This report describes and evaluates Project At Your Service, a basic bilingual secondary education program with a vocational focus for Spanish speaking students and students from other minority language groups. As implemented in 1980-81, the program aimed to enhance the acquisition of the English language and to promote academic achievement among…

Twelve Spanish-speaking kindergarteners livinq in Los Angeles were tested for usage of English verb tense morphemes through responses elicited during task situations that were dramatized with the use of toy-like realia. The children were first asked to provide a constructed response to questions, and were then given model sentences for immediate…

This description of the Advanced Placement Program in Spanish for secondary school students furnishes (1) goals of the course, (2) a reading list to be used in preparation for the exam, and (3) an outline of the test. Examples and achievement standards are offered with sample test items. Interested individuals and institutions are also provided…

This collection of papers examines approaches to teaching near-native ability in foreign languages. The 13 papers focus on the following: (1) "Principles and Practices in Teaching Superior-Level Language Skills: Not Just More of the Same" (Betty Lou Leaver and Boris Shekhtman); (2) "Toward Academic Level Foreign Language Abilities:…

The data and analyses presented in this report are from the first (1980) wave of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) study, "High School and Beyond," a longitudinal study of U.S. high school seniors and sophomores. This study was conducted for NCES by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.…

A key to closing the achievement gap between students who come to school speaking a language other than English and native English speakers is adoption of two-way bilingual immersion (TWBI) programs. The bilingual immersion approach fosters excellent academic achievement and positive school attitudes in students of any ethnicity who participate.…

Papers from the symposium on applied linguistics include: "Roles in the Foreign Language Classroom" (Robert J. DiPietro); "The Importance of Native Language in Light of Second-Language Studies" (Alexander Z. Guiora); "A Model of L2 Text Reconstruction: The Recall of Literary Text by Learners of German" (Elizabeth B.…

This study used qualitative research methods to investigate instructional and noninstructional interactions of Hispanic and non-Hispanic teachers with Hispanic American students. Two monolingual non-Hispanic teachers and two bilingual (Spanish and English) teachers at two public elementary schools were participants. The teachers had similar…

Papers reporting research on Spanish second language learning include: "Discourse Features of Spanish Oral Production at the Novice Level" (Rebecca Jo Bearden); "A Discourse Approach to the Assessment of Foreign Language Oral Proficiency" (Dale April Koike, Fanny Hinojosa); "Acquisition of Spanish Definite Articles by English-Speaking Learners of…

Papers on second language oral proficiency testing include: "Language Proficiency Interviews: A Discourse Approach" (Agnes Weiyun He, Richard Young); "Re-Analyzing the OPI: How Much Does It Look Like Natural Conversation?" (Marysia Johnson, Andrea Tyler); "Evaluating Learner Interactional Skills: Conversation at the Micro…

Begun in 1980 with 358 students, the Yakima (Washington) Public Schools' Basic Education for Limited English Proficient Students (BELEPS) Program served 1,250 grade K-12 students (94% Hispanic) in 1985. Its four programs were based on the degree of the students' English proficiency, and taught (1) reading only in Spanish, (2) reading in Spanish…

This guide communicates the increasing need in California for young people to develop skills in languages other than English, and to direct attention to assessing these skills in terms of language use competency in realistic situations rather than in terms of courses taken or units earned. The guide recognizes successive stages of competency and…

Project CARIBE (Career Awareness in Bilingual Education) was a Title VII-funded project in its third year at two New York high schools, one in Brooklyn and one in Queens. The project supplemented municipally funded bilingual programs for limited-English-speaking Hispanic students by establishing a resource/computer center and conducting academic…

In 1986-87, the Austin (Texas) Independent School District converted from a full-day prekindergarten program for low-achieving children to a half-day program to serve more limited-English-proficient (LEP) and low-income children (thereby meeting eligibility criteria in conformance with Texas House Bill 72). Half-day instructional time was 60% of…

This document is Part III of a research study examining special education service delivery for limited English proficient (LEP) Hispanic students who have been placed in programs for the learning-disabled, speech handicapped, and mentally retarded. The objectives of Part III of this study were: (1) identify the characteristics of Hispanic students…