Teachers in traditional bilingual settings confront strict program requirements under the guise of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), excessive assessment demands (state, district and program assessments in both English and Spanish), and negative attitudes about bilingual education from many in the political and public spheres. Since 1998, the passage…

The purpose of this study was to determine which model of instruction is better for English Language Learners (ELL), English immersion or bilingual education. Two research articles were selected, compared, and analyzed. One was for English immersion and the other for bilingual education. Results are inconclusive, but it is important for educators…

This practitioner issue brief outlines successful strategies and recommendations for state-level policymakers, administrators, schools, and districts that are based on a 5-year evaluation study on the learning environment for ELLs in the state of California. This brief offers four critical building blocks that should be in place to effectively…

Sheltered English is a method of instruction for limited-English-proficient (LEP) students based on the Canadian model of immersion education in which content is taught in English and made comprehensible to the students by special instructional techniques. The goal of the program is to enable the LEP students to acquire high levels of oral English…

This glossary defines terms commonly used in second language education, including the subfields of foreign language education, bilingual education, and English as a second language. Its purpose is to minimize confusion about the use of the terms. The terms include: language/linguistic majority student; language/linguistic minority student; limited…

The design of California's Structured English Immersion (SEI) program for limited-English-speaking students, which replaced its bilingual education program by state mandate, is described and suggestions for implementation are offered. SEI has several variations, each characterized by (1) extensive use of English and (2) use of…

Examined how teachers were impacted by California's Proposition 227, highlighting changes in teaching styles and beliefs about the proposition and its effectiveness. Teachers had to change their teaching strategies to accommodate the new curriculum. They were not sufficiently trained for immediate implementation of English-only education. Teaching…

This document asserts that dual language education is a program that has the potential to promote the multilingual and multicultural competencies necessary for the new global business job market while eradicating the significant achievement gap between language majority and language minority students. The appeal of dual language programs is that…

Since the mid-1980s two-way bilingual education programs have attracted renewed interest as an effective way to educate both language-minority and language-majority students. This report, which describes and assesses the current state of such programs in the United States, is based on data collected from 169 schools during the 1991-92, 1992-93,…

In September 1980, the Board of Education of the City of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Justice signed a consent degree that committed the board to the development of a comprehensive student desegregation plan to remedy the effects of past segregation on Black and Hispanic students. To fulfill the goals of the Chicago Desegregation Plan,…

This book can be used as a comprehensive introduction for instructors, researchers, and students, and as an interactive text for students. In designing the text the authors have been particularly attentive to the needs in teacher education, especially in the preparation of bilingual teachers. Thus, each of the readings is followed by questions and…

This hour-long videotape captures the events of "First and Second Language Literacy: From Research to Practice," a literacy teleconference hosted by Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL). Regional and national educators explore research-based effective practices for teaching and reading to diverse student populations.…

A study of 8 California school districts immediately following passage of Proposition 227, and another study of 39 districts a year later interviewed personnel, principals, and teachers about implementation of the English Only initiative. Specific implementation strategies reflected schools' previous programmatic efforts for limited English…

Examines ways to adjust instruction to develop language while teaching specific academic content to students from different cultural and language backgrounds, focusing on students in Hawaii. Information is presented on adjusting instruction so that students will understand better, with emphasis on providing sufficient cues and information,…

This document provides a brief overview of the results of the recent research and data synthesis funded by the U.S. Department of Education on effective educational approaches that promote the acquisition of English language arts and skills and grade-appropriate content for limited-English-proficient (LEP) students. This group, also known as…