In an effort to sensitize college students of Spanish for the professions to the values and social reality of the Hispanic world, one teacher used a combination of demographic information and Hispanic American literature. Information on the geographic distribution and characteristics of Hispanic groups in the United States was provided as a…

This paper discusses the sociolinguistic problems inherent in multilingual testing, and the accompanying dangers of cultural bias in either the visuals or the language used in a given test. The first section discusses English-speaking Americans' perception of foreign speakers in terms of: (1) physical features; (2) speech, specifically vocabulary,…

A comparative, interpretive analysis of the social organization of contrasting groups of rural youth from New Mexico ad Ohio was approached from an ethnomethodological perspective, relying on direct observation, intensive personal interviews, and key informants to produce a broader understanding of particular youth coping with their social…

Historical, linguistic, cultural, and political variables are important in understanding the development and implementation of Milwaukee urban bilingual education programs, established in 1969 and including kindergarten through 12th grades at 11 elementary and 4 secondary schools. Hispanics comprise 6% of school enrollment (5,334 pupils, of whom…

A rationale for teaching foreign languages in Venezuelan schools is discussed. An included sociolinguistic profile of Venezuela indicates that Spanish is the sole language of internal communication needs. Other languages spoken in Venezuela serve primarily a group function among the immigrant and indigenous communities. However, the teaching of…

Over 2,000 interviews, questionnaires, and observations obtained needs assessment information from students, teachers, school administrators, and community members with the 4 major objectives being to help Latino children and parents articulate their educational needs, to help South Bend Community School Corporation interpret these needs in…

The specially funded program described in this report was implemented at the University of Minnesota's General College in Fall 1979 to promote the academic improvement and long-range retention of high-risk Black, Hispanic, and Native American students. After introductory material discussing the process involved in securing program funds from the…

Significant changes are needed in the education of Chicano children, changes that range from the earliest Head Start levels through the college years. American schools reflect the dominant Anglo-American culture and so retain the societal status quo. By perpetuating Anglocentrism, schools have trampled on the cultural and linguistic dignity of…

This book consists of eleven papers presented at the 1974 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The papers are intended to be representative of the spirit, content, and theme of the Conference: "Foreign Language Teaching: A Kaleidoscopic Perspective." The underlying theme deals with a question that concerns many language…

This study investigated: (1) the causes and effects of Chinese students' beliefs about foreign language learning; (2) mismatches between teachers' and students' beliefs; and (3) how teachers' and students' beliefs compare across cultures. Subjects were 23 Chinese and English teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and 224 EFL university…

The purpose of this study is to understand how teachers negotiate decisions about goals and instruction for language minority students and how these decisions play out in classroom interactions. Much of bilingual education research focuses on program evaluation and implementation and, consequently, overlooks the critical role teachers play in the…

A program at the College of Wooster (Ohio) in commercial language and international business is described. The program was undertaken with private funds and within the context of a traditional liberal arts college. It has three main curricular goals: (1) additional training of language instructors for language courses that would include the…

This paper presents findings from a state-sponsored study of the adult education needs of limited-English-proficient (LEP) adults in California. The findings relate primarily to the situation of the over 2.3-million Spanish-speaking LEP adults, and within this population, to Mexican immigrants. Data were gathered in household surveys in three…

Workshops on proficiency testing attended by foreign language faculty at the University of South Carolina provided the starting point for extradepartmental involvement in proficiency testing. As a result of funding requirements and a cooperative arrangement between the foreign languages department and the Masters in International Business program…

In response to rapidly falling foreign language enrollments, the State University of New York College at New Paltz designed and actively promoted a language immersion program in the summer of 1981. The program consisted of instruction in twelve languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian,…