OULUMEN4 RESUME

ED 389 495 RC 020 355

TITLE Language Acquisition and Development. IDRA Focus.INSTITUTION Intercultural Development Research Association, San

Antonio, Tex.REPORT NO ISSN-1069-5672PUB DATE Aug 95NOTE 21p.; Photographs will not reproduce adequately.PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) Reports

Descriptive (141) Viewpoints (Opinion/PositionPapers, Essays, etc.) (120)

JOURNAL CIT IDRA Newsletter; v22 n7 Aug 1995

EDRS PRICE MFOI/PC01 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Bilingual Education; *Bilingualism; Class

Activities; Cross Age Teaching; *EducationalStrategies; Elementary Secondary Education; *English(Second Language); *Language Acquisition; Literacy;Native Language Instruction; Parent Participation;*Second Language Learning; Student Experience;Tutors; Writing Assignments

IDENTIFIERS *Biliteracy

ABSTRACT

This theme issue focuses on strategies to enhancelearning of English as a second language and on the importance ofbilingual education. In "Bilingual Education Makes the Difference inLearning," Roberto Feliz, who was born in the Dominican Republic andis now a doctor, describes how bilingual education saved him fromacademic failure and enabled him to become an honors student."Conversational Insights: On Combining Literature, the Arts, andTechnology for Language and Literacy Development" (Juanita Garcia,Laura Chris Green) discusses strategies Zor using children'sliterature, dramatics, art activities, word processing, and CD-ROMprograms to promote second language development, bilingualism, andbiliteracy. "Valued Tutors Write" (Aurelio M. Montemayor) describesthe many writing activities of- student tutors in a nationallyrecognized cross-age tutoring program, as well as the specificliteracy rkills developed by those activities. "Blessed withBilingual Brains: Is It a Fact or a False Belief?" (Frank Gonzalez)discusses language acquisition by children in bilingual environments,implications for bilingual education, and the advantages ofbilingualism. "Commentary: The State of Bilingual Education and theNeed To Speak Out" (Maria "Cuca" Robledo Montecel) calls lorbilingual teachers to be advocates .of bilingual education and therights of children to excellent education. "Why Bilingual EducationIs Important to Me" features three essays by bilingual elementaryschool children. "The Parent Connection in Language Acquisition"(Ninta Adame-Reyna) explains how parent involvement innative-language literacy development at home can help studentsdevelop second-language (English) literacy in school, and providestips to enhance such parental involvement. This issue also contains abook review by Pam McCollum of "Instructional Assessment: AnIntegrative Approach to Evaluating Student Performance" (Sandra H.Fradd, Patria L. McGee, Diane K. Wilen) and a list of additionalreadings on language acquiFition and development. (SV)

MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)."

IDRA Newsletter

IDR.-1 is an independent

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dedicated to improving educational

opportunity. Through research,

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we're helping to create schools

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IDRA Focus: L4NGUAGEA(OU1SITION AND DEl'ELOPMENT

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ISSN 1069-56-2 Volume XXII, No. 7 Aug. 1995

BILINGUAL EDUCATION

MAKES THE DIFFERENCE IN LEARNING

The testinwny below was presented to theU.S. House of Representatives' Educationand Labor Committee during its bilingualeducation hearing in the I 03rd Congress.

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Sub-committee, my name is Dr. Roberto Feliz. Ifeel very honored to testify this morning ona topic of critical importance to studentswho come to school speaking a languageother than English. That topic is bilingualeducation. In my schooling and learning,bilingual education was the difference be-tween life and death.

I was born in the Dominican Repub-lic and lived there until I was 10 years oldwhen my family moved to Boston. In theDominican Republic, I loved school andwas said to be a cerebrito, or a very brightchild, always earning A's in school.

When I enrolled in the WashingtonIrving school in Boston, I was placed in amonolingual English fifth grade classroomin a program designed for native English-speakers. With the exception of one or twochildren, no one in the school spoke orunderstood Spanish.

I hit the wall of Engl ish, and within notime, the excitement that I associated withschooling turned to agonizing frustratn. Ican't explain how frustrating it is to knowsomething, and know that you know it, butto be unable to communicate your knowl-edge in a classroom.

I vividly recall taking an exam in myEarth Science class. The teacher was dictat-ing and saying "carbon, carbon," referringto the carbon atom and molecule. All alongI thought that he was saying carbon whichmeans charcoal in Spanish. This is just one

,.: Roberto M.D. .

example of how lost I was in science class,and, needless to say. I flunked the grade andsaw for the first time ever, a big "F" writtennext to my name. I can't tell you howdepressed and discouraged I was in school.Not only was 1 not learning, but teacherstreated me as if I were stupid; they had noway of knowing what I knew. And children,as you know, can be very cruel. They calledme stupid and dumb.

My mother tried to help me. She feltever more frustrated than I did. Each day shewould struggle to get me and my olderbrothers to go to the school where no oneunderstood us, the school we were failing in,the school we had come to hate. My moth-er's efforts to talk to my teacher were metwith the same wall of silence that I encoun-tered. As much as she wanted to and tried,my mother could not help me in the English-only school.

One day in my second year of school,a woman named Ms. Malave came to myclassroom and told me that I was going to beplaced in a classroom where I could learn inboth English and Spanish. On that day, Ms.Malave seemed like God! And today, Ms.Malave still seems like God, for she gave mea second chance at my education. You see,for me. bilingual education was the differ-ence between life and death in my learning.If Ms. Malave had not saved me, I know thatI would have dropped out of school.

I was enrolled in a bilingual educationprogram from the sixth grade until my junioryear in high school. While I was developingmy English skills, I was able to learn math,science, social studies, even American His-tory, through my native language.

Bilingual Education - mntinued on page 11

2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE

IN THIS ISSUE

VALUED TUTORS WRITE

BEYOND LANGUAGE

ASSESSMENT

BLESSED WITH BILINGUAL

BRAINS: IS IT A FACT

COMMENT4RY: THE STATE OF

BILINGUAL EDUCATION

VITHE PARENT CONNECTION IN

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

The Intercultural DevelOpment Re-search Association (1DRA) is a non-profitorganization with a 5b*..(c)(3) tax exemptstatus. The purpose of the organization isto disseminate information concerningequality of educational opportunity. The1DRA Newsletter(ISSN 1069-5672, copy-right ©1995) serves as a vehicle for com-munication with educators, school boardmembers, decision-makers, parents, andthe general public concerning the educa-tional needs of all children in Texas andacross the United States.

