The author uses an autobiographical approach to reinterpret her memories of being an immigrant and an English language learner and to probe how these memories are intimately involved in the process of becoming a science teacher. This reflexive process of "excavation" (Grumet, 1999) allows the writing of narratives that explore how words…

Although the teaching of photosynthesis occurs yearly in elementary classrooms, one thing that makes it challenging is the inclusion of English language learners (ELLs). This article presents several activities for teaching and assessing of photosynthesis in a third grade classroom. The activities incorporate the photosynthesis content, teaching…

This study examined the field internship experiences of bilingual graduate social work students who worked with limited English proficiency (LEP) clients. Data were collected via a Web-based survey from 55 bilingual social work students. Respondents reported that LEP clients required more time and work and generally had more complicated cases than…

The ability to read on grade level is a fundamental skill required for children to achieve academic success. Students who are English language learners (ELLs) and/or those who have learning disabilities often find it extremely difficult to achieve at the reading expectation level. This study examines English phonemic awareness and phonic skills in…

Bilingualism brings about many social, economic, and academic opportunities, and bilinguals certainly experience some joy in acquiring a new language. Yet, the challenge of acquiring proficiency in a second language for successful use in a mainstream university curriculum can be overwhelming. This qualitative case study explores the processes by…

This article summarizes research on how students who are bilingual or learning English use two languages and examines how this research is relevant to mathematics classrooms. It is easy to notice that bilingual students sometimes use two languages. It is more difficult to know whether this practice might be significant to learning mathematics.…

Code switching includes the use of complete sentences, phrases, and borrowed words from another language (Brice & Brice, 2000). It is a common linguistic phenomenon noted among bilingual populations. In order to code switch effectively, students must possess a high level of understanding of the 2 cultures, as well as a deep understanding of the…

This study with nine Spanish-speaking bilingual children (ages 5-7) with limited English proficiency examined perception of nonverbal emotional speech cues in both Spanish and English. Results yielded higher accurate responses in Spanish, but these results may have been related to the low emotion conveyed by one of the four speakers. (Author/DB)

"Peer Tutoring and Response Groups" aims to improve the language and achievement of English language learners by pairing or grouping students to work on a task. The students may be grouped by age or ability (English-only, bilingual, or limited English proficient) or the groups may be mixed. Both peer tutoring pairs and peer response…

The purpose of this study was to examine the short-term effects of a two-way bilingual education program on the literacy development of students in kindergarten and first grade. Two groups of children were compared in terms of their academic achievement in English language arts. The groups included students with limited English proficiency (LEP)…

Language-minority students are the fastest-growing population in U.S. public schools. During the 1990s, their numbers rose from 8 million to 15 million. These include new immigrant students as well as students from Native American and indigenous backgrounds. Research shows that the distribution of "extremely bright," "average" and "cognitively…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Enlightened Public Policy and includes: (1) Texas Education Policy: Prospects for 2009 (Albert Cortez); (2) Bilingual Education in…

The majority of Latin American immigrant students in ESEA Title VII Spanish/English programs that have been evaluated seem to suffer from inexperience in taking tests like the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS). This study was designed to assess test familiarity, language of the test, and literacy, and to examine whether certain…

After describing a traditional approach to literacy education for bilingual special education students, the article proposes a new approach based on theoretical and research advances which stresses holistic literacy in real situations. An example of interactive journal writing between a teacher and a mildly handicapped trilingual 11-year-old is…

A test of the effect of bilingualism on cognitive performance involved 45 seven and eight-year-olds with mild mental retardation (low language proficiency, high language proficency, and monolingual English groups). Analysis of three Piagetian tasks and an information processing task indicated that high proficient bilingual Ss' performance was…