This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Elenor Rubin Denker, Diana S. Natalicio, Madison. Wisconsin State Dept. of Public Instruction, Albuquerque. New Mexico Univ., Janet Welsh Brown, Maria Teresa Cruz Bermea, Theodore Andersson, Lilia Hogges, Tom Bauder, and Frank Paul Pialorsi.
(1975). A Proposed Investigation of Preschool Biliteracy. Bilingual schooling in the U.S. is meant to equalize educational opportunity for children of limited English-speaking ability. Despite the proliferation of bilingual programs in many parts of the country, only very modest progress is being made toward the goal of equal educational achievement. We are coming to realize that limited English-speaking children with a 5- to 6-year handicap in English can only very exceptionally catch up. Only if a greater, not just an equal, opportunity is provided, can these children be expected to compete successfully with their English-speaking schoolmates. There are two prerequisites: (1) that limited English-speaking children be given an early start in learning to read, first in their home language and then in English, and (2) that the community accord non-English home languages the same respect as English. The second, involving profound social changes, will take time. Even the first will require years of experimentation. This paper sketches the preliminary steps of a long-term project to test the hypothesis that limited English-speaking children (how many will have to be determined) can learn to read their home language between ages 1 1/2 and 3 and English between 3 and 5. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingual Students, Community Attitudes, Early Reading
(1976). Leyendas. (Legends.) In English and Spanish with Questions, Vocabulary and Patterns. The guide includes the English and Spanish versions of five legends. Ten to twelve questions in Spanish follow each legend. A list of Spanish words taken from each legend is given, along with their English counterparts. Patterns of drawings of the main characters or objects of each legend are also included. The legends are "Pajaro Cu" which is about an ugly bird who became beautiful and then was too proud to join the other birds; "La Luna" (The Moon) which is about the moon and why it only appears full part of the time; "La Culebra" (The Snake) which tells how often "kindness is returned with unkindness"; "El Gallo" (The Rooster) which tells how the Indians got the rooster; and "Mexticla" which tells how Mexico got its name from the Aztec god, Mexticla. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Childrens Literature, Elementary Education, English
(1976). Teacher's Guide for Use with the Reading Assessment Materials. This guide has been created to accompany the Lancaster, Pa., School District's Bilingual/ESL Reading Assessment Materials. The guide includes reading tests and information about how the tests were made, about how to give and score the tests, and about how to use test results. The tests are designed to help the teacher monitor changes in students' language proficiency and to give the student the opportunity to receive fair and accurate information about his language development. The Reading Assessment Materials themselves consist of short reading passages in which students are required to fill in blank spaces with appropriate English words or phrases. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, English (Second Language), Language Instruction, Language Proficiency
(1976). Reading and the Bilingual Child. Problems occur in teaching English to the child whose native language is not English because of a lack of relevant research about the specification of the native language and the transfer of reading skills from one language to another. Most bilingual instruction in the United States is based on either the "native language approach" (literacy is achieved in the child's native language first) or the direct method (the second language, at least initially, is the primary language of instruction). Another problem is that it is not clear how the successful transfer of reading skills occurs across two languages, or what factors are relevant to such transfer. Some alternate approaches to bilingual reading instruction (especially Spanish-English) include reading in the standard native language, using dialect readers, and teaching reading in English but letting children use their native language in informal discussions among themselves. The fact that there is not a "best" teaching method in bilingual instruction, however, makes research in this area a clear necessity. (Audience response following presentation of the paper is included.) [More] Descriptors: Beginning Reading, Bilingual Education, Conference Reports, English (Second Language)
(1974). Training Migrant Paraprofessionals in Bilingual Mini Head Start. Mexican Cultural Heritage Materials for Preschool Children. Given in this manual are materials used in the Bilingual Mini Head Start Program to teach migrant preschool children about their Mexican cultural heritage. Presented in Spanish, the activities include pronunciation exercises, rhymes, tales, songs, dances, games, and manual activities. Materials are given for teaching about: (1) El Dia de la Bandera, (2) Don Benito Juarez, (3) Dia del Ejercito, (4) Dia del Carnaval, (5) La Primavera, (6) Dia de la Madre, (7) Dia del Padre, (8) La Navidad en Mexico, (9) Nuestros Amiguitos del Mundo, (10) frutas y verdural, and (11) La Estudiantina. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Cultural Background, Cultural Education, Curriculum Guides