Publication offices:5335 Callaghan Road, Suite 350San Antonio, Texas 78228-1190Tel. 210/684-8180Fax 210/684-5389

Marla Robledo Montecel, Ph.D.1DRA Executive Director

Newsletter Executive Editor

Christie L. Goodman1DRA Communications Manager

Newsletter Production Editor

Sarah H. AlemanIDRA Data Entry Clerk

Newsletter Typesetter

Permission to reproduce material con-tained herein is granted provided the ar-ticle or item is reprinted in its entirety andproper credit is given to IDRA and theauthor. Please send a copy of the materialin its reprinted form to the IDRA Newslet-ter production offices. Editorial submis-sions, news releases, subscription re-quests, and change-of-address data shouldbe submitted in writing to the NewsletterProduction Editor. The IDRA Newsletterstaff welcomes your comments on edito-rial material.

Popularized in the early 1970s by author Thomas Kuhn, "paradigms" are our modelsor patterns of reality, shaped by our understanding and experience into a system ofrules and assumptions about the world around us. The call for restructuring ineducation, emerging from a profound sense that education is not working for allchildren, requires a transformation in how we see schools, students, and their families.If we are to find a new and equitable vision of what education can and should be, newlenses are required to change the way we look at schools and the populations in them

as demonstrated by our "Now" thinkers below.

"If she starts first grade with otherchildren and cannot even speak the

language that the teachers and the

other children speak. and she's a full-

blood American citizen. you're abusing

thot child ar,d you're relegating her to

the position of a housemaid."

State District Judge Samuel Kiserof Amarillo, Texas, in his rulingin a child-custody case orderingthe mother to speak English to herkindergartener. Quoted in San

Antonio Express-News, August1995

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

"You've got to realize the attitude ofthese people. They're not coming to

join; they're coming to conquer. Theyhave to raise their little flag, and it's not

always on a pole. They want Southern

Calif ornia to he an Asian part of the

country. These people work in devious

manners And language is one of the

most important tools they can use.

Language is the key that opens the door

to taking this country and breaking it

apart."Mayor Barry Hatch, MontereyPark, California, Dec. 1988

"I tt-;rik nationally it is unwise toencourage any duality...There is not

only no harm but a good deal of

wisdom in stating that English will hethe official language."

California Governoi Pete Wilson,Los Angeles Times, Aug. 21,

1986

3

THIS IS NO"But. what' is more. American society

spends thousands of millions of

dollars every year in attempting

unavailingly to get high school and

college students to learn Spanish.

because it is assumed that mastery of

a second language benefits the

country. If this is the rationale, then

why ask the bilingual citizens present

in the nation tc, abandon their use of

that other language so covetously

sought in eductional establish-ments?"

Miami Herald, April 12, 1988

August 1995 1211 IDRA Newsletterte'r

"'Official English' efforts pushed by

groups who are uncomfirrtable with

the bilingual nature of the Southwest

United States always have had a

troubling undertone. These groups

have sought to plant the suspicion that

something is not quite right about

people who speak a language other

than English in their everyday lives."

San Antonio Light, February 9,

1990

"We fear that Secretary Bennett has

lost sight of the fact that English is a

key to equal educational opportunity,

necessary but not sufficient. English

by itself is not enough. Not English

Only, English Plus!..."Mary Carol Combs, "EnglishPlus: Responding to English

Only." Quoted in Language

Loyalties, October 15, 1985

POTL Kai 7'. in....NorEs's:lav,I.i. DE I 'EL 0.1)11 L'N'T

IDRA challenges practices and firmly-held beFiefs regarding the education of children. Instead of viewing readiness as an intrinsic,child characteristic which must be assessed to determine whether that childcan benefit from certain school experiences, readinessis views as external to the child and tied to teacher beliefs. IDRA's concept of professional development is based on valuing, ofself and others it is the valuing of self and of' colleagues as teachers and as adults with much to offer with a vision and a hope tomake a difference in children's lives. We believe that aIl teachers bring strengths to the profession and that all are capable of bothexcellence and improvement. IDRA assists people to create educational solutions through innovative, participatory, and hands-onpresentations, workshops and technical assistance that promote sustained growth and development. With this principle thatencourages unity rather than uniformity, our Essistance values the cultures of our participants and acknowledges their experiences.

CONVERSATIONAL INSIGHTS: ON COMBINING LITERATURE, THE ARTS,

AND TECHNOLOGY FOR LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT

Juanita Garcia, M.A.. and Chris Green.Ph.D., are education associates in the IDRADivision of Professional Development. To-

gether they have more than 43 years ofprofessional experience: 27 years ofclass-room teaching. 10 years of public adminis-tration and six years of human resourcesdevelopment. In this article. expressed as a

"conversation" between the two of them.Ms. Garcia (J.G.) and Dr. Green (C.G.)share their insights into how to help stu-dents acquire bilingualism and biliteracy.

J.G.: "Lights! Camera! Action!" Sobegan the dramatic reenactment by my thirdgrade bilingual class of Juan Bobo and theQueen's Necklace, a Puerto Rican folktale(Belpre, 1963). My classroom became amini-theater as our honored guests, the par-ents, watched us proudly interpret this hu-morous and gentle tale. Now, looking backon my students' moment of glory, I realizethat I was intuitively combining the arts withchildren's literature in particularly motivat-ing and enriching ways.

C.G.: What do you think was so ef-fective about this special teaching and learn-ing experience for you and your students?

J.G.: Richard Allington talks abouthow our curriculum must foster personalownership ofliteracy (1995). Allowing chil-dren choices seems to be a major factor inestablishing ownership. In creating our pro-duction, every child proudly participated inroles they themselves had chosen. Some hadauditioned for the speaking parts while oth-ers volunteered to draw the scenery. Stagemanagers and costume dcsi gnus played sig-n i ficant roles in bringint the productionalive. I acted as the proda.zer and director,guiding all to build on tneir strengths andinterests.

