Potential barriers related to the participation of Latino families in programs addressing the needs of individuals with severe handicaps are discussed. A successful education and training activity for Latino families with children with developmental disabilities, which provides a family focus in the family's own language and integrates relevant…

This annotated bibliography for school library media specialists and teachers lists 34 recent books that encourage reading by Spanish-speaking students or others who wish to learn Spanish. Grade levels are indicated for each title, and a list of U.S. dealers for books in Spanish for children and adolescents is included. (LRW)

The role of socio-contextual and social psychological elements in second-language acquisition in bilingual settings is examined among 139 native Spanish-speaking secondary school students. Compared to a Basque-speaking control group, the Spanish-speaking students scored lower on subjective ethnolinguistic vitality, social networks, motivation, and…

This study explored how gaps in bilingual students' performance related to their two languages and to particular school tasks. Researchers interviewed teachers of mixed groups of students, and students completed linguistic competence assessments. High scores in one language did not necessarily carry over into the other, and students were…

This study, involving 8 Hispanic males (ages 7-10) with speech/language impairments, found that having the teacher discuss a story's key words and read aloud while students read the story silently was more effective than just having students read orally and more effective than discussing key words and having students read silently. (Author/JDD)

Explores language and interaction behaviors of Quechua children that point to the possibility of a stress reaction on their part. Behaviors of Quechua children in two schools, one with and one without a bilingual program, are discussed. Interaction is discussed in terms of underparticipation, overparticipation, and hostile participation. (15…

A followup of 380 limited-English-speaking Hispanic children in 20 Texas elementary schools found that most acquired English oral language skills at expected rates and were reading in English at expected levels by third grade. Reading achievement was related to instructional factors and early oral competence in either language. Contains 22…

This 4-year study in a southern California school district examines parent involvement activities affecting about 100 families to encourage Spanish-speaking parents to participate more fully in their children's schooling. Unconventional activities validating families' social and cultural experience are more successful than conventional means of…

Discusses three models of parent involvement (family impact, school impact, and cooperative systems) and analyzes the parental mentorship process surrounding 18 Mexican American children in a third grade classroom. (SM)

Describes an annual forum of academic and public librarians from the United States and Mexico that discusses common interests such as resource sharing, collection development, and literacy programs and considers longer-range programs. Sidebar articles cover Spanish language publishing in the United States and an annual book fair held in Mexico for…

An interview method for assessing reading processes was pilot tested to examine reader-text interaction among native-Spanish-speaking fifth graders. Subjects were active participants in the reading situation but were lacking in aspects related to the text's cultural content. The reading interview method is highly recommended for use in…

Examines four exemplary classes that participated in a study of secondary schools which successfully promoted achievement for language minority students. Common elements of good teachers included respect for students, enthusiasm for teaching, high expectations, promoting language development, promoting content knowledge development, encouraging…

Reports a pilot study on the use of two Internet technologies (online newspapers and online chat rooms) to enhance college-level advanced Spanish students' learning, improve their language and reading skills, and increase their cultural knowledge. Pre- and post-program student surveys indicated that the program successfully enhanced students'…

Explores the conflicting cultural perspectives associated with studying English, drawing on two studies of Mexican students. P. Ryan (1994) studied the perceptions of culture related to language learning for six college teachers and their urban students. N. Francis (1994) studied the perceptions of rural bilingual (Spanish/Nahuatl) elementary…

Analyzes data on the acquisition of German by Italian and Spanish speakers. Findings reveal that children learning a first language and adults learning a second language build up syntactic structure in much the same manner, and propose that the weak continuity approach of language acquisition accounts for all instances of syntactic acquisition.…