(1973). Preparacion e Iniciacion de la Lectura en Espanol para Maestros de Programas Bilingues. Serie Tierra de Encanto (Preparation and Initiation of Reading in Spanish for Teachers of Bilingual Programs. Land of Enchantment Series). Part of the "Land of Enchantment" series of instructional materials, this very detailed teaching manual is designed to help teachers in bilingual programs prepare students to read Spanish. It contains suggestions for developing reading readiness skills and ways to teach a basic 30-word reading vocabulary. The reading program follows five steps: (1) children individually read their own utterances as written by the teacher; (2) children read to share their experiences with the group; (3) children read utterances dictated by the teacher based on common experiences; (4) they read materials especially prepared for their group; (5) the children go on to read other material. The first stage of development involves perception skills. Motor coordination, spatial realtionships, depth perception, and ability to perceive constants are explained, and activities for developing these skills are detailed. Language skills of naming and categorizing and the ability to understand and discriminate visual symbols are similarly treated. Workbook activities and lessons are included as students learn to recognize words both visually and aurally and to form them into sentences. Lessons and vocabulary are based on everyday experiences. [More] Descriptors: Affective Behavior, Alphabets, Beginning Reading, Bilingual Education
(1976). Rules for Code-Switching in Young Spanish-English Speakers: An Exploratory Study of Language Socialization. This study describes rules of code-switching (choice between languages) in four six-year-old Spanish/English bilinguals in a school setting, to show that bilingualism is a sociolinguistic competency. Data included 306 episodes of situational code-switches and 64 episodes of conversational code-switches. The children consistently applied the situational rule that they speak the language their listener knew best, which contrasted with the tendency of adult bilinguals to highlight their ethnic identity. The results of the study challenge the opinion that bilingual children are "deficient" because they speak neither of their languages well; the four children observed spoke two languages fluently and controlled a range of styles within each language that demonstrated their sociolinguistic competencies. Suggestions are made for a school curriculum that promotes language maintenance through systematic interaction with monolingual speakers of both languages. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingual Schools, Bilingual Students, Bilingualism
(1976). A Study of Factors Affecting Cuban Parent-Child Interaction. This paper investigates the value system of Cuban students living in the United States, how those systems interface with the school and the home, and how they influence their personalities, behaviors, and family relationships. Eighth-grade students attending a predominantly Spanish private bilingual school were administered a questionnaire, and participated in a group interaction process. The questionnaire covered the areas of cultural values in school and home. Comments from the group interaction process are also listed. The study concludes that students: (1) like the atmosphere of the bicultural school; (2) accept their parents' Latin-American values; (3) feel free to incorporate American cultural elements into their lifestyles; (4) have a high concept of the Cuban lifestyle; and (5) are optimistic about their expectations and futures. The study recommends: (1) a re-testing of the same students in 1979; (2) an expansion of the same study to include older students; (3) a study of Latin-American students attending American schools; and (4) the appropriation of federal funds to establish counseling/research centers to study adjustment problems in Cuban youths. [More] Descriptors: Acculturation, Adolescents, Behavior Patterns, Biculturalism
(1974). Teacher-Training In-Service Packet. Individualizing Bilingual/ESL Instruction. This packet is designed to help give inservice training on the topic of individualizing bilingual and ESL instruction. It is hoped that the packet will minimize the preparation time needed and will allow inservice trainers to benefit from the experience of other staff members. The first section of the packet consists of an introduction to individualized instruction, and includes suggestions for familiarizing teachers with the topic. Independent Learning Activities (ILA's) and Learning Centers are defined and discussed in the second section, and the construction of an ILA is outlined in the third section. A bibliography citing books and articles in individualized instruction is included, as well as handouts to be used in inservice sessions. The latter are on the topics of the past tense of irregular verbs, telling time, and making change. Four transparencies to be used in inservice sessions conclude the packet. [More] Descriptors: Audiovisual Aids, Bilingual Education, English (Second Language), Individualized Instruction
(). Focus on Educational Success. Abstracts of Exemplary Programs. This booklet contains abstracts describing successful educational programs initiated and implemented by school systems. Each abstract follows a similar format offering concise information, a description of the project, the target audience, financial requirements, materials used, services available, an evaluation of the program, and the name and address of the person to contact for further information. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Career Education, Early Childhood Education, Educational Improvement
(1976). Recommendations for the Improvement of Science and Mathematics Education for American Indians. Focusing on three education levels (precollegiate, collegiate, and the graduate and professional levels), the recommendations are based both on "what appears to work" and on "what appears to be worth trying". A fourth group of recommendations is aimed at responsible governmental agencies and professional and other organizations. The recommendations include: that an assessment of science and mathematics education in schools serving Indian students be conducted; essential characteristics of successful approaches to Indian education in these areas be integrated; bilingual techniques must be used where language retention is maximal, especially on the elementary levels; an ethnoscientific approach to teaching high school science be used; concentrated attention should be given to math deficiencies; special programs must be established in fields where they do not now exist, i.e., physical sciences, mathematics, and resources development; greater efforts should be directed at identifying and recruiting Indian students for participation in special programs for minorities in scientific and technical fields; the developing Graduate Centers for Minority Education in Science and Engineering must make sure that they include within their plans, programs and staffing for the special needs of Indian students; adequate financial aid must be available to graduate students; some graduate and professional programs should conscientiously include a multi-cultural focus, specifically an Indian focus, in their training. Descriptors: American Indians, Bilingual Education, Change Strategies, Educational Improvement