Also, I think my choice of genre was

WE MAY BE TEACHING

STUDENTS HOW TO READ,

BUT WE HAVE FORGOTTEN TO

INSTILL IN THEM A LOVE FOR

READING...GOOD STORIES WERE

THE KEY TO MOTIVATING MY

STUDENTS TO READ.

a particularly fortunate one. Folktales are ofspecial interest to me because they are knownto be carriers of culture, tradition and val-ues. My students related well to the storybecause they could see themselves in thecharacter ofJuan Bobo, an honest simpletonwho triumphed over cruel cleverness.

C.C.: I have also enjoyed sharing themoral lessons of great stories with my stu-dents. Richard Sinatra points out that litera-ture teaches us how to overcome adversityand become more human (1994). He alsospeaks of how children intuitively under-stand stories, that is, the narrative formcomes naturally and easily to them. Goodstories help us explore complex issuesdeeply, but with ease, by taking on theperspectives of the main characters. Howdid you help your students make connec-tions between themselves and the main char-acters?

J.G.: First I sought to capture theiremotions. Whenever I introduced a story, Ihelped them get excited about what was tocome by using music, art and drama to pullthem into it. For example, before wc readThe Burning Rice Fields,I played Japanesemusic and issued them water colors andpaintbrushes (Bryant, 1963). I asked themto paint the pictures in their minds as they

listened to the music.After we had read the story, I assigned

roles for the grandfather, his son and thevillagers. We wed out the story so that thestudents could feel how the characters felt.They began to make associations with peopleand situations in their own lives and thefeelings and emotions they had felt. Theyidentified completely with the characters.This transfer of "me" is the ultimate com-prehension ofeharacter (Jett-Simpson, 1989;Gómez del Manzano, n.d.).

C.C.: Unfortunately, the arts areequated with play in most schools. It isseldom thought of as a way of having chil-dren demonstrate and develop their readingcomprehension. Didn't you worry that yourstudents wouldn't learn the skills they need-ed to succeed in language arts?

J.G.: Yes, it's true that many peopledevalue the arts. This attitude affects chil-dren's interest in reading. When instructionis limited to skill-and-drill activities focus-ing on bits oflanguage, children lose sight ofthe purposes forreading. Consequently, stu-dents may learn how to translate letters intosounds and words, but seldom do they de-velop good reading comprehension skills.

C.C.: There are several recent studiesthat support improved attitudes toward read-ing and increased skills levels for literature-based approaches. In a meta-analysis ofseveral studies, Michael Tunnel! and J.S.Jacobs found support for the success ofmany kinds of students, including limited-English-proficient, economically disadvan-taged, beginning readers in at-risk situa-tions, and older, reading disabled students(1989). Lesley Morrow found positive ef-fects on literacy achievement and attitudesfor African-American, White, Asian andHispanic children when he compared a liter-

Conversational Insights - continued on page IS

August 1995 El IDRA Newsletter

VALUED TUTORS WRITE

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

CLALWIA:

L.W.-1 IS REMY:AMER HOW A 7TACHED I GOT TO A LITTLE PRE-KINDER BOY

.4ND HOW ATTACHED HE GOT TO ME. HIS TEACHER TOLD ME THAT IIE DIDN'T

WANT TO DO ANYTHING WHENI WASN'T AROUND. IT WAS VERY HARD FOR ME TO

S.4I GOODBYE ON THE LAST DAY OF TUTORING. I'LL NEVER FORGET HI 14."Tutors on Tutoring, video script. Aegust 1995

MENTOR THOUGHTS:

"THE VALUED YOUTH PROGRAM IS .4 VERY GOOD PROGRAM. IT HELPS YOU

SUCCEED IN LIFE. YOU GET TO MEET DIFFERENT PEOPLE YOUR OWN AGE WHO

.4RE INTERESTED IN THIS PROGRAM AS MUCH AS YOU ARE.

TIIE TUTEE THERE .4RE SOME KIDS WHO ARE NOT INTERES7ED I,V SCHOOL

OR ANYONE. THEN THE TUTOR COMES ALONG AND MAKES A

DIFFERENCE IN AT LEAST TWO KIDS LIVES.

A MENTOR A MENTOR USED TO BE A TUTOR WHO HELPED TUTEES. NOW

WE'RE MENTORS WHO HELP TUTORS. A MENTOR HAS MANY

RESPONSIBILITIES, AND I'M MORE THAN SURE WE'LL TRY TO

DO A GOOD JOB."Ninfa Barboza and Juan Pablo Serna.

COCCI Cola Valued Youth Program Mentor Guide, August 1992

All students can write; the tutors in theIDRA Coca-Cola Valued Youth Programwrite for many purposes. This program is anationally-recognized cross-age tutoringprogram that places students who are at-riskof dropping out of school as tutors of young-er children. By the end of the school year,each tutor will have written many times,about many things and for many reasons.We find that the amount of writing and thequality of expression improves for eachgroup of tutors every year.

I began my professional career as ahigh school English teacher. Almost all ofmy students were Chicanos in a border townsimilar to but smaller than Laredo, Texas(my hometown). I was a stereotypically tra-ditional grammarian. I expected my stu-dents to like literature and want to writethemes. As a "red, white and blue" themegrader (the paper was white, the ink wasblue, with my red marks bleeding all over),I felt it was my duty to not let a singlemistake pass my desk unmarked.

I even instituted a best-and-worst-theme of the month procedure. Both wereput up on the bulletin board. I progressivelychanged my methods as I became painfullyaware of my inability to help most students

improve their ability to write. I eventuallyrealized that students will write if they writefor many purposes drawing on ideas andfeelings that are important to them. Theywill write if they write to and for each other,if they express concerns, desires, contradic-tions and impressions and if they use manydifferent materials and tools. Students willwrite if they see a connection between whatis happening in their life, what is importantto them and what they are writing.

