Reviews current approaches to second-language syllabus design in the United Kingdom and proposes a model for planning a five-year course of study within the national curriculum framework that will take account of both the meanings a learner may wish to express and the grammatical knowledge needed, i.e., a model reconciling the semantic and…

Surveyed university faculty regarding the preparation of general educators, special educators, and speech language pathologists to work with students prenatally exposed to drugs and alcohol. Results confirmed that in general, teacher education and speech language pathology programs provide limited information on these students. There were…

The Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanic Youth (SASH-Y) was used to assess acculturation among 137 fourth- and fifth-grade children in rural southern Colorado, including 11 Mexican, 33 Mexican American, and 93 Euro-American children. The SASH-Y, especially questions related to language use, was found to be robust with a young, rural Latino…

Compared 100 three-year-olds with speech delay of unknown origin and 539 same-age peers with respect to 6 speech disorder variables; also examined abnormal hearing in a subset of 279 children. Found significant odds ratios only for low maternal education, male sex, and positive family history; a child with all 3 factors was 7.71 times as likely to…

Describes two contrasting classroom contexts for eliciting personal narratives. Follows a second-language learner through second and third grade. Draws attention to the margins of classroom activity. Takes a step toward a discourse-based solution to what has been recognized as a discourse-based problem in schools: differential access to oral…

Ninety-five rural eighth graders completed the Idiom Comprehension Test in three contexts: idioms in a short story, in isolation, and in a verification task. Performance in the story condition and on high-familiarity idioms showed the greatest accuracy. Associations existed between performance and reading ability for the story and verification…

Studied the work of three high school mathematics teachers who have advanced large numbers of their Latina/o students through the curriculum. Findings suggest that some strategies used at lower grade levels are also effective with high school students, including group work, work in the primary language, supplementing textbook materials, and…

Addresses the implementation of a constructivist approach to using multimedia technology in two advanced language art classrooms in a public middle school seventh grade class. Discuses the development of management, technical, research, and problem solving skills, and placing final projects on the Web to give students a sense of audience.…

This literature review synthesizes the effects of technology-assisted instruction on the learning of students with mild and moderate disabilities for the 1988-95 period. Empirically based findings are discussed in the skill areas of reading, written expression, whole language, and mathematics, and in the content areas of social studies and…

A study of 191 juniors and seniors from 6 Oahu high schools tested their ability to interpret and construct search statements after reading brief instructions on concept analysis, Boolean operators, and search statement format. On average, students made two errors per statement; scores and types of errors are examined for influences of gender and…

Presents an overview of childrearing practices in India, chronicles government initiatives in early childhood education, describes the range of programs available, and identifies goals that will shape the future of early childhood programs in that country. Identifies universal education, elevation of teacher status, and preservation of community…

Twenty-eight studies on instruction in natural environments with children with disabilities were examined from an effective teaching perspective. Results indicate that more powerful and uniform effects with instruction in natural environments may be produced by adapting some practices and principles of effective group instruction, including…

This article reflects on a review of 28 studies on instruction in natural environments with children with disabilities that indicated instruction in natural environments may benefit from adapting some practices and principles of effective group instruction. Discusses using milieu teaching for language development in preschool children. (CR)

A teacher of elementary deaf students describes the value of using "big books," which allow groups of students to share text and pictures, as an effective learning resource both for deaf students and for older students with learning disabilities. Seventeen big books in such areas as multicultural education, science and industry,…

Parents (N=239) of preschool children with either a speech-language impairment, different disability, or no disability completed a survey of home literacy experiences. Significantly different activities and interactions with print were available to the children with speech-language impairments. Results suggest these children are exposed to print…