This qualitative sociolinguistic research study examines Latino/a students' use of language in a science classroom and laboratory. This study was conducted in a school in the southwestern United States that serves an economically depressed, predominantly Latino population. The object of study was a 5th-grade bilingual (Spanish/English) class.…

Through an ethnographic and narrative inquiry approach, this study draws attention to the plight of 4 Mexican immigrant high school students and their pursuit of education and mathematics learning. Their elementary school stories and experiences show a deep relationship between the learning contexts in which these students largely do school (i.e.,…

Teaching reading and vocabulary to Mexican American children in the United States of America today requires an acknowledgment of historical social injustice that continues to affect many communities in South Texas. This article debriefs some vocabulary teaching strategies--such as mnemonics and game play under the learning centers…

The growing U.S. Latino dispersal is allowing for more interactions between students of Spanish and native Spanish speakers. By working with Latino community members, Spanish instructors help meet the standards for foreign language education developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. This article describes 2 projects.…

Mixtecos, members of an Indigenous group from Mexico, have settled in large numbers in New York. Their children are found in bilingual classrooms (Spanish-English), but little is known about parent-school interactions. This work describes the educational ideologies that 23 Mixteco mothers shared during 5 focus group interviews distributed across 9…

Although biliteracy plays a vital role in academic achievement, there has been little research on the unique needs of female and male English language learners. Becoming biliterate is a complex process, compounded by other variables such as 1st-language background, class, culture, and gender. Among these variables, gender has been the least…

This article provides an analysis of Arizona's policy response in educating English language learners by conducting a narrative review. A critical Latina/o theory approach was used to analyze the data. This study reveals 5 salient policy responses: (a) severely limit bilingual education, (b) develop controversial funding solutions, (c)…

While the U.S. mainstream media continues to exercise its right of way in the American landscape, the predominant culture faces a population and popularity decrease. Diversity is slowly finding a perennial nest for growth, although minorities are still being shelled by mainstream media that consciously and unconsciously make the attack a priority…

This phenomenological study examines Mexican immigrant parents' experiences of helping their children navigate and succeed in school and their perceptions regarding differences between the U.S. and Mexican educational systems. Findings highlight parents' challenges in helping their children succeed in a new and unfamiliar school system and the…

This article draws upon three years of interviews and participant observation research in the Chelsea Public Schools, to discuss the impact of the Chelsea Family Literacy Program on promoting Latin American immigrant mothers' involvement in their children's education. The authors present the voices of Latin American immigrant mothers who describe…

Maria's experiences as an immigrant learning English in the southwestern United States parallel those of others who desire to improve their English but lack the time or resources to enroll in ESL classes. Maria was originally observed during English conversation and interviewed in Spanish to assess her awareness and use of effective…

English learners (ELs) are facing unique issues in higher education that remain largely unexplored. This research focuses on college choice, enrollment, and graduation among high-achieving ELs who were eligible for automatic admission to any public higher education institution in Texas by having graduated in the top 10% of their high school class.…

This discussion emphasizes the importance of collaborative learning methods to compensate for the legal restrictions placed on school districts by Arizona's anti-bilingual education law, Proposition 203. Grounded in Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of learning, peerlingual education is described as an invaluable resource based on the linguistic…

This study explores opportunities to learn mathematics problem solving for Latina/o students in 3 kindergarten classrooms in the southwest. Mixed methods were used to examine teaching practices that engaged Latina/o students in problem solving and supported their learning. Findings indicate that although students in all 3 classrooms showed growth…

This storytelling begins with a positioning of why and how we use "testimonio" as part of a larger project of social justice and transformative pedagogies. In this collective "testimonio," 5 working-class Latina scholars tell the stories of their struggles to overcome the challenges of language and assimilation, of gender discrimination and…