What tutors write through in the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program reflects mycurrent understanding of best practices inhelping students write more, and more accu-rately more expressively and with morefacility ultimately seeing writing as animportant form of communication. The ap-proach is less direct and didactic than agrammar lesson, hut creates a richer contextfor feedback, assessment and improvementof both content and form. It is student cen-tered but also skillfully and flexibly guidedby teachers who arc concerned about thewhole student.

Although the primary task of tutors isto tutor and the program does not follow atraditional curriculum for teaching readingand writing, a major outcome is that the

111. MOntemayor,.:11.E4:

tutors write throughout the school year withan increase in quantity and quality of pro-duction. Tutors fill out questionnaires andstandardized surveys. They make writtencontracts and keep monthly journals. Theyalso create tutoring tools and write notes totutees and the elementary teachers in whoseclassrooms they are tutoring. They createseasonal cards and write thank you notes tospeakers and visitors. Sometimes they cre-ate books, plays and video, scripts abouttutoring.

The curriculum outline for the pro-gram is fundamentally implemented in theweekly classes for tutors (see box on Page5). The goals of these classes are to: (1)develop tutoring skills that enable them tobecome successful student tutors, (2) devel-op self-awareness and pride, and (3) im-prove literacy skills. In contrast to a regularlanguage t.rts class, there is no set sequenceor writing curriculum, rather the teacher isencouraged to capitalize on the tutoring taskas the source of self-concept improvementand writing enhancement.

The tutors write about their experi-ences. They evaluate their progress as tutorsby assessing the tutee's growth. They shareideas and opinions. Over a school year'sspan they write weekly about many things.Sometimes they work on group projectssuch as guidebooks, newsletters, postersand banners. There are many pieces that astrict grammarian would cover in red ink.On some occasions the material is editedand re-written by the students. Sometimesthere is peer editing. They have even writtenscripts and performed them for a video.

Below are examples of student writ-ing that we have collected over the past 12years. 1 have organized them around select-ed purposes for writing to reinforce thepedagogical concept that when students writefor specific purposes related to the reality oftheir lives and about their current experienc-es, they experience literacy as an importantand relevant skill.

Requesting or Giving InformationFrom initial surveys condm.ted bv teach-ers: What kind qlsvork have you done?

"I have cut grass.""1 baby-sit for the neighbors."

1 need to know...

ralued Tutors continued on page 5

August 1995 n IDRA Newslette'

Valued Tutors - continued .from page 4

"Do you get mad when they are mis-behaving in the classroom or not listening?"

"How do you make the tutee behavewhen he is distracting the class?"

"How do I get along with the tutees?""Who am 1 going to tutor? What do

they need help in?"

Expressing Thought ProcessesFrom a tutor's journal at the heginingoftheschool year:

"I like tutoring because I enjoy thecompany of kids. I think they are very ac-tive. They remind me of when 1 was small.I think I want to stay with very small personsbecause I think 'I hope they have this pro-gram in high school.

"Tutoring experiences at the elemen-tary school are okay, but I hate when theteacher teaches science. I like to teach math.I also like to teach counting money. I hopethat I teach them right so the students willlearn very fast because they are getting olderand they are going to have to deal withmoney. I know they'll learn as fast as I did."Writing about "How I look":

"I am 4'7" in size. My eyes are black.I have three scars on my forehead. I have asmall nose. My hair is black, combed to theside. I am chubby and dress nice. I weigh 66pounds. I am 14 years old going on 15.1ama Mexican person. That is how I look."

Expressing OpinionsSurvey responses that complete the sen-tence: I am not sure about...

"I am not sure that I am good for thejob."

"I am going to make it.""If I'm going to get in th,:, program

because of my grades or getting into trouble,sometimes.

"About kids because they are stub-born."

"If the kids will like me, if they knowhow to read, or if they are smart."Journal entries of one student:

October "My first day was boringbecause 1 didn't want to tutor in the sameclass as last year. I wanted nw kids to teach.I like the kids I have now, but I want to teachand help other kids in other classes. 1 likethis class and I think I will doa great job withthis class.

"My second week of tut wing wasgreat. I helped the tutees in writing, mathand games. They first did their work andthen went to the computers to play. I played

Valued Tutors - continued on page 13

194'5. .

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

COCA-COLA VALUED YOUTH PROGRAM:

CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK

This curriculum framework is a suggested list of topics for the once-a-week tutorclasses. Use these to create your own curriculum.

TUTORING SKILLS

Things to Know about Children1. How young children behave2. Basic needs3. Different ways of learning4. How children see themselves (self-

concept)My Goals as a Tutor

I. What successful tutoring is all about2. How I see myself as a tutor

(self-concept)a. What are my strengths?b. What gets in the way of my

tutoring?3. How my feelings can affect my

tutoring4. Information I Need to Tutor

a. Do's and don't's from theelementary teacher

b. Do's and don't's about theelementary cla:sroom

c. About the subj:ct (reading, math,etc.)

5. How to Solve Problemsa. What is a problem?b. When to seek helpc. How to seek helpd. How to turn a problem into an

opportunity6. What my tutoring goals will be

Things that Help Children LearnI. Motivating children

a. Encouraging words and actionsb. Rewards

2. How to remember informationa. Picturesb. Saying it out loudc. Participating in a group

- taking turns- acknowledging contributions

Making Tolls For TutoringI. When and how to make attention-

getters2. When and how to make visuals

a. Flashcardsb. Charts

3. When and How to Find Resourcesa. Practice sheetsb. Newspapersc. Homed. Teachers

SELF-CONCEPT SKILLSTwo Ways to See Myself

1. What is okay with me?2. What is not okay with me?

How I Express MyselfI. Words

2. Body language3. Action doing and not doing

How Does My Self-Concept Affect My Life?I. What is a "self-concept"?2. How does the need to be loved affect

my life?3. How does the need to love and

be loved affect my life?4. What happens when I feel bad about

myself?5. What happens when I feel good about

myself?How Can I Enhance My Self-Concept?

