Massachusetts State Dept. of Education, Malden. (2000). Requirements for the Participation of Students with Limited English Proficiency: A Guide for Educators and Parents. Spring 2000 Update. This document provides an overview of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), the state's student testing system. MCAS measures the performance of students, schools, and districts by assessing student knowledge of the academic learning standards contained in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. The purpose of this document is to assist principals, bilingual education directors, English-as-a-Second-Language staff, and other educators to assess the status of each limited English proficient student and to determine whether he or she is required to participate in MCAS in the spring of year 2000. The document is organized accordingly: Part 1, "Overview of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System"; Part 2, "Overview of Definitions and Policies for Assessing LEP Students," including details concerning the definition of Limited English Proficient (LEP), MCAS participation requirements for LEP students, LEP students with disabilities, student identification forms, and reporting of LEP results; Part 3, "The Spanish Version MCAS Tests," including content areas tested, types of questions, Spanish-version test materials, and test administration guidelines for the spring of 2000.   [More]  Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Elementary Secondary Education, English (Second Language), Limited English Speaking

Coy, Sherry; Litherland, Lucrecia (2000). From a Foreign Language Perspective: A Snapshot View of a Dual Language Program in Two Inner-City High Poverty Elementary Schools. Dual language programs are bilingual education immersion models designed to address the needs of limited-English-proficient students and native English speakers by proving an additive language approach. In this program, English and Spanish are used for the purpose of developing bilingual and biliteracy skills. The project was structured after the 90/10 model, which provides 90 percent of instruction in Spanish and 10 percent in English instruction in kindergarten and first grade. Instruction in English is increased by 10 percent with each grade until a balance of 50/50 is reached in fifth grade. This paper provides information about this Title VII-funded program as implemented in two inner-city elementary schools. The teachers and instructional assistants foster high academic achievement by teaching content areas using both English and Spanish, and literacy skills are acquired in both languages. The structure of the class is such that English and Spanish-dominant students are placed together so that students learn from each other as well as the teacher. The results have been positive: after 2 years of dual instruction, students are performing better than expected in both language acquisition and academics. Nine references and six appendices (covering a description of Title VII, sample lessons from classroom observations, an assessment calendar, a training summary, a professional development survey, and a classroom observation checklist) are included.   [More]  Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Bilingual Education Programs, Classroom Techniques, Elementary Education

Graves-Desai, Kelly, Ed.; Eaton, Susan, Ed.; Walser, Nancy, Ed. (1998). The Harvard Education Letter, 1998, Harvard Education Letter. This document is comprised of volume 14 of the Harvard Education Letter, published bimonthly and addressing current issues in elementary and secondary education. Articles in the six issues of this volume include the following: (1) January-February–"Multi-Age Classrooms: An Age-Old Grouping Method Is Still Evolving" (Walser), "Teachers Wanted: Schools Look for Creative Solutions to Upcoming Teacher Shortage" (Walters), "Schools Should be Safe, But Are They?" (Posner); (2) March-April–"Teachers in the Driver's Seat" (Lewis), "Time and Learning" (Sadowski), "Small Schools Work Best for Disadvantaged Students" (Farber); (3) May-June–"The Bilingual Education Debate" (Walters), "Bilingual Education and California's 'English for the Children' Initiative,""Paying Attention to ADHD"  (Lynn); (4) July-August–"Working Teenagers: Do After-School Jobs Hurt?" (Kelly), "Full-Service Schools Respond to Families' Needs" (Farber), "Discussing Student Work Gives Teachers New Perspective"; (5) September-October–"From Sputnik to TIMSS: Reforms in Science Education Make Headway Despite Setbacks" (Freundlich), "Latino Achievement Reexamined" (Walters); and (6) November-December–"Learning To Listen May Help Children Learn To Read" (Walser), "Programs Fostering 'Emotional Intelligence' Show Promise" (Sadowski), "Building Collaborative Relationships: Educational Research in Schools" (Rubinstein-Avila and Suarez-Orozco), "A Parent's Influence is Peerless" (Kagan). Regular features include editorial statements and summaries of recent educational research.   [More]  Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Adolescents, Attention Deficit Disorders, Bilingual Education

