Finds that, among 2100 Hispanic elementary students in a four-stage bilingual program, primary language achievement, instructional level, and oral English performance were important indicators of English reading achievement scores and readiness for reclassification to an all-English program. Contains 17 references and 9 tables. (Author/SV)

Responds to Dunn's paper on Hispanic-Anglo differences in IQ scores. Argues that vocabulary use influences ethnic group IQ scores, that mainland Hispanic-American vocabulary scores decline after school entrance, and that native language proficiency achieved in a true bilingual program facilitates acquisition of English language skills. Contains 34…

Describes a program model tested at two Boston high schools designed to better prepare monolingual teachers to meet the needs of their linguistic minority students. Program consisted of needs assessment, workshops, conferences, and classroom projects. Recommendations for future projects include administrator, counselor, and bilingual staff…

Investigates the Spanish literacy development of 20 low-socioeconomic-status Spanish dominant students learning in whole-language classrooms. Notes that the children used a variety of reading and writing strategies. Finds that students learned about meaning construction through the use of whole language and that meaning construction was associated…

Summarizes four projects that attempt to use cultural resources for instruction, each in a unique way. Suggests that these projects serve as catalysts to challenge the status quo by creating conditions and activities for novel uses of literacy. Highlights the important mediating functions of literacy, especially in two languages, in helping…

Maori language revitalization in New Zealand has had government support since 1982. Programs include schools that teach entirely in Maori and are based on Maori philosophy and pedagogy, as well as immersion programs and bilingual classes. School programs are complemented by community-based adult and preschool programs. Teacher shortages, dialect…

Approaches to intercultural communication competence (ICC) generally argue the need for objective knowledge about another culture as well as knowledge about and the ability to achieve appropriate behaviors of that target culture. Most of these approaches continue to base themselves on a conception of culture as comprehensive but static.…

A discussion of the role of bilingual education programs focuses on their function as a district-wide or school-wide reform effort, rather than as a discrete program within a larger system. It is proposed that this approach requires changes in the traditional roles of school personnel and thoughtful attention to how to involve all participants.…

This paper addresses questions and concerns of Head Start staff who strive to develop and implement programs to meet the needs of preschoolers who are linguistically and culturally different. The first concern addressed is the educational rights of children whose primary language is not English, and the nature of language assistance programs…

Nowadays all schools must be prepared to meet the challenge of an increasingly diverse student population, including many students who are not proficient in English. The effectiveness of various program models for language minority students remains the subject of controversy, and there are several factors to consider when selecting a program…

The process of developing and implementing the Graduate Secondary Teacher Education Program (STEP) at Seattle Pacific University (Washington) included five steps: initial conception, establishment of program parameters, development of a working proposal, completion of the review process, and completion of the adoption process. Graduate STEP is a…

Bilingual vocational education (BVE) offers a way to improve both the job and English skills of workers with limited English proficiency (LEP). Initially using both the native language and English to provide job training makes instruction immediately comprehensible to the students. Gradually, the use of the native language decreases while English…

Results of a National Research Council review of two major bilingual education studies are presented. The two studies were a national longitudinal study of the effectiveness of instruction of limited-English-proficient students and a study comparing three bilingual education program types (immersion, early exit, and late exit). The report contains…

This paper examines bilingual early childhood programs in Aotearoa, New Zealand, in Wales, and among the indigenous people of the United States. The first section of the paper describes bicultural programs as programs that promote an acknowledgement of the ways people of each culture live, communicate with one another, and understand their world.…

A three-year, federally-funded program to train bilingual adult literacy and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers to serve immigrants and refugees in the Boston (Massachusetts) area is reported and evaluated. A significant feature of the project was that it trained non-native-English-speaking community members to teach literacy skills and…