I. Identifying my strengths2. Finding and getting support3. Building on my strengths4. Celebrating successes

How Can I Enhance Others' Self-Concept?I. Identifying others' strengths2. Giving support3. Building on others' strengths4. Celebrating others' successes

LITERACY SKILLSListening, Speaking, Reading and WritingSkills

1. What are they?2. How do they relate to each other?3. Why are they important?

Literacy and Communications1. Why do we write?2. Why do we tutor listening, speaking,

reading and writing skills?Specific Skills

1. How do you know the tuteeunderstands?a. Main ideab. Detailsc. Meaning through contextd. Sequencee. Predicting and extendingf. Summarizing and retellingg. Fact and opinion or fantasy

2. How do you get the tutee to write?a. Mapping or webbingb. Brainstormingc. Writing for different purposesd. Ways to help organize

- guided writing activities- journals or logs- story starters

c. Revising and improving writingProjects

- Books by students- Newsletters- Exhibits and ditplays

IDRA Newsletter

SPOTLIGIIT ON A SSESS..1.1E,V7'

Like other children, students whose first language is other than English bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to school. Buthistorically, standardized tests have provided little or no useful information about these students' language or cognitive abilities.The use of assessment and testing data has too often been limited to holding students accountable, offering little or no help to guideimprovement efforts or foster collective accountability. IDRA works with all parties that have a vested interest in the educationaloutcomes produced by the schools the students, the educational practitioners, the families and the broader c.ommunity to usedata to frame solutions, monitor progress and hold all of the participants involved in the educational process accountable for theend results. IDRA is helping schools find solutions to traditional methods of testing and assessment, enabling students from diversebackgrounds to become empowered learners.

BEYOND LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT

Book reviews are a departure fromour normal newsletter format, but I feel thcbook I have chosen to review is a valuableresource for educators who are involvedwith students learning English as a secondlanguage in the context of the public schoolsystem. Instructional Assessment: An Inte-grative Approach to Evaluating StudentPerformance, by Sandra Homlar Fradd,Patria Larrinaga McGee and Diane K. Wilen,differs from most books on language assess-ment in a number of respects (1994). It is notan edited volume of articles on languageassessment but is a clear explication of howto assess non-English language background(NELB) students' level of second languageacquisition, literacy development and aca-demic achievement. Its approach is uniquebecause it situates assessment within theschool context and relates to instructionalissues.

The authors state that the book's pur-pose is to "provide educators with both theinformation on which to make effective edu-cational decisions and the knowledge andinsight to enable them to apply thi., informa-tion in both theoretical and practical con-texts" (p. xii ). Their app:oach calls formean-ingfid assessment that monitors students'progress in a variety of contexts and relatesassessment to instruction. They advocate aparadigm shift in assessment from a per-

COMING UP!

In September, theIDRA Newsletter

focuses onLifelong Learning

spective that uses assessment to "sort" stu-dents among programs and considers asses-sors to be mere data collectors. The newparadigm considers those who conduct theassessment to be knowledgeable "users" ofinformation who are capable of synthesiz-ing assessment data to determine how stu-dent performance can be improved.

The utility and practicality of the au-thors' approach is derived from their longhistory of work with language-minority stu-dents in public schools. Patria McGee andDiane Wilen are both bilingual school psy-chologists in the Florida public schools, andSandra Homlar Fradd is an associate profes-sor and coordinator of bilingual, ESOL andmulticultural programs at the University ofMiami. Their intimate knowledge of ques-tions surrounding the assessment of non-Engl i sh background students within pub iicschools is reflected throughout the book.

It is not uncommon for assessmentspec ialists to begin work in public schoolswithout sufficient knowledge regarding theassessment ofbilingualism, the normal learn-ing curve for second language acquisitionand academic content, or how to differenti-ate special needs from normal second lan-guage acquisition in NELB populations.Unfortunately, most university programs stillapproach assessment from a unidimension-al perspective i.e., assessment in English asa second language, English as a foreignlanguage, special education or reading. Thisvolume provides information and resourcesfor assessing NELB students that is general-ly only available through on-the-job experi-ence. The integrative approach presentedhere has its roots in language assessment butgoes beyond that to assess the second lan-guage learner across a variety of dimensionsin order to improve educational performance.

The book is organized into nine chap-ters that are subdivided into smaller sec-tions, followed by "research in practice"

August 1995 IDRA Newsletter

activities. The questions in those sectionsprovide the reader the opportunity to reflecton the material and apply it to his or her localcontext. If the book is used for a course, thequestions provide the basis for small groupactivities and class discussion.

After explaining basic assessmentcoricepts, the book presents second lan-guage learner performance and informationon the assessment of oral language profi-ciency. Subsequently, the book pursues var-ious questions that might arise related to theeducation of NELB students. For example,the issue of identifying language disordersand students with special needs and assess-ment in special education are treated indepth. Case studies are also used effectivelyto provide examples of educational deci-sion-making based on assessment and relat-ed educational questions.

Instructional Assessment: An Inte-grative Approach to Evaluating StudentPerformance is appropriate for those em-barking on the study oflanguage assessmentfor the first time as well as those who wish toreview the area or approach it from anotherperspective. It provides a wealth of infor-mation on best practices for the educationand assessment of non-English backgroundstudents and provides one of the best sourc-es of informal scoring rubrics I have seen todate. I recommend this book most highlyand feel it would be valuable resource vol-ume even for those who are well versed inbilingual instructional assessment.

ResourceFradd, Sandra Homlar and Paula Larrinaga McGee

and Diane K. Wilen. Instructional Assessment: AnIntegrative Approach to Evaluating Student Per-!armance. (Addison-Wesley Publishing Compa-ny, 1994).

Dr. Pam McCollum is a senior education asso-ciate in the IDRA Division of Professional De-velopment .

BLESSED WITH BILINGUAL BRAINS:Is IT A FACT OR A FALSE BELIEF?

