Article discusses (1) implications of understanding children's functional language competence for assessment and evaluation, (2) application of this understanding to preparation of teaching materials and design of curricula, and (3) recognition of children's language as a viable system of its own rather than an incomplete rendition of the adult…

This essay emphasizes the impact of instructional materials on the development of the individual's self-esteem. It provides guidelines and checklists for the evaluation of sexism and racism, as well as strategies for increasing awareness in the teaching-learning process to help counteract these biases. (Author/DS)

In order to understand the process by which the Hong Kong Chinese become bilingual, the educational system in Hong Kong is examined. (NQ)

Two golden rules for teachers of young children are (1) work, speak, and act with complete naturalness, and (2) never try to teach language per se; rather, teach life (joy, sorrow, work, play, differentiation, self-awareness, etc.) by involving the children in situations and activities that are highly significant to them. (NQ)

Focusing on the distinction between inferential measures of language proficiency and tests which assess language skills more directly, the article discusses briefly various dimensions relevant to language proficiency testing and some of the special problems involved in the testing of equivalent proficiencies. (NQ)

Various methods which can be used to teach the Spanish accent mark are suggested. These methods reinforce the rules of accents given by the Real Academia. (NQ)

Three bilingual Mexican-American children labeled language disordered were observed at home and school. Linguistic, discourse, and social competencies differed between the two children not judged language disordered by their parents and the one child who was, suggesting that only the latter was truly language disordered. (21 references) (SV)

Summarizes information on the numbers of foreign-born children in the United States in 1980 and data on immigrant children 1980-85. Examines census data on the language characteristics, educational attainment, and economic status of recent immigrants from Mexico and 11 other countries. Contains 8 data tables. (Auth/SV)

Examines comprehension of sentences with multiple negations among 71 monolingual Anglo and bilingual Hispanic undergraduate science and engineering majors. Finds that both groups misused rules of logic and natural discourse; similar groups benefited from training to eliminate inappropriate reasoning strategies, but only Anglos retained the…

Reviews a volume of descriptive and evaluative information on 47 commercially available English language proficiency tests used in North America, Great Britain, and Australia. The book includes discussions of uses and misuses of tests, and overviews of English as second language testing in North America and Great Britain. (SV)

Presents a cyclical proactive model of school administration involving data collection, collaborative definition of student needs, use of student-oriented strategies in development of interventions, and outcome evaluation in terms of intrinsic student changes. Discusses drawbacks to the referral model of problem identification and special…

Finds that, among 168 Mexican and Puerto Rican children in grades two, four, and seven, television viewing was positively related to reading comprehension and vocabulary scores, but the relationships differed by ethnicity, grade, level of English proficiency, and time of day of television viewing. Contains 17 references. (SV)

Describes a program that trained 65 experienced bilingual educators to write and adapt educational computer software in their primary languages, to revise curricula accordingly, and to write grants to bring hardware and software into their classrooms. Discusses participant selection, program curriculum, community involvement, and interdepartmental…

Presents a model for formulating effective instructional strategies based on observed traits of language minority students. Defines instructional strategy in terms of content, physical and psychological setting, and delivery mode. Provides specific examples of model implementation. Contains 13 references. (SV)

Finds that, among 117 Mexican-American second and fifth graders from Spanish-dominant homes, reading comprehension gains were proportionately much smaller in summer than the school year, while summer and school year gains in auditory vocabulary were similar. Discusses family, peer, and classroom influences on distinct language skills. (SV)