"Asi Son los Puertorriquenos" immerses the student of Spanish in the language and culture of Puerto Rico. The program is designed to simultaneously improve language skills and develop understanding and appreciation of the culture. The reading selections are challenging for the intermediate level, and provide valuable insight into many…

This paper describes the General Educational Development (GED) Testing Service's Spanish Test Adaptation Project. The GED Tests are designed to give those who have not graduated from high school the opportunity to earn a diploma that is recognized by institutions of higher education and employers. The purpose of this project is to develop, based…

In a study that sought to identify the gains in English oral communication skills of Spanish speaking learning disabled students in the elementary schools, the Basic Inventory of Natural Language (BINL) and the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery (WLPB) were administered to two groups of students aged 8 to 12 years: an experimental group of 20…

This guide has been prepared by the Puerto Rico Department of Public Instruction for special education teachers teaching domestic sewing. It includes informative and easy to comprehend material for students of both sexes with mild to moderate disabilities. The material is developed through varied strategies and activities that relate to the…

An effort to foster intergenerational bilingual literacy by setting up technology-mediated partnerships between geographically distant parents of school children is described. The ethnic and linguistically minority parents who participated were from San Diego; Denver; and Caguas, Puerto Rico. This partnership between distant parents is part of a…

The implementation of English language instruction presents problems for Puerto Ricans both in Puerto Rico and in the United States, as seen in New York City. In Puerto Rico, the role of English in the schools has always been a political issue with widespread implications. Both there and in the States, the greatest problem in English instruction…

Anxiety can impede language learning. By using the Community Language Learning method, a teacher helped young Spanish-language learners in Puerto Rico break through almost impenetrable social and psycholinguistic barriers that threatened their capability of learning a new language. This method focuses on strategies that reduce anxiety as the…

This compilation, which is divided into three parts, brings together essays and documents representing a wide variety of views of the language question, especially as that issue relates to prospects for statehood and independence. Part 1 provides a general overview of the school language issue and evaluates the role that North American leaders…

Answers questions about young people in Puerto Rico, drawing on governmental databases. Demographic characteristics and how young people fit into the social structure are described. A description of the physical and mental health of this population presents data on mortality, morbidity, adolescent pregnancy, and drug and alcohol use. (SLD)

THE INFLUENCE OF HISTORICAL, SOCIAL, AND CULTURAL FACTORS UPON THE EARLY LEARNING PROCESS OF SAN JUAN INDIAN CHILDREN WAS RELATED TO THE CONDUCT OF HEAD START PROGRAMS. FOUR TYPES OF DATA WERE USED, (1) PERSONAL RESEARCH INTO THE PUEBLO'S HISTORY, (2) TESTS AND OBSERVATIONS OF 50 INDIAN CHILDREN OF ALL AGES, (3) INFORMATION ABOUT SPECIFIC HEAD…

The locus of control, whether internal or external, is an influential concept in second-language learning. One observes it, for example, in Puerto Rican students returning to Puerto Rico to take university-level courses. Explanations address a teaching method relying on use of problems with examples in such a way as to empower students. This also…

Recent efforts to develop Spanish-based adaptations for alternate computer input devices are considered, as are their implications for Hispanics with disabilities and for the development of language sensitive devices worldwide. Emphasis is placed on the particular need to develop low-cost high technology devices for Puerto Rico and Latin America…

The impact of Puerto Rico's and Quebec's laws on official bilingualism of translation and interpreting services is examined. In the case of Puerto Rico, public policy concerning the use of Spanish and English since 1899 is reviewed, focusing on early laws and those passed since 1991. The status of the translation profession is discussed, and it is…

The process of adapting the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) for Puerto Rico was begun with the following objectives: (1) to review the existing Spanish translation of the WISC-R; (2) to adapt the WISC-R to Puerto Rican culture and milieu; and (3) to standardize the scale with a representative sample of Puerto Rican…

This paper is based on the premise that an evaluation of teacher performance should consist of an evaluation of the teacher's presentation of subject matter and of the teacher's interaction with the students. In order to develop a balanced evaluation methodology, four English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in two schools on the island of…