This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Tomi D. Berney, New York China Inst. in America, Bruce Thowpaou Bliatout, Mory Ouk, Lucia Stern, Jean A. Humlicek, Deborah A. Verstegen, Randi A. Maxfield, Rodolfo Jacobson, and Harold J. Noah.
(1983). Educational Policy for Linguistic and Cultural Minorities: The State and the Individual. The problem of educational policy for language minorities, particularly those minorities who might be considered oppressed, include the right to education in the minority language. Rights properly considered also carry with them obligations; in this case, minority language speakers would have obligations toward the language of the majority. Two considerations in the area of minority and majority claims and counterclaims relate to economics and to the concept of "mediating structures." Economic considerations relate to the costs and benefits of different policies, as evaluated by the different language groups. These evaluations affect the extent to which formally enunciated rights and obligations are honored in practice. With regard to policy, its aim should be to minimize the perceived costs of a pluralistic approach and to maximize the perceived benefits to all concerned. The second set of considerations on "mediating structures" is shown to be relevant for policies governing the education of language minorities. The controlling aim should be to enable the minority family and its children to negotiate the "megastructures" of society. The mediating structures–neighborhoods, churches, voluntary associations, and the like–would assist the families in the negotiation. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Civil Rights, Economically Disadvantaged, Economics
(1990). Eligibility and Programming in Chapter I English as a Second Language (E.S.L.) Programs, 1988-89. OREA Report. Chapter I/Pupils with Compensatory Educational Needs programs in English as a Second Language (ESL) served students at 78 high schools in New York City, supplementing tax-levy-funded ESL classes in those schools serving limited-English-proficient (LEP) students. Chapter I of the Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act funded ESL and bilingual classes, bilingual guidance counselors, and paraprofessionals. Three program models were provided, each for a different type of high school, with specific formulas for allocation of funds at different instructional levels. Evaluation was conducted through interviews, data collection, and observation. Each participating school had diverse problems requiring different Chapter I programs, including native language illiteracy, increases in the number of immigrant students unprepared for the high school curriculum, social and economic difficulties facing new immigrant students, and large classes. In some cases, the constant influx of new students made functional grouping impossible, placing students at diverse ESL levels in the same class. Recommendations for program improvement include: examining effects of new LEP eligibility rules on demand for Chapter I funds to supplement tax levies, evaluating effects of class size on ESL learning; and exploring the effectiveness of the program model as it relates to student acquisition of English language skills and time needed to mainstream. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Compensatory Education, Eligibility, English (Second Language)
(1985). Second-Language Learning in Early Childhood: Some Thoughts for Practitioners. There is much that can be done in early childhood education programs to foster second language learning in young children. The research literature on early childhood bilingualism clearly indicates that children can learn two languages simultaneously without apparent effort, without cognitive strain or interference in learning either language adequately. Young children will learn languages best in an environment where the languages are clearly separated by persons. Caregivers can facilitate language learning by talking in an appropriate way to young language learners, as they do intuitively and spontaneously when communicating with a child, and by providing a stimulating and diverse linguistic environment with meaningful social interactions, including those with native-speaking peers. There is considerable evidence from ethnographic research that children from minority cultures learn better when classroom interactional patterns match patterns they are accustomed to, and teachers need to accommodate the child's expectations while gradually introducing mainstream values, language patterns, and interactional styles. Different kinds of classroom structure and teaching behavior work well with children of different language backgrounds. However, care must be taken that the children not lose their first language and culture. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingualism, Classroom Techniques, Communicative Competence (Languages)