The recent Oscar-nominee movie,Nell, with Jodie Foster in the title role,depicts an example of how children ac-quire language in an isolated environ-ment. Twin girls were raised in an isolat-ed mountain region by a mother who hadsuffered a stroke and had lost most .of herspeaking ability. The girls developed a soundsystem (phonologv), a word-forming sys-tem (morphology), a phrase and sentenceforming system (syntax) and a vocabulary(lexicon). Their language, while not under-stood by others, allowed for communicatioi 1.The film portrays the interaction betweenNell, a physician and a college researcherafter Nell becomes the sole survivor of herfamily. Ultimately, all three individuals learn

\1 ) academic performance of hundreds of chil-

dren who speak Spanish and English.They have found that children in a

'4" gual home begin to form words at aboutthe same time as do children in a single-

- language home. In addition, the speechof three-year-olds who use both Spanish andEnglish is just as intelligible in both lan-guages as is that of their monolingual peersin either tongue:

At the same age, bilingual children mayknow fewer words of English or Spanishthan their monolingual peers in eitherlanguage. By the time children reachschool, children who learn Spanish andEnglish simultaneously know more wordsin English than their peers who hear onlySpanish at home, while their Spanishvocabulary is similar to that oftheir mono-! ingual peers (011er, 1995).

The bilingual deficit hypothesis, whichassumes that bilingual children face specialburdens in learning bofli languages, is false:

On the whole, the results of our researchemphasizes the advantages of bilingual-ism because they show that in most casesof appropriate comparison, childrenlearning two languages simultaneouslyacquire the ability to function effectivelyin two cultures (011er, 1995).

ALL PEOPLE SPEAK A LANGUAGE.

No GROUP OF PEOPLE HAS

EVER BEEN IDENTIFIED THAT

DID NOT HAVE A LANGUAGE

SYSTEM, AND CHILDREN

HAVE AN INHERENT,

GENETIC DISPOSITION TO

ACQUIRE LANGUAGE.

to communicate, value and respect eachother.

Spanish-speaking students in publicschools are very much like Nell. They havedeveloped a language system for efficientcommunication. They have developed allfour parts of a language system: phonology,morphology, syntax and lexicon. They func-tion within their homes and communities inSpanish, their primary language. When theyenter school, they are confronted with En-glish and they must learn this new languagein order to be successful in school (Zamora,1979).

Children can learn an additional lan-guage, and they can become bilingual. How-ever, while children are learning English,most schools place them in a deficit mode oflearning. The educational system values the

monolingual,A6

I English-speak ing student and behaves as if the Span-ish-speaking or bilingual student brings alanguage burden to the school that the schoolmust eradicate before the student becomesan accepted learner. From this perspective,being bilingual or being monolingual inSpanish is not a blessing. Schools send themessage that Spanish is not a language thatis good enough for learning. This concept iscommonly known as subractive bilingual-ism. Children become bilingual at the ex-pense of loosing their first language.

Another approach is currently in usein developmental bilingual programs wheremaintenance of the students' first languageis encouraged as they learn a second lan-guage. This concept is called additive bilin-gualism. Monolingual English- speakers aretaught Spanish, and monolingual Spanish-speakers are taught English in an "additive"program. Simply stated, another language isadded to the child's existing language capa-bility. The primary objective is for the childto become a balanced bilingual at the end ofthe instructional program.

Problems with the BilingualDeficit Hypothesis

Too many schools continue to oper-ate out of the bilingual deficit hypothesis. Arecent study conducted at the University ofMiami Department of Psychology destroysthis hypothesis (Oiler, 1995). Contrary topopular belief, children who are bilingualearly in life do not have poorer vocabulariesand less successful school careers that theirmonolingual peers. Children are truly blessedwith bilingual brains if they are exposed toSpanish and English simultaneously duringthe time they are acquiring their languagesystems

Dr. D. Kimbrough 011er, who headsthe Bi lingualism Study Group, and his asso-ciates have been stud ing the linguistic and

August 1995 IDRA Newsletter

Points to RememberThis research has several implications

for bilingual education instruction in publicschools.

All children should be taught inmore than one language. Children canacquire as many languages as they are ex-posed to in a meaningful way. To acquire alanguage, children must have social andacademic interaction in that language(Cummins, 1981).

All children should be exposed tomeaningful language experiences. The de-velopment of communicative competenceis dependent upon meaningful interactionwith other speakers of that language. Stu-dents should be engaged in listening, speak-ing, reading and writing activities in bothlanguages.

Acquiring a second language re-quires time. Transfer from one language to

Bilingual Brains - continued on page 9,

1 COMMENTARY: THE STATE OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION

AND THE NEED TO SPEAK OUT

This article has been adapted from akeynote speech presented by Maria'Cuca Robledo Montecel, Ph.D., ex-ecutive director ofIDRA, in November1994 to the Texas Association of Bilin-gual Educators' (TABE) annual gath-ering.

It is a pleasure to be here, and Ithank the Texas Association for Bilin-gual Education for inviting me to sharesome thoughts with you today.

California voters have approvedProposition 187. Among other things,Proposition 187 denies children of un-documented workers access to Cali-fornia public schools, and it turns edu-cators into agents of the U.S. Immigra-tion and Naturalization Service. Manyof us believe that Proposition 187 ismean-spirited, that it is negativist, andthat it is flawed. We believe also thatwhile every sovereign nation has arightto develop and to enforce immigrationpolicy, closing public schools to chil-dren of undocumented workers is badeducation policy, it is bad economicpolicy, and bad immigration policy. Itis also illegal. The Supreme Court ofthe United States ruled in the 1982 Doevs. Plyler decision that children cannotbe denied admission to our publicschools, regardless of the immigrantstatus of their parents...

The trial court, in looking at Doevs. Plyler, was particularly troubled bythe state's selection of problem criteriaand problem children as thc basis forexcluding them. The court concluded:

Bent on cutting educationalcosts and unable constitution-ally to exclude all 'problem'children, the state has attempt-ed to shave off a little around

Maria "Cuca" Robledo Montecel, Pk.D.

BILINGUAL EDUCATION IS

ABOUT TEACHING CHILDREN

IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE

WHILE THEY LEARN

ENGLISH. BILINGUAL

EDUCATION IS, IN FACT,

ABOUT LEARNING ENGLISH

AND ABOUT ACHIEVING

ACADEMICALLY. BILINGUAL

EDUCATION IS AMERICAN,

AND WE ARE AMERICANS.

the edges barring the undocu-mented alien children, despitethe fact that they are no differ-ent for educational purposesfrom a large proportion of le-gally resident alien children.The expediency of the state'spolicy may have been influ-enced by the little political up-roar that was likely to be raisedin their behalf.

