Currently, there is no overall strategy for comprehensively addressing the academic needs of English Language Learners (ELLs). Their right to equal opportunities to participate and learn has been recognized by federal law. There is limited evidence regarding bilingual education and effective strategies for educating ELLs. Research indicates that 1…

This paper discusses comprehensive school reform (CSR), which accepts the importance of standards and accountability but adds to these strategies for introducing innovations in curriculum, instruction, school organization, governance, parent interactions, and other core features of practice. The paper reviews research on the nature and quality of…

Assesses how discrimination and biculturalism have affected the Chicanos' ability to communicate bilingually in a monolingual society. Using a historical perspective, the sociocultural significance of Chicano bilingualism is discussed in terms of code switching, language dominance, and cultural values. (JAC)

In reviewing court cases in education, the author focuses on the interrelationships among judicial decisions, educational administrators' prerogatives, and the economic welfare of public education. Cases are drawn from the areas of racial segregation, handicapped and bilingual education, state financing of schools, and church-state separation.…

Curriculum innovations and trends are examined in past, present, and future perspectives. Past curriculum innovations include team teaching, educational television, and computer assisted instruction. Present innovations include career education, ethnic education, and environmental education. Future curricular trends may include lifelong learning,…

Using studies from many countries, the author reviews the advantages and disadvantages of three designs for bilingual instruction: delivery in the second language, initial instruction in the mother tongue, and mixed delivery in both languages. Cognitive development and students' attitudes toward their native language are considered. (SJL)

Historical and current trends, practices, and perspectives regarding manual communication in educating deaf children are discussed, including Manually Coded English systems and American Sign Language. Issues concerning choice of sign language/systems and instructional strategies that support sign usage (such as Total Communication, Simultaneous…

Discusses the rationale for implementing an experimental program for teaching language to young deaf children using a bilingual English as a Second Language approach. A program syllabus class activities, and evaluation procedures are described. (34 references) (CB) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)

This article discusses instructional strategies likely to be effective with culturally and linguistically diverse students regardless of placement. It addresses assessment and misclassification; overreferral or underreferral; differing approaches to second language instruction; and the importance of transfer between languages, opportunities for…

Literacy in South America must be understood in terms of the linguistic diversity there, where only 2 of 14 nations and territories are monolingual. Oral traditions, standardization of indigenous languages, nonstandard varieties of colonial languages, bilingual education and mother tongue literacy, literacy teaching, and politics are discussed.…

Overviews trends in language education across 11 small island states in the South Pacific and notes the difficulties inherent in regional implementation of chosen bilingual-education models. Language policy is discussed in both historical and social terms, and the realization of present-day policies in the competing educational motives of economic…

Argues that the historical development of U.S. bilingual education policy largely results from a morality based on economic and social interdependency. Explores strengths and limitations of that morality. Develops the construct of a spiritual morality that combines the powers of intellect, emotions, politics, and spirituality in support of…

Describes children's writing development, examines several general findings from recent research, and provides some examples of how these findings affect classroom practice for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) bilingual programs. Emphasizes the use and acquisition of writing as a means of facilitating the development of a second language. (MDM)

Proposes that the unique features of electronic text can interact with the special skills, abilities, and diverse experiences of English language learners to help us better understand both the goals, processes, and special characteristics of the bilingual experience and the acquisition of electronic literacy skills. (Contains 29 references.)…

A discussion of bilingual education programs focuses on the methodology and stated results of program evaluations. It begins with definitions of five program designs for limited-English-proficient students: English-only; structured English immersion; English as a Second Language (ESL); structured home language immersion; and transitional bilingual…