(1987). BVT Curriculum Package Assessment Project. Final Report. A panel of bilingual specialists met in Alexandria, Virginia, in November 1986 to review curriculum packages developed by projects supported by the U.S. Department of Education's (USDE) Bilingual Vocational Training (BVT) grants. The USDE was interested in assessing the quality of curriculum development in current BVT projects, determining the transportability of project curriculum materials, and providing direction and assistance to improve future projects. The panel used an assessment instrument devised by USDE staff. Some of the committee's findings were the following: (1) BVT project staff need directions regarding format, elements, and sequencing in order to provide consistency; (2) definitions need to be clarified; (3) projects need technical assistance even after standards are set; (4) projects are different in their approaches to BVT curriculum development; (5) vocational training sections of curriculum packages are more fully developed than the ESL-related sections; (6) discrepancies existed on how to determine the language proficiency of students and the projects' methods of accommodating various language levels; and (7) curriculum packages often were not well thought out. The experts rated highest those packages that were well organized, contained the usual elements of curriculum guides, showed evidence of staff coordination, showed evidence of individualized instruction, and had a strong rationale for methodology. As a result of the assessment, recommendations were made for more technical assistance in BVT curriculum development, additional assessment, and dissemination of exemplary projects. (A list of the projects reviewed, meeting agenda, and assessment instrument are included in this report.) [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Bilingual Instructional Materials, Curriculum Development, Educational Needs
(1988). Handbook for Teaching Khmer-Speaking Students. Between 1975 and 1987, 140,000 Cambodians arrived in the United States; most have settled in California. This handbook for teachers and administrators who work with Khmer students and their parents begins with an overview of Cambodian history, and pays special attention to events since the Communist takeover in 1975. The second chapter, "Educational Background of Khmer Refugees," describes educational policy in Cambodia from the third century up to 1975, the subsequent situation in refugee camps, and the problems of Khmer families newly arrived in this country. Chapter 3 provides an introduction to the Khmer language. Chapter 4, "Recommended Instructional and Curricular Strategies," details the benefits of fostering and maintaining native language literacy among the Khmer and discusses bilingual teaching methods. A bibliography contains references, suggestions for further reading, and lists of materials in the Khmer language. Appendixes list California school districts ranked by enrollment of limited-English proficient students who speak Khmer, sources of Cambodian language materials and materials on Cambodia, and Cambodian community organizations and publications and provide notes on Khmer national holidays and traditional ceremonies, and a glossary. Descriptors: Asian Americans, Bilingual Education Programs, Cambodian, Cambodians
(1989). Cooperative Learning for LEP Students, Intercultural Development Research Association Newsletter. Substantial evidence suggests that students working together in small cooperative groups can master material better than students working on their own, and that cooperative learning structures higher self-esteem and learning motivation. Cooperative learning (CL) has been proposed for use with language minority children, as well as with other at-risk students. This method offers advantages for primary language instruction, whole language approaches, English as a Second Language (ESL) and transition to English, sheltered instruction and critical thinking, development of cognitive and metacognitive strategies, and classrooms with few limited-English-proficient (LEP) students. Several CL models have targeted bilingual classroom settings, using different focuses: group investigation and cooperative integrated reading and composition. Effective implementation of CL instruction requires that: (1) students be prepared for cooperative work; (2) teachers understand the change in their role from transmitter of knowledge to mediator of thinking; (3) each student in a team have a specific and meaningful role; (4) debriefing be incorporated into instruction; (5) evaluation be consistent and clear; (6) teachers be well trained in appropriate teaching strategies and classroom management techniques; and (7) an ecology for professional growth and instructional improvement be in place in the school. A 50-item bibliography is included. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Classroom Techniques, Cooperative Learning, English (Second Language)
(1984). The Effects of a Structured Immersion Approach to Minority Language Asian Students: Results of a Longitudinal Evaluation. The evolution and evaluation of an elementary level structured immersion program in English as a second language are described. The program provides all academic instruction in English, but at a level that students can understand. It is ungraded, uses bilingual teachers who speak the students' native language, and has both developmental and direct instructional components. Vocabulary is carefully controlled and lessons are carefully sequenced to build on students' existing knowledge and proficiency. Evaluation of the program was undertaken through administration of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, with the Language Assessment Scale as a supplemental measure of language skills. Two analyses were performed. In one, the performance gains of children in grades 3-6 were found to be significant in almost all academic areas tested. In the second, performance gains of non-English-speaking and limited-English-speaking children at the end of grade 2 and enrolled in the program for at least two years were compared with children not enrolled but within the same school district. Students in the program achieved and maintained above-median performance in all areas. It is concluded that structured immersion programs can be effective and warrant further consideration. Descriptors: Asian Americans, Bilingual Education Programs, Elementary Education, English (Second Language)
