Approaches that were used to teach English to fifth grade children of Mexican-American migrant farm laborers are described. The students were categorized as limited in English language proficiency. The children's academic self-concept was so low that they perceived learning as involving impossible tasks, and they believed that they were the source…

Petra Rodriguez, a middle-aged Spanish-speaking migrant woman without reading skills, made it clear when interviewed about reading, that she felt it to be the responsibility of literate people to teach illiterate people how to read. The researcher, as part of another project, arranged for tutoring in the woman's home and discovered that the…

The context of educational reform within which U.S. higher education has worked in selected Latin American countries is examined, with attention directed to the specific experience of the University of New Mexico. The evolution of the Latin American Programs in Education office (LAPE) in the university setting, the organizational milieu in which…

This article explores the hypothesis that members of a minority group whose language is other than English are fossilizing their second language patterns in an effort to retain stronger ties with their native culture. An investigation is conducted in which eight undergraduate students of the University of Texas at San Antonio have served as…

This study compared three reading skill areas (recalling details, understanding a main idea not explicitly stated, and making inferences) in Spanish, the subjects' native language, and American English, their second language. The sample consisted of 47 adults from nine Latin American countries and Puerto Rico who were completing an intensive ESOL…

This report discusses the importance of bilingual reading instruction for limited English speaking ability (LESA) students, and careful testing of their language dominance and reading levels. Bilingual students, and English- and Spanish-dominant students from the Fabens Independent School District, Grades K-13, were tested for the data reported…

The Multicultural/Bilingual Division at NIE was established in January of 1975 as a reflection of the increased attention to cultural and linguistic factors in education. The emergence of this interest in minority education programs and research can be traced through three phases of activity: (1) adoption and management of OE-transferred projects,…

Papers, workshop reports, and pertinent recommendations from a conference concerned with barriers faced by minorities seeking training in the allied health professions are presented. Data provided for the conference, gathered from Northeast, Southeast and Southwest United States during a 2-year period, related to barriers encountered by Black,…

Portrayal of racial minorities in textbooks is discussed and the practice of textbook publishers in their treatment of the roles of minorities during the 1960s to the present is traced. America transmits the dominant ideals and values of its culture to students through textbooks. Until the 1960s, racial minorities were generally ignored by writers…

This case study explores the student teaching experience of a Spanish language teacher candidate through her own eyes. It sheds light on how the participants' prior learning experience and beliefs inform her initial practice, how she develops her teaching skills, what contextual factors affect her learning-to-teach process, and the sources from…

This publication presents an overview of the demographic changes taking place in the United States and the growth of the Hispanic population expected by the year 2000. The personal experiences of a Cuban immigrant attending school in the United States and factors that contributed to his success in overcoming significant institutional as well as…

Oklahoma State University applied for and received federal funding to offer instruction in Spanish and French to university faculty, staff, and spouses. Students participate in two types of classes: (1) informal instruction using a cognitive, proficiency-based approach with informal evaluation and little or no homework, and (2) intensive…

A study was undertaken to examine psychometric properties of "La Prueba Riverside de Realizacion en Espanol" (PRRE) and the "Spanish Assessment of Basic Education" (SABE) when administered to a sample of limited-English-proficient students, grades 1 through 8. Spanish-language versions of both tests were used for the study.…

After a critical examination of four assumptions of current procedures in language assessment, it is argued that the pragmatic domain of language ability should be the first to be assessed. A study designed to determine the usefulness of language variation (the number of different structures a child can produce or comprehend) as an alternative…

Major educational reforms are needed to make institutions of higher education responsive to the needs of Hispanics and other minorities. Three basic changes are essential to reform in higher education for Hispanics: increasing the number of Hispanics in faculty and administrative positions; increasing the representation of Hispanics in the student…