Within a 3-year period, a rural Midwestern school district's Hispanic student population increased from 3 to over 180 due to the hiring of migrant workers by a local meat packing plant. A qualitative study using interviews and classroom observations examined the processes through which 23 teachers and 5 administrators in this school district…

This edited volume includes the following chapters: "Three Kinds of Sociolinguistics and SLA: A Psycholinguistic Perspective" (Dennis R. Preston); "Getting Serious about Language Play: Language Play, Interlanguage Variation, and Second Language Acquisition" (Elaine Tarone); "Oppositional Talk and the Acquisition of Modality in L2 English" (Tom…

This report discusses findings from a study that examined issues surrounding the collaborative relationship between Latino paraeducators and the classroom teachers with whom they worked. Specifically, the study examined the types of activities that the paraeducators engaged in, the input they had in classroom instructional activities, the…

Focus groups were used to examine the needs of students taking a computer adaptive math assessment. The assessment designed using universal design and item response theory. Focus groups included teachers, administrators, child advocacy groups, and 3rd grade students and parents from the following groups: students with disabilities, students in…

Notes that children often need enticement into the world of books and reading and that the arts can be utilized to encourage excitement through aesthetic experiences and appreciation of world culture. Provides an annotated bibliography of age-appropriate books and series for Spanish-speaking children. (Author/SD)

Compares patterns of subject position pronominalization and zero anaphora in English in stories written by monolingual U.S. students and bilingual Mexican students at grades 6 and 12. The possibility of both sentential and discourse level transfer effects resulting from the fact that Spanish allows subject deletion is investigated as is the…

Describes a study that brought together university faculty and seventh-grade teachers to design and implement an instructional intervention to enhance academic learning opportunities for at-risk Hispanic students. Results show a consistent positive comparative academic outcome in reading comprehension, vocabulary, language mechanics, and language…

A key to closing the achievement gap between students who come to school speaking a language other than English and native English speakers is adoption of two-way bilingual immersion (TWBI) programs. The bilingual immersion approach fosters excellent academic achievement and positive school attitudes in students of any ethnicity who participate.…

This research is the result of time spent on school campuses, working in classrooms, observing lunch areas and student quads, and interviewing students. We tried to determine how or whether English learners had opportunities to learn with and from native English speakers, as well as whether both groups were aware of the presence of each other on…

The Gang Membership Inventory (GMI) was developed for use with urban high-risk youth and administered as part of a larger survey. The GMI consists of 15 true/false items asking about the respondent's involvement in gang activities in the year just past. Activities range from peripheral involvement to more serious involvement in gangs (e.g., being…

This study used qualitative research methods to investigate instructional and noninstructional interactions of Hispanic and non-Hispanic teachers with Hispanic American students. Two monolingual non-Hispanic teachers and two bilingual (Spanish and English) teachers at two public elementary schools were participants. The teachers had similar…

Under Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Project Alternative Learning Methodologies through Academics (Project ALMA) in New York City was evaluated. It was designed to emphasize acquisition of English language and mathematics and computer skills. High school students were to take English as a Second Language (ESL) and…

An experimental English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program at City College (New York) is reported. The federally funded project investigated the effectiveness of an instructional method entitled "Fluency First" and based on whole language theories of learning. It requires large amounts of reading and writing, collaboration with peers,…

Searching for additional bilingual-crosscultural teachers, the California State University (CSU) system plans to combine teacher education and the CSU International Programs approach. Basic elements of this program are: (1) intensive study of Spanish and immersion in a Spanish-speaking milieu; (2) a living experience in the Mexican culture; (3) a…

Little has been done to analyze the forces that predict whether high-risk students will stay in school or drop out. Current and retrospective data from 27 high-risk youths were studied to shed light on this problem and to suggest ways of improving educational services. The at-risk students were from low socioeconomic backgrounds, were Mexican…