Research Findings: The present study investigates both the proximal processes and contextual influences on children's oral language development in preschool. We examine whether teacher language practices vary across activity settings and program type, which teacher language practices predict children's oral language skills, and potential…

Schools are required by the U.S. Constitution, federal and state legislation, and court rulings to ensure equity and excellent education for emergent bilingual students. This literature reviews those policies, related funding and the history of poor quality of instruction provided to these learners. It also describes the research on bilingual…

This article discusses the kinds of instructional activities that young children need to develop basic language and literacy skills based on recent research and program evaluations. This includes approaches to develop alphabetic understanding, phonological awareness, vocabulary, and oral language. Activities and materials from the Pre-kindergarten…

Written as a guide for conducting a successful second institute, this manual included the objectives which should be transmitted to the teachers of the second institute and suggested methods for planning and conducting the institute and in-service training centers. In order to familiarize teachers with the Southwestern Cooperative Educational…

The Carpinteria Preschool Spanish Immersion Project was developed to bring Spanish speaking children to a level in school readiness skills that matched English dominant children upon entrance to kindergarten. A description of the program and its effectiveness is offered. (DF)

This article describes a 4-step protocol for selecting and facilitating production of a first vocabulary in children with specific language impairment using a focused language stimulation approach. Focused language stimulation includes general language stimulation techniques and, in addition, requires frequent, highly concentrated repetitions of…

After a brief discussion of the concepts underlying the design of a high school district's composition program that emphasizes teacher inservice preparation and writing as process rather than product, this paper develops a theory of learning language skills similar to that used in learning a second language. A distinction is drawn between language…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a 2-year project designed to provide an innovative tool process and a state-of-the-art instructional environment for children from 3 through 8 years of age with a wide range of disabilities across ages, classrooms, and locations as they constructed their own communities and participated in building a…

This book describes the characteristics of secondary schools in the United States that make it difficult for immigrant students to succeed. These include the following: fragmented school days and instructional programs in which English-as-a-Second-Language and content area teachers work in separate departments and rarely interact; the complex…

Intended for preschool teachers, the monograph identifies components of an exemplary program for preschool handicapped children. The first chapter on identification reviews the steps involved in location, screening, and diagnosis. Chapter 2 considers the research literature on the role played by parents and the family in the child's intellectual…

This handbook is a guide to a compensatory language program designed for young, Australian, aboriginal children during their first year at school. It is the result of recent research which shows that reading retardation characteristic of aboriginal children may well be associated with the fact that their linguistic system differs from that in the…

This handbook establishes the Montgomery County Public Schools procedure for implementing the Maryland state law on early identification, Section 98C, added to Article 77 of the Annotated Code of Maryland by House Bill 234. This law mandates that each student entering the first year in any primary grade in any public school must be evaluated for…

One segment of a three-year study to examine the relationship between first- and second-language acquisition in light of instructional practices is presented. The study's major focus is the development of literacy skills, including school-related language forms as well as reading and writing, and in this segment, the services delivered to language…

The study describes an experimental program in Vancouver to teach English as an additional language to older immigrants who were excluded from existing programs for one reason or another. Classes were held during the morning hours on two consecutive days for seven weeks (with a five-week extension course) in a community center; 45 adults were…