Roca, Ana, Ed. (2000). Research on Spanish in the United States: Linguistic Issues and Challenges. This collection of 29 original articles provides an informative overview of current linguistic research on Spanish in the United States. Many of the chapters focus on regional aspects, ranging from sociolinguistic issues among Dominicans in New York and Cubans in Miami to the adoption and adaptation of forms from Nahuatal and English in the southwestern United States. Other chapters discuss the outlook for the growing population of Spanish speakers in many areas of the United States, particularly in relation to bilingual education and other public policy questions. This edited volume has an introduction and is divided into 8 parts with several chapters each. Part titles include the following: "U.S. Spanish: An Overview of the Issues"; "Bilingualism and Interpreting"; "Historical Perspectives"; "Borrowings"; "Codeswitching, Narratives, and Discourse"; "Sociolinguistics and Pragmatics"; "Phonology, Morphology, and Syntax"; and "Attitudes, Planning, and Policy Issues." A detailed subject index is included. Numerous references appear at the end of each chapter. Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Bilingualism, Code Switching (Language), Discourse Analysis

de Weck, Genevieve, Ed.; Sovilla, Jocelyne Buttet, Ed. (2000). Le langage ecrit: Actes du 6e colloque d'orthophonie/logopedie (Written Language: Proceedings of the Sixth Colloquium on Speech Therapy/Speech Pathology) (Neuchatel, Switzerland, September 21-22, 2000). This collection of papers discusses various theoretical, clinical, and assessment issues in reading and writing delays and disorders. Topics include the following: integrating different theoretical approaches (cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, constructivism) into clinical approaches to reading and writing difficulties; difficulties of kindergartners in understanding the concept of reading and writing; a comparison of spelling, oral reading, and reading content in whole language and phonics-oriented first grade classes; the connection between visual processing and dyslexia; a reading evaluation tool for students with personality and behavior troubles; the use of writing by a deaf student; the role of the speech therapist in charge of deaf children in bilingual education; connections between difficulties in reading and writing and in accepting social norms; a therapeutic method for remediating surface dysgraphia; using "metagraphic explanations" with students with severe spelling difficulties; a comparison of text production between students with and without dysorthographia; a longitudinal analysis of text production; a didactic sequence for teaching/learning narrative discourse; and reflections on teaching versus therapy.   [More]  Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Constructivism (Learning), Deafness, Dysgraphia

Phillipson, Robert, Ed. (2000). Rights to Language: Equity, Power, and Education. Celebrating the 60th Birthday of Tove Skutnabb-Kangas. This collection of papers brings together scholarship on language, education, and society from all parts of the world, situating issues of minorities and bilingual education in broader perspectives of human rights, power, and the ecology of language. Part 1, "Language: Its Diversity, its Study, and Our Understandings of It," includes papers on such topics as linguistic and biological diversity, the politics of apolitical linguistics, linguistic pluralism, and culture, sharing, and language. Part 2, "Rights: Language Rights, Their Articulation and Implementation," includes such topics as language maintenance, human rights, unity in difference, use of language rights by minorities, and steps toward an ecology of language. Part 3, "Equity: Justice for Speakers of All Languages," includes such topics as writing for diversity, language and power in academic institutions, science and policy, and exclusion as discursive practice and the politics of identity. Part 4, "Power: Policies for Multilingualism," includes such topics as language resilience and educational empowerment, mother tongue education, and creating a bilingual family in a monolingual country. Part 5, "Education: Affirming Diversity, Confirming Rights" includes such topics as the linguistic human rights of sign language users, creating a successful minority school, and dual language modes and intergenerational inspirations. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Civil Liberties, Cultural Differences, Diversity (Student)

Lo Bianco, Joseph, Ed. (2000). A Description and Exploratory Evaluation of Program Types in Indigenous and Community Languages. Final Report. The approaches to language maintenance in Australia are diverse and heterogeneous and include at least three kinds of programs: bilingual education programs; ethnic school programs (after hours or weekend programs that are controlled and managed by the community concerned); and mainstream school programs where the indigenous native language is being taught as a school subject as part of the normal school curriculum. This report is divided into three parts. Part A discusses the salient themes of language education common to all students. Part B consists of a series of site reports on language education in different parts of Australia, including language maintenance via community controlled schooling (the case of Arabic in New South Wales); language maintenance via mainstream schooling (the cases of Khmer in Western Australia and Chinese and Italian in Victoria); and language maintenance via revitalization and revival (the cases of Noongar and Yindjibarndi, also in Western Australia). Part C is a cost benefit analysis of the various programs. Part D is a resource kit for establishing community language programs, with numerous organizational and individual points of contact. (Contains 51 references.)   [More]  Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Community Programs, Cultural Background, Cultural Differences

