Three different bilingual, bicultural curriculum, preschool models encouraged children to use three different interaction strategies, but the models had no lasting effects on the children's first grade interactions, according to a year's observation of the communication experiences of 42 Mexican American children of varying English language proficiencies in three Southwest classroom sites. In the preschool setting, the experiences emphasized by the curriculum model in use influenced the frequency of strategy employed by the children. In the first grade, the structure of the children's communicative episodes were similar in Spanish-dominant, bilingual, and English-dominant classrooms; but the frequency of strategy use differed by classroom type. Language proficiency influenced how children used strategies, which differed with peers and adults. Interaction sequences related to language acquisition accounted for 50% of the communication acts in a given communicative episode. Children acquired interaction skills in a similar order, although those with greater English language proficiency were able to use more English strategies at an earlier age. Among children of limited English proficiency, a significant relationship existed between gains in English proficiency and an increase in the number of strategies used. The study has implications for the development of instructional practices in bilingual education settings. (SB)