Describes narrative activity in Spanish in a children's religious education class composed of Mexican immigrants at a Catholic parish in Los Angeles. Describes how students and their teacher collaborate in constructing a multiplicity of identities in an ongoing narrative within an oppressive colonial past in Mexico. (31 references) (Author/CK)

Describes efforts by Texas' University of St. Thomas (UST) to respond to growing numbers of Spanish-speaking students. Highlights a collaborative effort between UST, Shell Oil, and Helms Elementary School to create a bilingual school committed to instilling high expectations in students, fostering community identity, and maintaining strong…

The linguistic performance of four Hispanic bilingual fifth- and sixth-grade students perceived to have limited language abilities in English and Spanish was studied. Results indicate that the organization of instruction limited students' abilities to show their competence and that teachers interpreted this as a lack of conceptual ability. (SLD)

A study investigated communication strategies used to express lexical meaning in English by two groups (intermediate and advanced) of Spanish-speaking adult learners of English-as-a-Second-Language. Both structured and unstructured tasks were used to assess interlanguage development vis-a-vis proficiency, and results indicated that the…

A study of native and non-native English speakers' production of vowels in stressed and unstressed syllables found that non-native speakers had most difficulty with four-syllable words, producing a first-syllable vowel of variable quality, failing to reduce the second-syllable vowel, and failing to produce appropriate durations for vowels…

The goals of an intensive summer pilot project at Stanford University included (1) enabling beginning learners of Spanish to achieve one-year equivalent Spanish proficiency; (2) allowing teacher trainees to observe, critique, and practice foreign language lessons before embarking on their practicum; and (3) helping language-minority students to…

Reports the results of a quasi-experimental evaluation of the effects of the California English-only law on public librarians' acquisition policies and attitudes toward books in Spanish for children and young adults. The results, which showed no effects, are interpreted in terms of the symbolic functions of legislation and public policy. (seven…

From a Hispanic perspective, the current educational reform movement is closely related to three other contemporaneous policy agendas that imply an increasingly ethnocentric policy environment: (1) the Immigration Reform and Control Act; (2) the English-only movement; and (3) efforts of the Department of Education to sabotage the Bilingual…

Factors that intervene in successful and frustrating cultural learning experiences are examined to help improve the management of cross-cultural internships and similar experiences abroad. Emphasis is on students' perceptions of their language ability, social interactions, and job performance and their living arrangements. (Contains 15…

Voters in five states approved referenda making English their official language. The vote is used to assess racial, ethnic, economic, political, and cultural hypotheses. The racial and cultural hypotheses are not validated; the ethnic and class ones are partially supported; and the political hypothesis offers the most compelling explanation. (26…

Describes several noteworthy books about Latinos that contrast cultures, explain a unique Mexican and Mexican American celebration, explore the debate over illegal immigration, and convey the quandaries of adolescence. Several publications are considered inferior because they disregard the Spanish language and present negative historical…

A study examined the conversations of eight groups of high school students in a level three Spanish class during a jigsaw speaking task, and compared their language use patterns with those of intermediate-level learners of English as a Second Language. Results suggest both similarities and differences. Choice of language is also considered. (17…

Drawing on surveys of Peruvians, a discussion of Peruvian university education looks at how realistic students' expectations of the economic benefits of university attendance are. Differences in perceptions among ethnic groups (Spanish-speaking and Quechua-speaking) were examined, and implications for social integration in such a society are…

Discusses issues of fairness in the evaluation of bilingual writers. Warns of problems posed for them by the process approach to writing instruction. Describes a case study which suggests that even assessment procedures claimed to be holistic are biased against bilingual students. Compares one student's Spanish and English writing samples, noting…

Differences in prevalence of depressive symptoms were studied for 1,108 male and 1,092 female adolescents from diverse ethnocultural groups through a national survey of symptom levels. Females reported more depression than did males in any ethnic group. Mexican-American males reported more depressive symptoms than did other males. (SLD)