This paper discusses and compares bidialectalism and various types of bilingualism, and the educational considerations presented by each. Stable bilingualism can result when each language is used by most, if not all, members of the community for different purposes. In a bilingual situation, societal factors are frequently such that no agreement…

A study examined the English literacy development of English-Spanish bilingual students beginning formal transition into English literacy in a whole language classroom. The subjects were 26 Mexican-American third-graders. The curriculum had four components: theme-based literacy activities; teacher reading; free reading; and free writing.…

Describes how Oyster Bilingual School's (Washington, DC) two-way Spanish-English language plan functions in its sociopolitical context. It is noted that this plan is part of a larger identity plan aiming to promote social change by socializing children differently from the way they are socialized in mainstream US educational discourse. (46…

An ongoing longitudinal study, 15 years old at the time of publication, is reported. It is a sociolinguistic, developmental study of the acquisition of two languages, Spanish and English, by a boy from birth, with data drawn from direct observation and occasional tape recordings of speech. An introductory chapter outlines the objectives and method…

This manual attempts to provide practical and useful linguistic information for classroom teachers and classroom aides in bilingual programs, K to 12. It stresses the importance of teamwork in any bilingual program, a team consisting of teachers, aides, volunteers and student tutors. The goal of the manual is to help teachers and aides become more…

Designed to provide classroom teachers, administrators, district personnel, and board members with a brief description of the cultural and educational background of native Spanish speakers, this monograph is divided into seven sections. Section 1 describes the historical and cultural influences on the Chicano way of thinking, believing, acting,…

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…

Three similar experiments were conducted to assess language variation and politeness in the speech of English monolingual and Spanish-English bilingual children, and in Armenian children learning English as a second language. Each experiment elicited request strategies from the children with the use of puppets in a structured conversation. While…

THE TEACHERS OF BILINGUAL STUDENTS IN NEW MEXICO NEED ADDITIONAL TRAINING TO WORK WITH THOSE STUDENTS FROM THE LINGUISTICALLY AND CULTURALLY IMPOVERISHED AREAS OF THE STATE. THOSE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE MUST BE PREPARED TO COMMUNICATE INTERCULTURALLY AS WELL AS LINGUISTICALLY IF THEY ARE TO PENETRATE THE REAL WORLD OF THE MEXICAN…

SOME OF THE NEWER APPROACHES TO THE TEACHING OF SECOND LANGUAGES AS APPLIED TO ENGLISH READING INSTRUCTION FOR INDIAN AND MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS ARE EXPLORED. SPECIAL EMPHASIS IS GIVEN TO THE UNIQUE CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS FACED BY THE CHILDREN OF THESE ETHNIC GROUPS. CONSIDERABLE EMPHASIS IS GIVEN TO THE NEED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF…

This volume on the language education of minority children is divided into three sections: (1) Multilingualism in the United States, (2) Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, and (3) Language Education in Practice. Following an introductory essay, "The Language Education of Minority Children," by Bernard Spolsky, the articles in the first section…

A study was conducted to supply data on the characteristics of young adult Chicanos compared with their Anglo peers. A stratified random sample of undergraduate Mexican-American (N=153) and Anglo (N=148) students was taken at the University of Texas, El Paso, where one third of the students enrolled have a Spanish surname. A self-devised…

This content analysis schedule for the Bilingual Project of Rochester, New York presents information on the history, funding, and scope of the project. Included are sociolinguistic process variables such as the native and dominant languages of students and their interaction. Information is provided on staff selection and the linguistic background…

This paper focuses on acquainting bilingual educators with one field of special education called learning disabilities. The major dimensions that are discussed are: the learning process with focus on disruptions, the considerations involved in the identification and assessment of learning disabilities, cultural and learning style differences of…

This year-long study explored the linguistic and cognitive transactions of immigrant language-minority kindergarten students in the social context of classroom collaborative talk in their native language. Collaborative talk transactions were selected from 13 videotaped sessions involving 27 Hispanic kindergarten students, mostly recent arrivals…