I see a few of you wonderingwhy I am talking about illegal immi-grants. We are not illegals, you say.Most of the children that we teach arenot illegals. Some of us and some ofour families have been here for gener-ations. My goodness, some of our fam-ilies were actually here before the im-migrants from Kentucky and Tennes-see. Why on earth is she talking aboutillegal immigrants and perpetuatingmyths about all Hispanics being illegalor about all Hispanics being un-Amcr-ican? We are here, after all, to talk

about bilingual education, about thefact that bilingual education is goodpedagogy. We all know that. We arehere to learn about how to make bilin-gual education better. We all know thatbilingual education is about teachingchildren in their native language whilethey learn English. Bilingual educationis, in fact, about learning English andabout achieving academically. Bilin-gual education is American, and we areAmericans.

That is all true, and yet, as bilin-gual education advocates know, ourconversations about bilingual educa-tion, about bilingual curriculum, aboutbilingual assessment, about research,cannot yet be a dialogue that is purelyabout pedagogy or about methodologyor about technique or about how toteach better. Our colleagues in the read-ing associations can have dialoguesand can have debates in academic set-tings about whether children shouldlearn to sound individual letters orwhole words in order to become betterreaders. And they can do so knowingfull well that there is no debate aboutwhether reading is important. The de-bates are about "how," not about"whether." Bilingual educators, you andI, have no such assurances.

So we have learned to speak notonly about but to speakfor; to speak forbilingual education, to speak for therights of our children to excellent edu-cation. We have to create and use knowl-edge about what works best, whetherthat is cooperative learning or wholelanguage approaches or portfolio as-sessments. We also have to speak forthe rights of children who do not speakEnglish yet and their right to a full

Commentary continued on page 9

August 1995 IDRA Newsletter,

lommentary - eonamwd from page 8

curriculum; for the rights of bilingualteachers to stand shoulder-to-shoulderwith so-called "regular" teachers in cre-ating excellent learning environments.Do you notice the wording "bilingualteachers" versus "regular teachers"?Are bilingual teachers irregular teach-ers? We have to speak for the rights ofbilingual administrators to manage anddirect not only bilingual programs thatare appended to the regular program,but to manage and to direct as princi-pals, as superintendents, as service cen-ter directors, and yes as commis-sioners of education...

If you have doubts about theneed for advocacy and about the needto speak for and not only about, readthree new books just published andgreatly publicized: The Bell Curve;Race, Evaluation, and Behavior; andThe Decline of Intelligence in Ameri-ca. Those three books, in the name of

science and in the name of research, aresaying that some of us suffer from badgenes, and it does not matter the numberor the types ofprograms. Money is beingwasted on minorities because we justhappen to have the luck of being borninto a bad gene pool ...

So in this 22nd annual TABE con-ference, I invite you to look at and speakabout the very good things that you aredoing, the very best approaches, the newtec- miques, but also to speak for bilin-gual education...

When I am asked how long shoulda student stay in a bilingual education, Isay as long as necessary. That is, as longas it takes to be assured that the studenthas sufficient English language masteryso that it is no longer a variable in thesuccess or failure of basic skill and con-tent material acquisition.

I ask you to speak for adequateinstruction materials... I ask you to speakfor administrative !Iirpport... I ask you to

Bilingual Brains continued from page 7

another will not occur within three years ofinstruction. Results from V.P. Collier andW.P. Thomas show that children who werebetween seven and 12 years of age whenthey arrived in the United States and whohad at least two years of schooling in theirnative country reached the 50th percentileon reading, language arts, science and socialstudies tests five to seven years after theirarrival (1988). Children between four andsix years of age who had received little or noJ. 'tooling in their native language had notreached the 50th percentile after six yearsand were expected to reach it after seven to10 years.

Bilingualism, like any other talenti.e . playing a musical instrument, dancing,painting, singing, drama does not occurinstantly. It requires, time, practice and ex-posure to all forms of language in meaning-ful and gratifying personal experiences.

IDRA belie-ves that any person, childor adult can acquire another language if he

speak for good public policy... I askyou to speak for an America that hasroom for all of us.

Editor's note: As of August 1995 therewere about eight bills that had beenintroduced into the U.S. Congress tomake English the official language ofthe United States. In addition, pendingcongressional appropriations slatedcuts in bilingual education ofnearly 75percent and eliminated Title VII teach-er training, state grants, research, andcomprehensive Elementary and Sec-ondary Education technical assistancecenters. These cuts. along with massivereductions to other federal educationprograms, are the largest cuts in histo-ry to federal education funding everplanned in Congress.

Dr. Maria Rohledo Montecel is the execu-tive director of 1DRA.

or she has the desire to become bilingual, ifhe or she has meaningful experiences in thelanguage and if his or her attempts in usingthe language are encouraged and rewarded.To be able to express thoughts and feelingsin more than one language is an advantage;one that is becoming a necessity in ourmulticultural, global society. Throughoutits history, IDRA's professional develop-ment has guided educators in creating class-rooms that demonstrat this concept.

"Blessed with bilingual brains" is afact that is more true today than ever before.How well I remember the admonition of myparents, although I did not believe them atthe time, "Ser bilingue es muy importante.El que habla dos idiomas, tiene dos almas.[To be bilingual is very important. He whospeaks two languages, has two souls.]

ResourcesCollier, V.P. and Thomas. W.P. "Acquisition of Cog-

nitive-acadernic Second Language Protkiency: ASix-ycar Study." Paper presented at the AmericanEducational Research Association Conference,New Orleans, Louisiana (1988).

Cummins, J. "The Role of Primary Language Devel-opment in Promoting Educational Success forLanguage-Minority Students."SchoolingandLan-guage-Minoriry Students: A Theoretical Frame-work. (Los Angeles, Calif.: California State Uni-versity, Evaluation Dissemination and Assess-ment Center, 1981).

Gonzales, F. First and Second Language AcquisitionProcesses. (San Antonio, Texas: Intercultural De-velopment Research Association, 1988).

