This guide to the instruction of English as a Second Language (ESL) using the Language Experience Approach (LEA) consists of two parts: an instructional guide, to be used as a tool for training instructors to use the LEA approach, and a collection of 30 lessons using stories produced by students and student groups using LEA in ESL classes. The…

This study investigated the Spanish language proficiency of Hispanic students in bilingual education programs in north central New Mexico to determine the relative importance of a bilingual pedagogical approach in the development and retention of the minority language. Students from grades 1-8 (n=105) were subjects. Measures included a Spanish…

A study examined the degree to which members of different ethnic groups--Whites/Anglos, Hispanic/Latinos, Asians, and Blacks--vary in (1) the reasons they adopt for communicating or not communicating with strangers, (2) the situations in which they choose to interact with strangers, and (3) the types of strangers with whom they feel comfortable…

This report presents data on the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the U.S. Hispanic population. The Bureau of the Census collected this information in the March 1989 supplement to the Current Population Survey. Data on Hispanic households includes household composition, urban and rural residence, tenure, availability of…

Testimony offered to the United States Department of Education focuses on the need to legitimize the value of adult biliteracy, particularly among the Hispanic population. Using the demography of Lawrence, Massachusetts as an example, it is suggested that English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction alone will not lower the language barrier…

This report describes the implementation and evaluation of a 12-week oral vocabulary development curriculum for use with transitional first graders. The transitional first grade is a class between kindergarten and first grade to provide students with an extra year of academic instruction to learn the skills needed to enter first grade. A natural…

This newsletter theme issue addresses the needs of infants and young children at risk due to economic, cultural, and environmental disadvantages. Individual articles have the following titles and authors: "Understanding the Early Experience of Black Children in High Risk Environments: Culturally and Ecologically Relevant Research as a Guide to…

This handbook of culturally responsive ways to teach the basic, mandated curriculum to students from diverse backgrounds was developed by a multicultural group of teachers. The techniques draw on the students' diverse backgrounds to increase student motivation and maximize teacher effectiveness by decreasing the mismatch between the students' home…

This ERIC digest considers three important issues for educators of bilingual students, specifically Spanish-American children. First, it articulates the ongoing debate about which language to use for instruction. Second, it examines myths about the negative effects of bilingualism. And finally, it presents supporting evidence and suggestions for…

This report presents data from the 1988 National Health Interview Survey of Child Health, which was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. The data concern the proportions of young people (n=17,110) 17 years of age and under who were reported by their parents to have had: (1) a delay in development; (2) a learning disability; or…

This report presents findings from a study of the cognitive processes and learning difficulties of ninth-grade students in Algebra I. A clinical interview approach was used with 14 students. A group of six Hispanic students and a group of five Anglo students were enrolled in the same algebra class; three Hispanic students were enrolled in an…

This document reports in detail an investigation of the cognitive processes and learning difficulties of ninth-grade students in Algebra I. A clinical interview approach was used with 14 students. A group of six Hispanic students and a group of five Anglo students were enrolled in the same algebra class; a group of three Hispanic students who had…

To expedite acquisition of English language skills needed for full mainstreaming, the Bilingual Basic Skills Program at South Bronx High School in New York City provided instruction in English as a second language and native language arts, and bilingual mathematics, science, and social studies for 370 Spanish speaking students of limited English…

The Unitas Therapeutic Community is a mental health treatment and prevention program for Hispanic and Black children and teenagers in the South Bronx, New York City. Based on theories of therapeutic community and social psychology, Unitas stresses psychological methodologies that cultivate the healing potential present in all interpersonal…

Access to adequate housing is a strong indicator of inequality between whites and minority groups. Although the government has played an important role in the provision of housing for minorities through Federal Housing Acts, the recent trend is toward continuing discrimination in home rental and ownership. This book contains the following 11…