The results of a one-year study of the effect of topic and situation on the speech behavior of fifth and sixth graders of Spanish-English background are reported. Two elementary schools in Los Angeles County were selected for the study. Students' language skills as evidenced in spontaneous speech obtained through sociolinguistic methods of…

Among 56 Mexican American fifth-graders participating in two-way bilingual education for 3 years or more, standardized test scores of both English-dominant and Spanish-dominant participants equalled or surpassed those of nonparticipant peers. Participants developed high levels of English literacy skills, but Spanish literacy was not as well…