Studies of bilingual children have debated the effect of bilingualism on cognitive development. This study examines the relationship between cognitive processes and balanced bilingual skills. It finds there may be a threshold level of bilingual competence to be attained before bilingualism can positively influence cognitive functioning. (CHK)

A survey of 35 bilingual (Spanish-English) high school students found that all respondents acted as language brokers (informal translators) regardless of length of U.S. residence or availability of other brokers. Many students who reported relatively low school achievement had translated a variety of linguistically sophisticated documents.…

In this longitudinal study in which a second language was used as the sole or major medium of instruction, the experimental group performed as well as or better than the control groups with respect to language skills, academic skills and cognitive development. Pupils could also communicate effectively in their second language. (AG)

The status of English as learned and used by Chinese students in South Africa was investigated to provide perspective on the language policy. Language planners in South Africa require that all secondary school students be taught and tested through the medium of either English or Afrikaans, regardless of their mother tongue. The students are…

A SUMMER WORKSHOP CONCERNED WITH THE EDUCATION OF THE SPANISH- AND INDIAN-SPEAKING STUDENTS OF NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA MET IN TUCSON, ARIZONA, TO ESTABLISH OBJECTIVES REGARDING THESE CHILDREN AND THEIR SPEAKING PROBLEMS. THE STUDENTS WERE DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL AS A RESULT OF ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL FAILURE AND FRUSTRATION. BICULTURAL GUIDANCE, AN…

This battery of test instruments is one of a set of three developed for use in the study of bilingual (English-Spanish) instruction and other compensatory education programs in Texas. These tests are designed to measure children's basic competence in a language via their perception of linguistic phenomena. The Level II battery is…

The purpose of this study was to describe the syntactical complexity of the level of English which is easily understood and freely used by a selected group of bilingual Sioux Indian children. The study was designed to determine a basis for a lack of language fluency as a contributing factor in the cross-over phenomenon of these Indian children in…

COMPARISONS WERE MADE AMONG THREE APPROACHES TO DEVELOPING ENGLISH ARTS SKILLS, PARTICULARLY IN READING, WITH FIRST-GRADE CHILDREN FROM SPANISH-SPEAKING HOMES. PARTICIPATING CHILDREN WERE RANDOMLY GIVEN ONE OF THREE INSTRUCTIONAL TREATMENTS FOR ENGLISH-READING--(1) BASAL READING, (2) SECOND LANGUAGE READING, AND (3) LANGUAGE-EXPERIENCE READING. IT…

Concludes that a significantly higher proportion of a word was needed by all adult ESL students to identify low-frequency words than high-frequency words, and a significant difference existed in the proportion of a word needed by all subjects for identification in poor, moderate, and rich contexts. (FL)

Investigated performance of Hispanic science and engineering students (N=43) on reading a sentence describing the mathematical relationship between two variables and writing an equation describing the relationship. Results compared with (1) subjects' grade point average and language proficiency and (2) monolingual group (N=52). (Author/SK)

Fourteen suggestions for improving mathematics instruction for bilingual students are discussed. The role of language in learning mathematics and in solving problems is the focus of a number of suggestions. (MNS)

The operation of "Encendiendo Una Llama," Hartford, Connecticut's program for bilingual gifted students, was evaluated for the 1981-82 school year. A total of 173 gifted children of limited English proficiency in grades 3 through 6 were served by the program at four locations. The program, staff, objectives, and target population are…

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of different pairings of students by language dominance on achievement in mathematics. The effects of self-paced materials written in English, Spanish, and in both languages was also sought. Participants in the study were students in two schools in a bilingual program in Bayamon,…

The oral communication skills of bilingual students in Wales were examined in a study reported in this paper. Oral facility was treated according to five indices: quantity and quality of words in the oral response, time taken to complete the response, length of pauses and number of corrections and repetitions. Pictorial frames provided a visual…

One of the central questions in the study of bilingualism is the degree to which it is possible for a group to maintain their language even when accepting other cultural values. There are numbers of cases of peoples who have managed to develop a modern industrial society without giving up their national language; this is difficult, but possible. A…