anglo American and Mexican American Students to Pursue and Complete University Studies

  by A. Valencia. A comprehensive study that is intended to yield findings on the degree that significant persons in the students' lives have had in their decisions to pursue and reach higher educational attainments. Nine sources of influence were selected for this study, and the sources were of one particular type- significant persons in the students' lives who influenced them to pursue and complete university studies.

• Instructional Strategies for Teachers of Limited-English-Proficient Students: A Bibliography

  by James A. Vasquez et al. This bibliography, with 310 references, is a good sampling of the literature that is currently available and includes practices that many educators have found lead to successful teaching of LEP students. The bibliography provides a beginning point for those interested in bilingual and ESL instructional settings.

• Closing the Education Gap: Benefits and Costs

  by G. Vernez, R.A. Krop, C.P. Rydell. This Rand report asks: How much would it cost and what would the benefits be if blacks and Hispanics graduated from high school, went to college, and graduated from college at the same rate as non-Hispanic whites? The answer to this important question for the future of the nation is explored in this report. The costs of education would be high, increasing by about 20 percent in California and 10 percent in the rest of the nation. But the benefits, in the form of savings in public health and welfare expenditures and increased tax revenues from higher incomes, would be even higher. Indeed, the added costs of providing more education to minorities would be recouped well within the lifetime of taxpayers called upon to make the additional investments. The nation is experiencing a rapid immigration driven increase in the share of Hispanics in the school age population. Failure to increase the educational attainment of this group would result in growing shares of new labor-force entrants having levels of education lower than those prevailing today; in increased income disparities between blacks and Hispanics, on one hand, and Asians and non-Hispanic whites, on the other; and in increased public expenditures for social and health programs for generations to come.

  NOTE: To read this article in PDF format you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Integrating Technology into Minority Langugage Preservation and Teaching Efforts: An Inside Job

  by D.J. Villa. The recent explosion in technology, in particular in computer and digitizing systems, has many implications for heritage language maintenance and learning. In particular, authentic language usage can be easily recorded and preserved for those goals. That same explosion, however, can lead to a less than appropriate implementation of technology for language maintenance and learning. Further, certain cultural boundaries can make it difficult to have access to authentic language usage, particularly by out-group individuals who work on indigenous languages. This paper presents a pilot study that attempts to both implement technology in an appropriate manner and surmount the problems faced by out-group language researchers by training an in-group member, in this case a speaker of Navajo, in the methodology and technology necessary for recording and preserving her heritage language. The results of this work are discussed, as well as the role of computer and digitizing technology in language maintenance and teaching.

  NOTE: To read this article in PDF format you will need a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

W

• Assessment Strategies for Professional Development Activities:

  by Judith Wilde. This document provides information to those who might be planning professional development activities for educational personnel. While the focus is on assessment of those participating in professional development activities related to English language development, sheltered content instruction, and bilingual instruction, the processes involved can, and should, be applied to any professional development activity that results in a certificate or license of some type -- any professional development activities that will result in better educational programs for all students within the school.

• Importance of Background Knowledge in Second-Language Learning

  by Lily Wong Fillmore. Just as readers must apply their linguistic knowledge to the interpretation of the texts they read, so too must they make use of their knowledge of the world and their prior experiences in reading. The author argues that the education of children irrespective of their background would be greatly diminished if educators were to choose materials for them that were in any way narrowed or lowered in level because of putative deficiencies in the children's backgrounds. Such decisions must take into account the role that authentic and challenging materials play in building students' background and in supporting language development. Children and adolescents also gain the very kind of background that they need to have, to deal with materials they read in school, from the literature and textbooks they have already read.
  

XYZ

• An Examination of Assessment of Limited English Proficient Students
  

  
  

  by A. M. Zehler, P. J. Hopstock, H. L. Fleischman, C. Greniuk. The purpose of this report is to examine assessment instruments and practices and to review issues related to assessment of LEP students. It is critical to examine these issues now, as major steps are being taken toward: (1) the redesign of assessment approaches; and (2) definition of standards and new national assessment systems. Given their increasingly large representation in schools today, issues related to language minority and LEP students should be included early on in the efforts to define new assessments.

• Chinese Parents' Influence on Academic Performance

  by S.Y. Zhang and A. Carrasquillo. This article reviews the literature related to Chinese parents' influence on Chinese students' educational performance. Cultural values always play an important role in the educational achievement of Chinese students. Chinese parents are renowned for their willingness to sacrifice for the sake of their children's education. Parents have a significant influence in the academic performance of Chinese students.

RETURN TO HOME PAGE