"Fracturing Opportunity" demonstrates a simple yet profound idea--that educational opportunity is learned. And if it is learned, then it can be taught and taught more equitably. This book brings sociocultural theories of learning and development to bear on the persistent problems of inequality in college access, and presents an innovative…

The central theme of this book is the ambiguities and tensions teachers face as they attempt to position themselves in ways that legitimize them as language teachers, and as English speakers. Focusing on three EFL teachers and their schools in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, it documents how ordinary practices of language educators are…

This volume contains a selection of papers presented at the 2014 International Conference of Pragmatics and Language Learning at Indiana University. It includes fourteen papers on a variety of topics, with a diversity of first and second languages, and a wide range of methods used to collect pragmatic data in L2 and FL settings. This volume is…

Learning is a changing phenomenon, depending on the advances in theory and research. This book presents a relatively new approach to learning, based on meaningful human activities in cultural practices and in collaboration with others. It draws extensively from the ideas of Lev Vygotsky and his recent followers. The book presents ideas that…

This anthology compiles articles and essays on Chicano and Chicana political concerns in the 1980's, on cultural aspects of the Chicano experience, and on historical issues and events. The papers are: (1) "Chicano Politics after 1984" by Christine Marie Sierra; (2) "Hacia una Teoria para la Liberacion de la Mujer" (analysis of…

Written by a Los Angeles history teacher frustrated by the lack of culturally relevant materials, this book covers some of the most interesting events in the history of Mexico and the heritage of Mexican Americans. Chapters are: (1) Indian Mexico (Teotihuacan, the Maya, the Toltecs, and the Aztecs); (2) La Conquista (Cortes and Moctezuma, conquest…

With large-scale immigration in the last 20 years and a high birth rate, Chicanos now comprise the second-largest minority in the United States. This ethnohistorical account attempts to unravel the multiple heritages and influences shaping Chicanos from pre-Columbian Mexico to present-day United States. The book focuses on questions of land,…

This children's book describes how Pablo, a young Mexican boy, and his family celebrate the Day of the Dead (El Dia de Los Muertos). This holiday takes place on the first and second day of November and honors relatives and friends who have died. The holiday celebrates their spiritual return to Earth to share a special feast with the living, and…

This book examines oral and written communicative practices of a binational network of Mexican immigrants in Chicago and their relatives and friends remaining in three rural Mexican towns. The book's primary goals are to demonstrate the richness of the linguistic and cultural resources available to adult Mexicanos and to provide a basis for…

Careful reading of proverbs can aid an individual to develop self-awareness by providing insights into what one cultural group considers desirable human behavior. Respect for the elderly can be taught to the young through the study of proverbs. Through their proverbs, the Mexicans reveal their friendliness, love of animals, sense of humor, and…

For over a decade, Latino immigrants, especially those of Mexican origin, have been at the heart of the immigration debate and have borne the brunt of conservative populism. Contributing factors to the public reaction to immigrants in general and Latinos specifically include the sheer size of recent immigration, the increasing prevalence of…

Persons of Spanish heritage constitute the only minority in the United States whose numbers continue to grow through large-scale immigration. Mexican nationals, the "invisible people", incessantly infiltrate the U.S. population from Mexico. From 1939 through 1969, more than 7.4 million nationals entered the country unlawfully and were…

This book contains memoirs about growing up as the son of Mexican immigrants in rural California, as well as stories that the author's parents told him about their childhoods and village life in Mexico. In a preface and introductory stories, the immigrant explains how his family culture sustained him during bad experiences in school, and describes…

From 1939 to 1973, nine million persons immigrated to the United States from "all of the countries of the world". During that same period more than seven million illegal Mexican aliens were apprehended and deported to Mexico. Most of these illegal aliens enter the U.S. economy as workers, whereas almost half of the legal Mexican…

In 1970, the gross national product for the United States was over $974 billion; for Mexico, it was $33 billion. The U.S. per capita national income was approximately $4,300, while Mexico's was slightly above $500. Living as neighbors with the reality of these vast differences has led to the implementation of various policy measures by both…