The five papers in this issue cover a range of perspectives on the acquisition and use of the Spanish copulas "ser" and "estar" in a variety of contexts, including language contact, bilingual language acquisition, and classroom second language learning. The fact that these papers cite work in this area as far back as the early part of the 20th…

This article compares spoken discourse models in Spanish as a second language textbooks and online language learning resources with naturally occurring conversations. Telephone service encounters are analyzed from the point of view of three different dimensions of authenticity: linguistic, sociolinguistic, and psycholinguistic. An analysis of 20…

This investigation examined the Spanish and English receptive vocabulary and language comprehension abilities of bilingual preschoolers who attended Head Start over a two-year period. It was hypothesised that bilingual children's development would follow linear trajectories and that the development of children who were only exposed to Spanish in…

Many English language learners (ELLs) in schools experience reading difficulties, particularly Spanish-speaking students. This is a serious problem given the tendency for struggling readers to fall further behind as they advance in school. This issue becomes more pressing as the number of ELLs enrolled in schools rises and the availability of…

Friendships and their formation are an important part of the educational experience for K-12 students. With the ever increasing ethnic and racial diversity that is filling our schools, it is paramount that we examine how children choose their friends. This study examined whether or not race and ethnicity play a role in how children choose with…

This pilot study investigated the effects of a 20-week quasiexperimental vocabulary intervention aimed at improving Spanish-speaking language minority students' English vocabulary and writing outcomes. Participants were two matched samples of fifth graders (N = 49) in a predominantly Latino, low-income urban school. Pre- and posttest analyses…

We examined the phenotypic expression of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) across cultures by assessing the factor/latent class structure of its core symptoms. We conducted a systematic review of the literature published from January 1987 to November 2008 using Medline and PsycINFO. We systematically reviewed 2,511 article abstracts,…

We examined ethnicity and cultural orientation as predictors of parents' views of and involvement in children's education, using data gathered from the Latino (n = 74) and non-Latino (17 White and 13 ethnic minority) parents of children in an elementary school's dual-language program. Parents completed a questionnaire that assessed Latino and…

A Latina college professor describes the family history-writing project she uses in her reading/language arts teacher preparation course. The project provides opportunities for Spanish bilingual teacher candidates to gain greater understanding of their cultural selves and to consider ways to successfully deploy that new insight as teachers in…

Latino youth are more likely than any other ethnic group to drop out of high school in the United States. Though some research has helped us understand the factors leading to dropout, very few studies have assessed Latino student's opinions of services and factors that would help them stay in school (e.g., family, school, peers, and policies).…

The Materials Acquisition Project (MAP) was founded in 1970 under E.S.E.A. Title VII to collect educational materials published in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries for assistance and use in bilingual education programs in the U.S. MAP believes in parity in all aspects of bilingual-bicultural education and offers guidelines for such an…

A study of syntactic variation in Spanish spoken by native speakers in the United States examined patterns of variation in different areas of the country. High school students in larger Hispanic communities throughout the country were surveyed concerning their own and their parents' demographic characteristics and their Spanish speaking,…

Spanish language planning needs and efforts in the public domains of health, law, work, media and communication, citizenship, social welfare, and education are described. For each of these domains, communication inadequacies, planning authorities, plans for alleviating inadequacies, and efforts at implementation of plans are identified. Perceived…

A study is reported in which 14 bilingually schooled and 16 conventionally schooled Mexican-American children and their parents were subjects of research over a two-year period. The bilingual program students were found to be using Spanish more after several years and continued this pattern over time. (Author/RM)