(1988). Oral Vocabulary Development Program for a Transitional First Grade Program. This report describes the implementation and evaluation of a 12-week oral vocabulary development curriculum for use with transitional first graders. The transitional first grade is a class between kindergarten and first grade to provide students with an extra year of academic instruction to learn the skills needed to enter first grade. A natural language approach was used to introduce 104 words to a class of 19 inner-city English-speaking, limited-English-proficient (LEP) Spanish-speaking, and bilingual Spanish-speaking students. The teacher presented daily 20-minute lessons. Pre- and post-implementation vocabulary ages were measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R). Pretest vocabulary ages ranged from 2 years and 0 months to 5 years and 4 months. When compared to posttest scores, the students demonstrated an average vocabulary age gain of 11 months. Individual student improvement ranged from 3 to 22 months. A list of 25 references, an 8-item annotated bibliography, and the following teaching materials are appended: (1) a list of minimal reading skills required for promotion; (2) two sample lesson plans; (3) a 104-word vocabulary list; (4) a lesson schedule; and (5) six vocabulary review checklists. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Classroom Techniques, Elementary School Students, Grade 1
(1988). Handbook for Teaching Hmong-Speaking Students. Chapters 1 and 2 of this guide provide an introduction to the history and culture of the Hmong people, including material on family life and education in Laos up to 1975 and on their experiences in Thai refugee camps and in the United States. Chapter 3, "Linguistic Characteristics of the Hmong Language," provides an introduction to the Hmong language, including forms of address and information on Hmong personal names. Chapter 4, "Recommended Instructional and Curricular Strategies for Hmong Language Development," details the benefits of fostering and maintaining native language literacy among the Hmong while instructing them in English and discusses bilingual teaching methods. A bibliography includes references, recommended readings, and lists of bilingual and Hmong materials. The appendixes contain names and addresses of educational resource centers, sources of Hmong language materials, the names of 10 persons with special knowledge of Hmong language and culture, the names of California Hmong organizations, Hmong linguistic tables, a guide to holidays and special events celebrated in the Hmong community, and a glossary. Descriptors: Asian Americans, Bilingual Education Programs, Cross Cultural Training, English (Second Language)
(1987). Bilingual Vocational Training Program for Chinese Chefs. Curriculum Package. This manual was prepared by the staff of the China Institute's Bilingual Vocational Training Program, which has been in operation since 1975. The document includes a description of the training program for Chinese chefs and the curriculum guide used in the program. Following the introductory section, which describes the program objectives, strategies, logistics, and evaluation, the guide provides a course and content outline for the 20-week course. The course description is followed by 10 appendixes (comprising the bulk of the document) that provide the following: English screening test, vocational course objectives, vocational English as a second language course objectives, recruitment, field practice orientation plan, counseling procedures, job development materials, follow-up form and materials, students' program evaluation form, and a bibliography of texts and resources. Examples of curriculum materials are included. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Chinese, Cooking Instruction, Cooks
(1990). School Finance at a Glance. [Revised.]. As in previous years, this publication provides information on two dimensions of public education finance in the United States–raising and distributing education dollars. Information as reported by each of the 50 states is provided. The first section shows the current financing structure used in each state. In 1990, states generally reported four basic approaches–foundation programs, district power equalizing programs, combination approaches, or full state funding. Most states use a foundation program to support funding. Most states also account for special characteristics of students or school districts in their financing formulas, as shown in section 2. The third section reviews state provisions for capital outlay, debt service, and transportation, and the fourth section covers states' accommodation of differences among school districts for special student populations. The fifth section reports on state constitutional and statutory requirements related to school finance. Appendices provide additional educational finance information across the states. Appendix A shows the percent of federal, state, and local revenues for each state, along with average teacher salary and per pupil expenditure. Appendix B provides information on state support for nonpublic schools. Appendices C-F provide supplemental information on state weighting schemes used to allocate funding for special student populations, district and school size characteristics, and grade level differences. Appendix G furnishes school finance terms and notes. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Compensatory Education, Educational Finance, Elementary Secondary Education
