This report on the use of the Spanish language in the United States discusses the Spanish-speaking population, the language itself, and bilingual education in the United States. The background about the Spanish-speaking population includes the following topics: (1) "A Nations of Immigrants," (2) "The Population of the…

It is not sufficient for students in foreign language classes to simply internalize the sound system and grammatical structure of the target language or to memorize the vocabulary. Speaking is not merely a linguistic event, but rather involves an extensive system of norms for the social interaction. The relationship between speaking and social…

This thesis presents the results of a field study of code-switching in K-3 level classrooms of an experimental Spanish-English bilingual education project in Los Angeles. The goal of the project, based on a pluralistic model of bilingual education, was the maintenance of Spanish by means of continued language-development in both the students'…

Bilingual schooling in the U.S. is meant to equalize educational opportunity for children of limited English-speaking ability. Despite the proliferation of bilingual programs in many parts of the country, only very modest progress is being made toward the goal of equal educational achievement. We are coming to realize that limited English-speaking…

Investigates the Spanish literacy development of 20 low-socioeconomic-status Spanish dominant students learning in whole-language classrooms. Notes that the children used a variety of reading and writing strategies. Finds that students learned about meaning construction through the use of whole language and that meaning construction was associated…

A study is reported that examined the relative effectiveness of four computer-assisted-instruction (CAI) manners of presentation and response for teaching irregular verbs to English/Spanish bilingual students in South Texas. Each of 4 types of CAI presentation gave the same 46 selected irregular verbs in context to fifth-graders in 4 subject…

Ways in which an evaluation of bilingual programs could be appropriately conducted were studied, using two transitional bilingual education programs. In Program A, the first language (Spanish) is the initial medium for all instruction with a gradual phasing in of English. Program A is located in a large suburban school system in central…

Interim results of the American Institutes for Research study on the impact of the ESEA Title VII Spanish/English Bilingual Education Program imply that certain inferences can be made about the program, inferences which are unjustifiable. By providing only statistical averages on a national sample, the report does a serious disservice by failing…

The present study concentrated on the writing vocabulary of Mexican American children (grades 1-8) in order to answer the following questions: (1) Are there regional differences in the writing vocabulary of Mexican American Children? (2) Is one justified in translating directly from English into Spanish? (3) Is there a need for the development of…

The purposes of this study were: (1) to describe the developmental trends in the control of spoken English grammatical constructions produced by Spanish-speaking Mexican-American schoolchildren learning English in the elementary grades, and (2) on the basis of this description to assess the comparative development of English structures in pupils…

The author states that in those classrooms where the dual-language-model approach is implemented on a daily basis, second language acquisition takes place faster than in those classrooms where adherence to the model is ignored or used sporadically. According to this approach, each model functions independently utilizing teaching techniques common…

The same semantic strategies for requesting are available in Spanish and English. Bilingual children use more polite strategies in speaking Spanish and more neutral ones in speaking English. (PMJ)

Discusses Krashen's monitor model and input hypothesis of language acquisition, focusing on the implications of this hypothesis among Hispanic bilinguals in an English speaking-teaching-reading-problem-solving environment. The hypothesis maintains that individuals acquire more language only when they are exposed to comprehensible input that is a…

Texas Schools, Inc. (TSI) developed a pilot program in bilingual education for Mexican-American vocational workers in the Department of Diesel Mechanics at Texas Tech University. This study assesses the transfer of technology in that environment using quantitative and qualitative measures. TSI, a technical and vocational school in Lubbock, Texas,…

A multi-year effort is being made to create a revised Spanish-language version of the Tests of General Educational Development (GED). It is necessary to ensure that the translated, adapted version maintains the same content and performance standards as the original English version. The final linking of the Spanish-language and English versions…