(1974). The Production and Recognition of Grammatical and Ungrammatical English Word Sequences by Bilingual Children. The present paper reports on a study conducted in 1973, designed to measure the English competence and performance of bilingual fourth graders in selected schools in southern Arizona and the extent to which the first language (Spanish) interfered with the second (English). The study also attempted to determine which patterns might yet be unlearned by both native English speakers and nonnative English speakers. A test of basic English sentence types for bilingual children was constructed and adminstered to 90 native Spanish-speaking fourth graders who had participated for three or more years in any of three bilingual programs or any of two nonbilingual programs.The groups were further classified as urban and border. In addition, part 1 of the test was given to 20 native English speakers at the fourth grade level. It was concluded that: (1) the native English speakers had less difficulty in identifying the correct sentence types than the bilingual groups had; (2) the native Spanish-speaking groups showed no significant differences in their production performances; (3) the nonbilingual program groups seem to have an advantage in their ability to identify correct English sequences. Appended to the report are the personal data sheet completed by the students, test designs, and parts 1 and 2 of the test. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingual Students, Elementary Education, English (Second Language)
(1977). Teaching Numeric Concepts to Spanish-Speaking Second Graders: English or Spanish Instruction?. Seventeen Spanish-speaking children received mathematics instruction in either Spanish or English. Numeric concepts were chosen as the content area so that the results could be understood non-verbally at the outset, the teachers ranked the children's abilities in English and math, and no significant difference between groups was found. However, there was high correlation between achievement and mathematical ranks for the Spanish instructed (r=.74) and low correlation for the English instructed (r=.03). The correlation between achievement for the English instructed with English rankings was high (r=.88). It is concluded that children whose native language is not English perform in accordance with English competence when instructed in English; children who are instructed in their native language perform in accordance with ability in the subject area. Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Arithmetic, Bilingual Education, Bilingual Students
(1977). Reading In Two Languages–Spanish and English. Teachers must consider eight things when they work in a bilingual reading program: each student's level of language development; the teaching method (whether synthetic, analytic, or a combination of the two) appropriate to the students' learning abilities; reading materials, including the degree of Spanish competency required of the teacher, the authenticity of the language and cultural content, the sequence of skill development, the provisions made for differences in students' Spanish backgrounds, and the appeal of the material to the students; the time and place for the Spanish part of the program in the total curriculum; the time in the program's schedule at which the pupil's transition into English reading should take place; the potential for transfer of learning from the Spanish reading system to reading in English; whether the methods and materials used for each language are compatible and mutually supportive; and each teacher's own attributes. A reading program in two languages demands from teachers such virtues as patience, resourcefulness, flexibility, confidence, courage, and strength. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingual Students, Bilingual Teachers, Bilingualism
(1975). Spoken Spanish of Mexican American Children: A Monolingual and Bilingual School Program. CATESOL Occasional Papers, No. 2. The purpose of this study was to test the effects of bilingual and monolingual school on the production of Spanish syntactic structures. The main hypothesis to be tested was that there was no significant difference in the development of Spanish syntactic structures between those children schooled bilingually and those children schooled monolingually in English. If such a difference existed, the children in the bilingual program should demonstrate greater syntactic development in their speech. The study was conducted using ninety-six Mexican-American children in two elementary schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. All of the children were Spanish-dominant and spoke Spanish at home, but also spoke some English. One school had a bilingual program and half of the children attended it. They were matched with forty-eight children who attended the second school which was located nearby and taught the standard curriculum in English. The children viewed a silent movie and discussed it individually with an interviewer. The interview was recorded and transcripts were made of the children's oral language production. One of the most interesting findings of this investigation was that the children in the monolingual school produced more language and more structurally complex language than did the children in the bilingual program. The bilingually schooled children did not perform significantly better than their counterparts on any of the eleven dependent measures. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingual Students, English (Second Language), Language Acquisition