(1987). Promoting Local Adoption of Bilingual Vocational Training Models. Regional Meetings (New York City, New York, January 26-28, 1987; Oakland, California, February 9-11, 1987; Houston, Texas, February 23-25, 1987). This guidebook is designed as a workbook and resource for workshop participants at regional meetings on bilingual vocational training (BVT). Since the book was intended to be introduced as parts of lecture, discussions, or participatory exercises in the workshops, not all is necessarily self-explanatory. The book treats only selected topics in BVT, including overview of BVT, assessing the job market, assessing students, BVT networks, BVT materials, private sector linkages, vocational/language coordination, funding sources, and action planning/proposal writing. Topics are treated through one or more of the following: brief narrative descriptions of concepts, research findings, or program development steps; resource materials or people available; learning and discussion worksheets; and supplementary articles. The final section includes two bibliographies. The annotated bibliography contains abstracts of selected documents of interest to BVT practitioners. The master bibliography lists in citation form all of the documents that have been previously cited in the small bibliographies found at the end of most of the sections. [More] Descriptors: Adoption (Ideas), Adult Education, Adult Programs, Bilingual Education
(1983). Intersentential Codeswitching: An Educationally Justifiable Strategy. The language separation approach to bilingual teaching is compared to three kinds of language alternation approaches, "flipflopping,""concurrent translation," and the "New Concurrent Approach" (NCA). The approaches are categorized as conventional, unstructured, and structured, respectively. The effectiveness of the NCA is compared favorably to the other approaches in terms of San Antonio's Title VII demonstration project in bilingual methodology. Five NCA class segments are analyzed with special emphasis on description of corpus, teacher talk, and student talk. Transcriptions of teacher-student dialogs are included. The discussion stresses that through sufficiently long speech samples in each language the child develops the languages simultaneously. This is demonstrated by the grammaticality of almost all child responses. Furthermore, children have developed interlinguistic flexibility as they alternate between languages with ease. It is concluded that the reservations held by many in regard to language switching in the classroom do not hold for NCA as this approach enables the child to develop the home language, become proficient in the majority language, and learn the school subjects at the same time. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingualism, Classroom Communication, Code Switching (Language)
(1981). Developing Written Communication Skills in the Jackson Township Bilingual Program. This study reports on ways student under-achievement is being dealt with in the Bilingual Program of Jackson, New Jersey in grades 1-5. The study is limited to students in one school and was carried out during one 12-month period. It focuses on the following issues: (1) teaching methods which are best suited to solve the problems of student under-achievement in the area of written communication; (2) how general language development is related to the development of written communication; (3) the nature of the relationship between self-image development of written communication skills; and (4) children's reactions to methods developed in the course of the study. The researcher developed classroom techniques from literature on written communication and worked with 12 children in small groups or individually. Activities and techniques included reading aloud to the students, eliciting responses verbally or through art, tutoring, home visits, interpretation at parent conferences, and positive efforts to gain peer acceptance for children with language problems. The report includes comparisons of pre- and post-test results; gain/loss in grade level and percentile rank; personal reactions of parents, teachers, and students; and original stories and drawings of the children. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Classroom Techniques, Elementary Education, Reading Instruction
(1981). Teaching English to Cubans. General Information Series #25. Refugee Education Guide. This guide has three sections dealing with information of use to persons involved in teaching English as a second language (ESL) to Cubans. First, it provides information on the current Cuban educational system and the level of literacy found among Cuban adults in Cuba. Secondly, it gives a brief overview of the Spanish spoken in Cuba with special attention to its pronunciation and spelling. Finally, it presents teaching materials that deal with the particular pronunciation problems Cuban students might have in learning English. In this final section, the major points of difference between English and Cuban Spanish pronunciation are presented in chart form and 33 pronunciation lessons are outlined. The lessons consist of minimal pairs, minimal sentences, practice sentences, and notes. A detailed development of the first lesson is given to illustrate how the lessons can be presented to a class. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Contrastive Linguistics, Cubans, English (Second Language)