Despite the ethnic and linguistic diversity found in California's public schools, or because of it, in 1998 voters approved Proposition 227, a ballot initiative designed to dismantle bilingual education programs in the state. By the 2003-2004 school year, the California Department of Education reports that statewide 8,908 teachers were providing…

In a study demonstrating that Black English was target for Hispanic boys acquiring English as second language, it was shown that extensive peer contact with Blacks was necessary but not sufficient for acquisition of two features of Black English (negative concord and distributive "be") and that choice of Blacks as reference played no role in…

Eight articles address topics related to library services to teenagers: (1) power inside and outside the library; (2) information needs and interests; (3) barriers to information access; (4) the ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA program; (5) information skills curriculum; (6) values education through libraries; (7) ethnic literacy; and (8) planning public…

Two studies of elementary, intermediate, and advanced second language learners indicated that involuntary rehearsal of second languages ("Din in the Head") is more frequently experienced by elementary and intermediate students and much less prevalent among advanced students, suggesting that the phenomenon is related to language…

Spanish-speaking families (N=58) of deaf children participated in a two-year televised trilingual (Spanish, English, and Sign Language) class through the project "A Mass Media Approach to Sign Language Instruction for Spanish-Speaking Parents of Deaf Children." Evaluation revealed that over 85 percent demonstrated positive change in…

Discusses problems posed by language differences in psychiatric diagnosis and management. Describes barriers encountered by linguo-cultural minorities such as Hispanics who use mental health care systems. Urges awareness of effect of language preference, language competence, bilingualism, and native tongue in planning and delivering mental health…

Despite the efforts of Mexican American groups, such as the League of United Latin American Citizens and the G.I. Forum, and court orders to end segregation, schools in Texas continued to segregate Mexican American children. The political liberalism of these groups kept them from developing effective strategies against segregation. (IS)

When laboratory facilities are insufficient, techniques can be used to help mature students develop aural/oral competency. Techniques include simultaneous large and small group repetition of specially designed readings, note-taking from recorded and live conversations for further activities, random partnering pre- and post-class, telephone…

Evaluates a bilingual/bicultural education pilot program in which native speakers of Vietnamese, Korean, Spanish, and English participated. Language classes were integrated within the overall curriculum. School attendance, motivation, language proficiency, and academic grades all improved. (PMJ)

Hispanic children in grades 1 and 3 were tested to examine the relationship between degree of bilingualism in English and Spanish, intellectual development level, and performance on two tests of cognitive-perceptual functioning or field dependence/independence. A positive, significant relationship was found between relative language proficiency…

Examines factors contributing to the Puerto Rican conflict between Spanish and English. These include American heavy-handedness, party politics, socioeconomic tensions and the educational bureaucracy. The article notes how language planning could defuse the conflict and specifies concrete planning roles for English language professionals. (25…

Reports on a study that sought to determine whether adult English-as-a-Second-Language students with internal orientations on two dimensions of locus of control also had positive expectancies about their life situations in the United States and a higher degree of proficiency in their English interlanguage than their counterparts with external…

Reconsiders Ioup's (1984) claim that individuals can only use phonological clues in identifying the native language of English-as-a-Second-Language students. Results indicate that Ioup's claim does not give sufficient regard to some crucial considerations, including the potential of bilingual judges to detect characteristic structural errors of…

A study analyzed repetition in the discourse of students of Spanish as a second language working on a writing assignment in collaborative dyads (n=5). Results show the sociocultural and mental activity was mediated by repetition of both first- and second-language utterances, whose effect was to create and maintain a shared perspective of the task…

A study of the language usage of five Mexican American fifth-grade bilingual students in an all-English classroom revealed the functions that Spanish continued to serve: providing information and assistance with school work, seeking explanations, providing self-talk, establishing and maintaining social relationships, and negotiating and…