Hruska, Barbara L. (2000). Prioritizing Needs/Negotiating Practices: Student Placement at River Valley Elementary. This paper examines the negotiations that occur in a specific educational setting when traditional student placement practices are challenged and redesigned in an effort to better meet the needs of English language learners. The settings for these negotiations is an elementary school where over 90 percent of the students are native English speakers and two-thirds of the English language learners are from Spanish speaking backgrounds and participate in a Spanish transitional bilingual education (TBE) "pull-out" program. As their English competence increases, the students are transitioned into an all-English program. There were disagreements among the regular classroom, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL), and TBE teachers about where a given child belonged. The perspectives of each of these teachers is described in detail in order to understand the tensions created by the pull-out model of instruction. These perspectives were obtained through formal interviews, informal conversations, classroom observations, faculty meeting notes, and video tapes from ESL, TBE, grade level, and whole school contexts. Teachers, parents, and students were interviewed. It is concluded that a grade-level clustering model for instruction of TBE students would be the most effective option as it would provide for a more integrated learning experience and less fragmented day. It also affords greater opportunities for teacher collaboration. (Contains 13 references.   [More]  Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Elementary Education, English (Second Language), Grouping (Instructional Purposes)

Yang, Philip Q. (2000). Ethnic Studies: Issues and Approaches. This book offers a comprehensive definition of the field of ethnic studies, covering both major issues in the field and its theoretical and methodological approaches. It traces the origins and evolution of the discipline in the United States and maps its domain. Some of the current issues addressed include affirmative action, illegal/legal immigration, bilingual education, and the English-only movement. For each issue addressed, the book introduces key concepts, outlines main dimensions, presents empirical evidence, discusses theoretical approaches, and suggests alternative perspectives when possible. There are 15 chapters in three parts. Part 1, "Basics of Ethnic Studies," includes (1) "Introduction" and (2) "Methodologies of Ethnic Studies." Part 2, "Major Issues in Ethnic Studies," includes (3) "Theories of Ethnicity," (4) "Ethnic Stratification," (5) "Ethnic Adaptation," (6) "Ethnic Differences in Socioeconomic Achievement," (7) "Ethnic Prejudice," (8) "Ethnic Discrimination, (9) "Racism," (10) "Ethnic Segregation," (11) "Ethnic Conflict," (12) "Ethnicity and Politics," and (13) "Race, Class, and Gender." Part 3, "Social Action Agendas and the Future of Ethnic Studies," includes (14) "Current Issues in Ethnic Studies" and (15) "Looking Into the Future." (Contains 420 references.) Descriptors: Acculturation, Affirmative Action, Bilingual Education, Educational Research

Maroney, Oanh H.; Smith, Howard L. (2000). Mexican-Trained Educators in the United States: Our Assumptions–Their Beliefs. A study examined the beliefs and attitudes of Mexican-trained educators regarding instruction for minority and language minority students in light of assumptions that students experience better outcomes with culturally and linguistically compatible teachers. Fifteen educators who received their teacher education in Mexico, and whose native language was Spanish, were interviewed. Findings indicate that while these educators understood the philosophy and purpose of bilingual education, were pedagogically prepared, and were both linguistically and culturally compatible with their students, they held some beliefs and perspectives about their students that may be problematic–in fact, as problematic as some beliefs and perspectives of educators from other cultural backgrounds.  Specifically, these Mexican-trained educators demonstrated a deficit-model perspective in their beliefs that parents with "blue collar" jobs perpetuated a cycle of poverty and school failure by not encouraging their children to do well in school, that minority students' ethnic culture was a reason for their school failure, and that students and parents were often the determining factor for school success or failure. It cannot be assumed that individuals will not possess deficit perspectives about others of their own ethnic, cultural, or linguistic group. (Contains 24 references.)   [More]  Descriptors: Beliefs, Bilingual Education, Bilingual Teachers, Economically Disadvantaged

Beykont, Zeynep F., Ed. (2000). Lifting Every Voice: Pedagogy and Politics of Bilingualism. Essays in this collection deal with the complex pedagogical and political issues of language-minority education in U.S. public schools. The book focuses on language-minority students in bilingual programs, those who receive some instruction in their native languages. The essays are: (1) "Language Loss and Language Gain in the Brazilian Community: The Role of Schools and Families" (Heloisa Souza); (2) "Decolonizing English Only: The Democratic Power of Bilingualism" (Donaldo Macedo); (3) "Bilingualism Equals Access: The Case of Chinese High School Students" (Katy Mei-Kuen Kwong); (4) "Reaping the Benefits of Bilingualism: The Case of Somali Refugee Students" (Mohamed Hassan Farah); (5) "Raising Children's Cultural Voices: Strategies for Developing Literacy in Two Languages" (Berta Rosa Berriz); (6) "Bilingual in Two Senses" (Cynthia Ballenger); (7) "Families and Communities Learning Together: Becoming Literate, Confronting Prejudice" (Jim Cummins and Dennis Sayers); (8) "Teachers' Judgments Do Count: Assessing Bilingual Students" (Evangeline Harris Stefanakis); (9) "Democratizing Bilingualism: The Role of Critical Teacher Education" (Lilia I. Bartolome); (10) "Bringing Bilingual Education out of the Basement, and Other Imperatives for Teacher Education" (Sonia Nieto); (11) "Good Schools for Bilingual Students: Essential Conditions" (Maria Estela Brisk); and (12) "Voices from the Basement: Breaking through the Pedagogy of Indifference" (Ambrizeth Helena Lima). (Each chapter contains references.) Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingual Students, Elementary Secondary Education, Immigrants

