The large number of limited English proficient (LEP) children in U.S. schools and the uncertainty about the impact of bilingual education versus English immersion on their achievement warrant rigorous investigation of the effects of "English immersion laws." We estimated the impact of "Question 2", the Massachusetts English…

The first purpose of this study was to examine the level of interdependence and reciprocity of the first and second language in students who were identified as limited English speakers and whose first language was Spanish. The second purpose was to identify the passing and commended rates of students within the specific bilingual programs that…

The purpose of this study was to predict the third grade English reading TAKS scores while considering the same students' native language, Spanish, reading level as assessed by a state-approved reading assessment, the Evaluacion del desarrollo de la lectura (EDL), from the end of the second grade year. In addition, this study was been designed to…

Hypothesized that Bilingual Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (BCIRC) would improve the achievement of second and third graders in Spanish bilingual programs during their transition to English by giving students opportunities to use language to find meanings and solve problems and by enabling teachers to apply well-established…

A monolingual English-speaking teacher and bilingual researchers analyzed the discursive practices in a third-grade classroom that affected the literacy learning opportunities available to a monolingual Spanish-speaking migrant student. Literacy learning opportunities were shaped and influenced by the specific contexts in which the student acted…

A study of four high-performing third-grade Spanish reading programs in Texas found six common features: explicit support for Spanish literacy and biliteracy; high expectations; skills-driven reading instruction beginning in kindergarten; shared understanding of program practices; alignment between Spanish and English programs; and explicit…

A study investigated the relationship between relative language proficiency and the types of questions produced by bilingual children in different settings and situations, taking into account the whole language repertoire in both languages and in different settings. The subjects were six third-graders in a self-contained maintenance bilingual…

A study consisting of two parts is reported. The first investigated the extent to which effective-teacher characteristics discussed in the literature were considered by parents and administrators to be salient in bilingual education. The second examined the extent to which students exhibited behavior suggesting they had received effective…

This study investigated the effectiveness of two English second language (ESL) teaching methodologies commonly used in bilingual classrooms: concurrent translation, often criticized but widely practiced, and dual language preview-review, which combines introductory and follow-up exercises in the first language and lesson teaching in the second…

A three-year research project investigated the effects of instructional practices and patterns of language use in bilingual and English-only classrooms on general academic development and the development of English language skills by limited-English-proficient students, especially those skills needed to participate fully in the society's schools.…

In cooperative learning environments, small groups of students work together to accomplish specific pedagogical tasks, and teachers act as facilitators. One highly significant characteristic of cooperative learning that has received little consideration so far is the shift in the participation frame that takes place when students are left alone to…

The Language Assessment Battery was administered to third to fifth grade limited English speaking students in New York City. Special techniques addressed two common problems in testing these populations: (1) language tests suitable for limited English speakers change their psychometric characteristics over time as the students' language ability…

This report is part of a study of academic performance by American Indian elementary school students with limited-English proficiency (LEP). The study was designed to complement the National Longitudinal Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Services for Language Minority Limited-English-Proficient (LM-LEP) Students, which did not include Native…