This study examined the comparability of scores on the National Nurses Aides Assessment Program (NNAAP) test across language and administration condition groups for calibration and validation samples that were randomly drawn from the same population. A sample of 20,568 candidate responses to 1 test form was used. This examination is given in…

The research reported in this paper is concerned with three questions. Are the processes of language development complete by the time children begin school? What is the order of the emergence of control of grammatical rules? And is that order similar for first and second language learners? The data used in the analysis come from a project centered…

To determine the effect of books in Spanish and free reading time on reading abilities and attitudes of Hispanic students, 114 Hispanic children enrolled in grades 2 (Level I), 3 and 4 (Level II) in Tempe, Arizona, were placed in either experimental groups or control groups. Teachers in the experimental classes (E) were provided with books in…

An analysis of concepts of time in Latin American societies focuses on aspects that can be useful in teaching Spanish as a second language and Hispanic culture in anglophone North America, and includes specific suggestions for classroom activities and teaching techniques. Analysis looks at the following aspects and functions of time: polychronic…

A young Spanish woman was given 82 hours of individual instruction in English. Her exposure to and use of English were confined to these lessons. The subject acquired adjective-noun ordering and regular plural relatively quickly; possessor-possessed ordering and genitive relatively slowly; the definite article all at once after a period of…

A discussion of second language (L2) pronunciation looks at the ways in which native-like pronunciation can be defined. It addresses, through review of relevant literature and more detailed examination of a study by the author, these issues: how to identify native-like pronunciation; how to measure pronunciation in comparison with native speakers'…

Replicating research originally performed with native speakers of English, this study investigated the mutability of vowels in Spanish. The study was based on the theory that when presented with non-words, native speakers are more likely to change the vowel than the consonant to arrive at an existing lexical item. It was hypothesized that if…

A study explored the acquisition of "se" by Spanish-speaking children in Madrid, Spain, looking at: (1) acquisition of multifunctional forms; and (2) the course of acquisition for a linguistic expression that has both anaphoric and non-anaphoric functions, and its relevance to Binding Theory approaches to the acquisition of reflexives.…

A study of the effect of function words on reading comprehension had as subjects 99 college students of English as a second language (ESL) divided into four groups. The treatment was the reading of a set of passages, written in four versions. In version 1 all function words were deleted; in version 2 function words with semantic weight were…

A research study was conducted to determine if incorporating different types of pictorial illustrations into a slide-tape instructional program would improve achievement scores and affect processing time of bilingual students when they were tested on different types of learning objectives. Fifty-four undergraduate bilingual students from a Puerto…

There is a great need for bilingual/bicultural education, especially for Spanish-speaking students, who now number approximately three million in United States elementary and secondary schools. One educational experience for such students has been the presentation of bilingual plays in several of the New York City schools. Beginning with a play in…

Assessment within the SWRL English Language and Concepts Program for Spanish Speaking Children (LCS) consists of a placement aid, unit assessments, unit reviews, and an End of Program Assessment. All assessments are administered on a one-to-one basis. At the beginning of the school year, the LCS Placement Aid is administered for purposes of…

This study investigated the effects of dictionary use on the vocabulary learning strategies used by intermediate college-level Spanish learners to understand new vocabulary items in a reading test. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: control (without a dictionary), bilingual dictionary (using a Spanish-English dictionary),…

A number of model lesson plans that use children's literature to teach content area material are presented. The lessons are designed for instruction in either Spanish or English as a Second Language at the elementary school level; some are in English, and some are in Spanish. Each plan identifies the title and basic bibliographic information about…

Techniques for using children's rhymes, games, tongue twisters, and fables in Spanish to teach bilingual education classes are described. It is argued that these abundant materials serve as natural sources for authentic Spanish from a variety of Hispanic cultures. With the appeal of rhythm, rhyme, and game-like feeling, they can be used to teach…