This document contains two guidebooks--a workbook for students and a handbook for teachers. Class activities are designed for English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) students at level 1B of the Washington State Core Competencies. Some activities may be appropriate for level 1A and/or level 2 students too. Materials are based on experience and are…

This document is the final report describing the experiences, effectiveness, and findings of a home ownership literacy program in El Paso, Texas. It is asserted that such a program was and is necessary because the adult education programs that presently exist typically are not sufficiently addressing the practical, real-life needs of the…

This paper asserts that if a single theme prevails in the story of Greater Boston's new immigration, it is diversity. No single group dominates in metro Boston. Diversity in country of origin is compounded by differences in ethnicity, socioeconomic background, legal status, and language. Issues of particular salience to immigrant communities…

Many immigrants, refugees, and aboriginal Canadians learn their own languages in the normal, informal way. These minority languages learned informally are not valued as a skill that yields returns in the labor market in the same way the official languages or formally learned languages do. What counts as a skill in a society, in a given point in…

This study explored the roles that two parents played in their daughter's English education during the initial period after moving to the United States. For English language learners (ELLS) with limited first language schooling in the home country, it usually takes several years to demonstrate cognitive academic language proficiency. For ELL…

This bilingual curriculum was developed by job search counselors at a Seattle nonprofit social service agency in conjunction with Washington state's welfare reform initiative, WorkFirst. The workshops were 30-hours long and were given over a 2-week period. The classes were conducted in the students' native language, as well as in English by an…

This paper presents the results of a study of sociocultural materials used with approximately 50 primary and secondary school teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Andalusia, Spain. Because Spain is becoming a more culturally diverse society, and will become even more so in the future as it joins the European Union, the Spanish…

This series of audiotapes (cassettes) uses a legend from different island communities in the Pacific to model ways parents can read with their children. English is on one side, Chamorro-- the indigenous language of the inhabitants of Guam and the other Mariana Islands--is on the other. (Author/KFT)

This book analyzes the evolution of the language situation in Canada over the last 45 years, drawing heavily from census data taken between 1951 and 1996. Chapters discuss: the evolution of the English language in Canada, including the size and distribution of the English native-language population, use of English as a home language, knowledge of…

This study examined what happened in the first month of the school year when a fourth/fifth grade teacher attempted to establish a learning community in her classroom of culturally and linguistically diverse learners. The researcher conducted two teacher interviews and was a participant observer during the first month of the school year. Data…

Discusses the relationships among bilingual education, biliteracy, diglossia, and native language maintenance. Pedagogical research in Latin American indigenous languages and Navajo indicate that indigenous language literacy instruction and bilingual methods also contribute significantly to literacy development in the national language (English or…

A study of 26 Asian-American students with learning disabilities in grades K-5 found that although the district policies reflected desired professional practices, there were no guidelines for documenting how variables such as second-language acquisition, culture, socioeconomic status, and other differences were accommodated. Policy recommendations…

Discusses the inappropriate referral of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students for speech-language therapy. Preassessment considerations that should be considered and the interrelatedness of culture, language, and communication as they impact on an individual learner's behavior are explained. Culturally appropriate assessment…

Argues that the ways in which other languages, such as Spanish, have been dealt with in the schools, particularly in bilingual programs, should not be applied to Pueblo languages. Pueblo culture, history, and politics have evolved a different way of thinking about language and require different educational solutions. Partnerships between Pueblo…

Questions current emphasis on standardized tests and discusses several factors about the tests that should prompt reevaluation of their usefulness. Issues discussed include: development and design of standardized tests; the correlation between test scores and socioeconomic position; the discrepancy between test designs and accurate reflection of…