English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) practitioners are familiar with adult learners' stories of disruption, political trauma, and mental upheaval. Until recently, however, little attention has been paid to personal trauma and domestic abuse. Acknowledgement of the prevalence of violence generally, and of that experienced by those in the adult ESL…

Presents results of research on the second-language proficiency of children participating in an experimental bilingual school, where children used mother tongue 75 percent the first year, 40 percent the second. Children attended neighborhood schools from the third year on. Supports the claim that mother tongue teaching does not harm…

Reveals that Puerto Rican students recently arrived in the United States who participated in a bilingual reading program in Spanish and English performed significantly better than did similar students who did not participate in the program. (FL)

Issues in measuring language proficiency of monolingual and bilingual persons are discussed. Psychometric procedures in developing both English- and Spanish-language proficiency instruments are illustrated through development of the New York City Language Assessment Battery, an assessment of proficiency in both languages used to screen eligibility…

Describes the process for developing a bilingual curriculum for Guatemala's four largest Mayan language groups. The process took into account the Mayans' maintenance of a distinct linguistic and cultural identity. The results of this experimental curriculum and the current direction of bilingual education in Guatemala are discussed. (Author/CB)

Introduces special section in this issue on educating linguistic minority children. Relates the author's own experience as a participant observer in pioneering bilingual education efforts, and comments on the articles in this issue. (BJV)

Following a brief discussion of legal and academic statements on mandatory bilingual education and mainstreaming, three models of the Planned Alternation of Languages (PAL) approach are described as a way to prepare students for mainstreaming. PAL allows for both languages to have feasible functions and support learners through acquisition of…

The lack of sound and practical guidelines and materials, which precludes adequate technical assistance, is one cause of the inferior quality of evaluation practices in bilingual education. Other contributing factors include incompetent program evaluators, misinformed local administrations, inappropriate state and federal policies, and complex…

The article discusses the small group of Hawaiian students who grow up as native Hawaiian speakers but are being taught in programs that do not support the continued development of their native language. Suggestions for creating effective additive bilingual education programs are presented. (SM)

Describes Latin America's bilingual intercultural education (BIE) programs. Explains that BIE attempts to provide education in both Spanish and native languages. Finds that future BIE teachers speak but do not write the indigenous language or have insufficient schooling. Urges inservice training programs, basic teacher training, and training of…

Highlights instructional practices in four California newcomer schools designed to address newly arrived immigrant students' instructional needs. Observations of the schools indicated effective instructional practices for that student population were not being used in most of the newcomer classrooms, despite a strong commitment to support and…

Literacy is a major focus of attention in the education of linguistically and culturally diverse youth. The article focuses on identifying literature that impacts the literacy processes of secondary school students, highlighting studies that suggest a vision of literacy as empowerment for bilingual and limited English proficient students. (SM)

Describes how a request to help evaluate an innovative bilingual project in an international school led to positive changes in project implementation and a more constructive way forward for the main participants. The article presents a model, called a "SPARE wheel" in order to emphasize the cyclical nature of evaluation. Results indicate the…

Finds that (1) children taught in Spanish did not differ from those taught in English on English reading and writing but were significantly stronger on Spanish reading and writing; (2) being taught literacy in Spanish contributed to performance in Spanish reading comprehension; but (3) being taught in English did not have the same positive effect…

This article summarizes the results from the first statewide study of two-way immersion (TWI) programs for English language learners. The survey was conducted electronically with 304 Texas bilingual/English as a Second Language directors in districts that serve English language learners. Data are reported for the following research question: What…