Daniel-White, Kimberly, Ed. (2000). Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, Fall 2000, Working Papers in Educational Linguistics. The goal of Working papers in Educational Linguistics (WPEL) is to present works in progress by students and professors on topics ranging from speech act analysis and classroom discourse to language planning and second language acquisition. Papers offered are generally based on research carried out for courses offered in the language in education division of the graduate school of education. WPEL is intended to be a forum for the exchange of ideas among scholars of linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania and at universities with similar programs in educational and applied linguistics around the world. Articles in this issue include the following: "Teacher and Peer Responses as a Source of Negative Evidence to L2 Learners in Content-Based and Grammar-Based Classroom Activities" (Teresa Pica, Bruce Evans, Victoria Jo, and Gay Washburn); "EFL Teaching and EFL Teachers in the Global Expansion of English" (Oleg Tarnapolsky); "Standards, Exit Exams, and the Politicization of Bilingual Education: The Writing Exit Exam at Hostos College" (Diana Schwinge); "Participant Framework in Tutor Training" (Tamara Shane Sniad); and "Literacy Development through Content-Based Instruction: A Case Study" (Nicole Papai).   [More]  Descriptors: Applied Linguistics, Bilingual Education, Class Activities, Elementary Secondary Education

Hruska, Barbara L. (2000). Bilingualism, Gender, and Friendship: Constructing Second Language Learners in an English Dominant Kindergarten. This article draws on data collected during a year-long ethnographic study of six Spanish-dominant English language learners, enrolled in both English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and Spanish Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) "pull-out" programs, in an English kindergarten classroom. The study is based on a theoretical framework that conceptualizes language as the site of social meaning construction and power negotiations. It argues that a focus on effective second language instruction and language acquisition alone are inadequate for understanding and addressing complex learning environments and the needs of language learners. Four broad research questions address the local meanings of bilingualism, gender, and friendship, and how these ideologies, identities, and social relationships relevant to these socially- constructed discourses affect the Spanish-speaking students. Broad-, mid-, and micro-level analyses were conducted using standard interpretive analytic procedures. The study demonstrates how the meanings of these three local discourses and their inherent power dynamics shape students' identities, classroom participation, access to relationships, access to knowledge, and ultimately their investment in school. (Contains 86 references.)   [More]  Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Bilingualism, English (Second Language), Ethnic Groups

Riley, Richard W. (2000). Excelencia Para Todos–Excellence for All: The Progress of Hispanic Education and the Challenges of the New Century. Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley (Bell Multicultural High School, Washington, DC, March 15, 2000). The main theme of Richard W. Riley's speech is the importance of quality education to America's Latino community. The speech outlines a series of challenges for the 21st century: the promise of language and the need for Latinos to learn English with the aid of bilingual education; the need to meet increasing demand for quality teachers, especially for limited English proficiency (LEP) students; the need to raise Latino student achievement and lower their dropout rate; the importance of building links between the schools and the wider community; and the need to build more schools and to modernize and expand existing schools to accommodate expanding and changing student populations. Riley cites a report recently released by the Department of Education that details a number of effective policies and strategies the Department has identified that can and should be implemented to address the main challenges for the new century. The full speech touches upon the range of contemporary issues facing K-12 public education in the United States.   [More]  Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Bilingual Education, Bilingual Students, Culturally Relevant Education

Buchberger, Irina (2000). Struggle for Diversity of Languages in a Harmonising European Context: New Tasks for Teacher Education. Education policies of the European Commission and the Council of Europe stress the importance of cultural and language diversity. A white book by the European Commission on education and training recommends that every European citizen be able to communicate in at least 3 of the 12 officially recognized languages of the European Union by the end of high school. Simultaneously, there has been a major move toward using English within the 15 member states of the European Union. Against this backdrop, mother tongue teaching and learning as well as foreign language teaching/studying/learning are confronted with many new situations. Teacher education must provide the ability for prospective teachers to acquire the professional competence necessary to deal proactively with this phenomenon. This paper uses Finland and Sweden as examples of developments within the European Union, presenting various solutions in teacher education which have been adopted in these Nordic countries. Solutions include teaching more foreign languages and teaching them earlier; providing immersion programs; providing bilingual education; and teaching old minority languages as new school subjects. The paper examines the cognitive benefits of multilingualism and discusses trends in language teaching and learning in Nordic countries. (Contains 43 references.)   [More]  Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Educational Policy, Elementary Secondary Education, Foreign Countries