A recent National Research Council study, "Improving Schooling for Language-Minority Children: A Research Agenda" examined the status of bilingual education research and the direction of future studies. The report is discussed here, in a format corresponding to the report's sections on domains of research and practice: bilingualism and…

The collection of essays on sociocultural factors in the second language classroom includes: "Autonomy and Ideology in the English Language Classroom" (Hywel Coleman); "Safe-Talk: Collusion in Apartheid Education" (J. Keith Chick); "English Language Education in Japan" (Virginia LoCastro); "Shadow Puppets and…

This practicum report describes a project to teach preservice speech-language clinicians cost-effective and time-efficient methods for analyzing language sample assessment data used to design functional treatment programs for children with communicative/linguistic deficits. A technology curriculum was designed and implemented which emphasized…

What the Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) test actually tests and the consequences of these tests for funding decisions were studied with a random sample of 100 school districts in the Cook County suburbs of Chicago. Eighth-grade IGAP scores for reading were obtained from the state report card, a document prepared by each school district…

Ideas and guidelines for the organization of effective homework assignments, based on the principle that homework should offer opportunities for learning outside the classroom, are offered. The examples given are for English second language instruction as practiced in public secondary schools in Cyprus, but the principles outlined could be applied…

This paper reviews the 12 career assessment instruments that have been found to be most used in Texas with students with special needs. Two tables list the instruments along with the opinions of users concerning their qualities. The reviews follow a standard outline. Each review is one to two pages in length and provides this information: title,…

This brochure provides educators, statisticians, the press, the public, and other interested parties with selected facts and figures about education in Alaska. Brief tables give: (1) general district and school information for Alaska's 54 public school districts and its private schools; (2) student information, including enrollment and graduates…

This study assessed the effects of Instrumental Enrichment (IE) instruction with minority students on a non-verbal measure of students' intelligence (the Progressive Matrices test), on students' report card marks, and on students' City-Wide Test nationally-normed reading and mathematics scores in the School District of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania).…

This keynote address reported on the current state of science education in three areas: curriculum development, attitudes toward science, and assessment in science. Three major projects in science curriculum reform were the focus of the section on curriculum development: (1) Project 2061; (2) Scope, Sequence, and Coordination; and (3) Earth…

A survey of 368 second language teachers at the elementary school, middle school, high school, and college level in the southwest United States (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas) investigated teachers' priorities for language instruction in the 1990s. Respondents ranked aspects of language instruction in priority order. Results were…

The collection of articles on second language teaching and learning includes: "Cross-Cultural Discourse Pragmatics: Speaking about Hearsay in English and Japanese" (Nobuko Trent); "An Investigation of Student Opinions and Educational Experiences in Spanish for the Heritage Speakers at Arizona State University and the University of…

The kit is designed to assist Peace Corps language instruction coordinators in countries around the world in understanding the principles underlying second language training and organizing instructional programs. It is intended primarily as a resource library, with materials organized to ensure flexibility of use. It consists of eleven sections…

A collection of essays on first and second language proficiency from the fields of psychology and linguistics includes the following: "Modeling and Assessing Language Proficiency" (John H. A. L. de Jong, Ludo Verhoeven); "The Construct of Grammar in Early Language Development" (Folkert Kuiken); "Dimensions in Grammatical Proficiency" (Wim H. J.…

The handbook is intended as an aid to teachers and administrators in developing English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs for the kind of linguistically diverse student population found in international schools. It consists of a selection of essays on ESL program design and implementation and lists of additional resources. Essays include:…

This brief describes 23 computer-based adult literacy programs developed for instructional use in workplace and general literacy settings and 11 guides and research reports. Descriptions contain these types of information: area(s) taught or assessed; format; intended users; instructional objective(s); required hardware; cost; companion print…