Measures of linguistic competence for limited-English-proficient students are discussed. The results for 134 students in grades 3 through 6 from a study of the reliability and validity of the Sentence Verification Technique tests as measures of listening and reading comprehension performance in native languages and English are reported. (TJH)

This replication study and follow-up study found that, when a multisensory structured language approach to teaching Spanish was used with a group of at-risk high school students, the group's pretest and posttest scores on native language phonological processing, verbal memory and vocabulary, and foreign language aptitude measures showed…

Provides an annotated bibliography of culturally relevant materials for students of Hispanic heritage; discusses the designation Hispanic versus Latino, Chicano, Puerto Rican, and Cuban American; and describes common characteristics of Spanish-speaking people, including language, family ties, ethnic identity, and discrimination. Addresses of…

Describes the systematic planning and subsequent implementation and evaluation of a systemwide Spanish program at the elementary level in a small school district in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Discusses active participation by all senior administrators, the ways in which the language program has been incorporated into the overall curriculum…

The locus of control, whether internal or external, is an influential concept in second-language learning. One observes it, for example, in Puerto Rican students returning to Puerto Rico to take university-level courses. Explanations address a teaching method relying on use of problems with examples in such a way as to empower students. This also…

Summarizes characteristics of Hispanic students at the Texas School for the Deaf. It discusses trilingual (American Sign Language, English, Spanish) situations and problems related to multilingual home and school environments. A model is proposed for language instruction and support-services programs. (DB)

Reports on an investigation of learning-strategy applications in elementary French, Japanese, and Spanish immersion classrooms. Focus is on identifying strategies that more and less effective learners use for classroom reading and writing tasks in the target language. Think-aloud data from 3rd-grade and 4th-grade students were quantified and…

This ethnographic study describes continuities and discontinuities between bilingual kindergarten and the homes of two Spanish-dominant Puerto Rican children. Findings highlight the complex web of continuities and discontinuities and the importance of the joint construction of a culture of teaching and learning by parents, teachers, and children.…

Describes how the author, teaching at a South Florida high school with many children of Mexican-American migrant workers, shaped his English instruction in scenarios that reflected students' lives and cultures. Shows how class discussions and assignments probed the worthiness of the language used and the reason why it was successful. Argues that…

Discusses what the author has learned in her job at an elementary school in Northeast Mississippi as liaison between English-speaking school personnel and Spanish-speaking students and parents, most of whom are recent immigrants from Mexico. Discusses what the author learned, through extensive talking and questioning of students and parents, about…

Examined attitudes toward taking different formats of oral proficiency assessments across three languages: Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese. Students were administered both the tape-mediated Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) and a new Computerized Oral Proficiency Instrument (COPI). Questionnaire responses showed examinees, particularly…

Depicts the state of two-way immersion programs in the United States. Data indicate that these programs educate nonnative- English-speaking students, expand the nation's language resources by conserving the native-language skills of minority students and developing second-language skills in English-speaking students, and enhance crosscultural…

Surveys literature on adolescents with respect to the possible causes of the educational lag in Hispanic youth. Presents possible contributing factors to the education lag, including culture shock many young Hispanics experience upon entrance into school. Offers suggestions for strategies to improve attainment levels of Hispanic American Youth.…

Examines two tenets of communicative language teaching--authenticity of the input and authorship of the language user--in an electronic environment. Reviews research in textually-mediated second language acquisition and analyzes two cases of computer-mediated language learning: the construction of a multimedia CD-ROM by American college learners…

A Massachusetts two-way bilingual education program provides initial first-language (L1) literacy development for all students, teaches half of the curriculum in L1 and half in L2 by third grade, and selectively integrates native and non-native speakers of the target language. Both target groups meet academic and linguistic goals by fifth grade.…