This study investigates whether Mexican Americans have a different cerebral specialization for native language than for second language as measured by visual shift. The possibility of a different cerebral arrangement for each language has implications for educators. The relation between cerebral arrangement and cognitive style entails considerations concerning methods of instruction, grouping, reward systems, and assessment. The research sample consisted of thirty-two bilingual English-Spanish right-handed males and females between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Visual shift, looking away from the examiner upon being asked a question, represents a switch from external to internal processing. It has been found to be a function of eye movement contralateral to cerebral activity. The results indicate that students sampled in this study tended to shift to the right when answering questions in English and to the left when answering questions asked in Spanish. For this sample, the left hemisphere was the preferred mode of thought in English while the right hemisphere was the preferred mode for processing questions in Spanish. These results indicate that processing modes are biological as well as cultural and individual. In addition, there is a change in cerebral arrangement due to second language acquisition. (JK)