From 1998 to 2008, voters in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts passed anti-bilingual education ballot initiatives that required English-only instruction for the vast majority of the states' English language learners. The contentious political discourse leading up to the votes largely ignored the research on best practices for educating…

Besides linguistic and cultural components, bilingual education should include the "psychoinstructional dimension," that is, the dimension that includes a child's intellectual and personality traits derived from cultural and social class uniqueness. (Author/JM)

Using the varying perspectives on bilingual education concerning the status quo of students, the future of society, and curriculum methods and delivery systems, the author examines the events and opinions that have shaped the history of bilingual education from the mid-1960's to the present. (MLF)

A new urban legend claims, "As a result of the state dropping bilingual education, test scores in California skyrocketed." Krashen disputes this theory, pointing out that other factors offer more logical explanations of California's recent improvements in SAT-9 scores. He discusses research on the effects of California's Proposition 227,…

This review focuses on the areas of research that have the greatest relevance for bilingual programs: sociolinguistics and bilingualism, second language learning, sociocultural factors, and effectiveness of bilingual education. (Author/MLF)

As bilingual education shifts toward more instruction in English, research on effective practice becomes increasingly important. To merge English language development (ELD) with content area learning, educators should avoid oversimplified material, use visuals to reinforce verbal content, provide sensitive feedback, and use synonyms and native…

Reviews educational research on bilingual education and describes biases present in recent evaluations of bilingual programs. Contrary to assumptions about bilingual programs, recent findings suggest that native-language programs may be very effective. They support a strong foundation in the native language and set the basis for subsequent…

The author's research indicates that instructional programs that teach English language learners in English are more effective than programs that provide more instruction in the students' native language. Following the passage of Proposition 227 in California, which outlawed bilingual education as the default assignment for English language…

Schools in the Houston (Texas) area use training and reward systems to attract and keep bilingual teachers. (Author)

A successful bilingual program contains needs assessment, curriculum development models and instructional planning, planned evaluation processes, and a plan for initiating change. (Author/MLF)

Criticizes the concept of structured immersion presented by Gersten and Woodward in the previous article. Points out questionable areas in the methodology and in interpretation of results in the research relating to implementation of structured immersion in Canada. (MD)

A promising, increasingly popular model for English learners is one-way developmental bilingual education (DBE). DBE is appropriate in districts with large numbers of students of one primary language heritage. A well-implemented DBE program accelerates all students' growth through a meaningful, relevant, bicultural grade-level curriculum. (11…

In 1998, passage of Proposition 227 virtually eliminated bilingual education programs and called for instruction overwhelmingly in English. However, diverse student populations require diverse instructional approaches. Standards-based reform aids only students who can fully understand and assimilate high academic content. Constructivists value…