011er, D.K. "Language Burden of Bilingual ChildrenCalled False Belief." Presentation at the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement of Science Con-ference, Atlanta, Georgia. Reported in EducationWeek (March 1, 1995), 14(23).

Zamora, G. "Understanding Bilingual Education: ATexas Perspective." IDRA Newsletter. (San Anto-nio, Tcxas: Intercultural Development ResearchAssociation, 1979).

August 199131 IDRA Newsletter1 0

Dr. Frank Gonzales is an education associate inthe 1DRA Division of Professional Develop-ment.

WHY BILINGUAL EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT TO MEEach of these essays was among the top three winners in the1994 National Association fOr Bilingual Education (NABE) nationwide writing

contest for bilingual students, sponsored by Coca-Cola USA and Apple Computer, Inc.

Bilingual education is important to me so I can be able to speak in English and Yup'ik.Every child should be taught at least some things about what our ancestors did. Eldersof the

by Serana Demientieff I Yuplk world worry aboutiosing the Yup'ik language. As for myself. I am very proud of

Grade 8 myself because I am a bilingual person.

Kasigluk, AlaskaAt our school, in Akula, we have a Yup' ik studies program. The Yup'ik studies

program is a program where we can learn or at least remember how to make the things which

our ancestors did back then. More and more schools are asking for the curriculum which we

are using at our school.How important do you think it is to keep our language alive? I think it is really important because one we lose it we can not

find it ever again. For example, the Eyak language is dying because no one has ever been taught how to read and write in the Eyak

way. There is only one elder who knows how to speak and read in the language. lino one has been taught, and that elder dies the

Eyak language is gone forever. Would you want that to happen? To keep our language alive we have to teach our future children

how to speak in the Yup'ik language and also have to teach them the things we were taught.

It is also important to have the English language too. If we know the English language we can have jobs in the future and be

able to speak to non-natives. We also have to know the English language to be able to read things at the store and also in the

newspapers and count the money you have to spend.In the future I plan to teach my children to be bilingual. First, I plan to teach them Yup'ik so they can pass the language onto

their children and English so they can be able to communicate with non-natives and also to understand English. +

"A person who speaks two languages is worth two persons," says my bilingual teacher.

That is reason enough to make bilingual education important to me. i have a treasure thatby Huy Nguyen many people do not have two worlds of languages and cultures. I would not be writing this

Grade 5 essay if there was not a bilingual education program at my school.

Orlando, Florida My family and I came to the United Sates over two years ago. We came from a war-

torn Vietnam, a very small country with a musical language and a millenary old culture. I am

so happy to be in this country. My younger sister and I are the unique members in a familyof 10 who can go to school in this land of opportunity. That means I will be able to fulfill my

dream of becoming a medical doctor. I was not always this hopeful.Soon after we were enrolled in high school, my hope began to fade away. People around me, teachers and students, all spoke

some strange language. I felt like 1 was enclosed in a box or in a house without windows. I was surrounded by people; yet, I was

isolated because communication was impossible.Fortunately, I was transferred to another school that had a bilingual teacher to help me. My whole world turned around.

Suddenly, everything made sense to me. It took my bilingual teacher 15 minutes to explain to me a lesson in my native language,

while it took my English speaking teacher an hour to do the same task!

I began to make significant progress in learning English and other subjects. My house now has windows to another world

the world in which I am now living.1 have a sense of importancebecause now I am the link between my family and the world outside

of my home.A Vietnamese adage says: Cciy có cói, nuoc có nguon [Trees have roots; springs have sources]. An uprooted tree will die. My

tree was not uprooted; it was transplanted to another fertile soil. I am lucky to have my tree deeply and firmly rooted in my family,

my language and culture. The branches of my tree reach out and capture new nutrients to feed my hunger for more knowledge. My

life becomes richer because it feeds on two sources: one is the world of English, the other Vietnamese.

As the world shrinks, an interdependence among nations becomes more evident. People need thc bilingual and bicultural skills

to communicate and to avoid conflict. I strongly believe that bilingual education can facilitate cultural understanding as it teaches

languages. For that reason, all schools should offer bilingual education to their students.

I am proud to be able to communicate in more than one language. I am confident that I will be able to fulfill my dream and

my responsibilities to my family and to this country thanks to my family who supports me and to my teach, 1-s who guide me. +

August 1995t

IDRA Newsletter4,. II.

Maria Luisa MijesGrade 6Houston, Texas

In a society where the bright and the not so bright is given the same opportunity, Iaddress myself to you. First of all, I was born in San Antonio, Texas. My parents were bothborn in Mexico. I am 1 1 years old now.

Although I came to school knowing only one language. I was able to impact the newworld of English with the wealth of my Spanish heritage. My first teachers at home who weremy parents sent me to school fully equipped with concrete concepts which I was able totransfer in my bilingual classes.

Bilingual education begun to formulate my ncw experiences of success in school.There was never a year in which I was not an honoi roll student.

It was in kindergarten where l was able to connect my Spanish culture in the Suzuki Violin classes taught to me in school.The music and Spanish language of my ancestors facilitated the rapid progress in the rich multicultural experience. Bilingualeducation opened a whole new spectrum of light for me. An array of rainbows through music makes me a leader as an ambassadorof my culture to the world through television and personal appearances.

I can tell you with great pride that I have sung the songs of my forefathers arid serenaded through mariachi music. Presidents,governors, movie stars, and our unforgettable renown Spanish World Comedian. Streams of tears flowed down his face as he heardme sing and play. This experience will forever be imprinted in the profound depths of my soul. My rich heritage leads me throughfields of challenging conquests. To be equipped with the wealth of multicultural experiences through music and academic successis an asset. My serenades are a gift for your enjoyment. Your pay is the song of your soul through the simple clapping of your hands.The molding of my life can never be reproduced, sold, nor bought. My authors are unique bilingual teachers, a one of a kind school,my unique parents and home. +

This year, bilingual students througlmut the country can submit essays on the topic.: Why bilingual education is important to me. Essays aregrouped into three categories: elementary. grades three through five: middle/jr. high, grades six through eight: and high school, grades ninethrough 12. The first place winners for each category will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship and an Apple Macintosh color computer. Thewinners, with their parents and bilingual teachers. will also win a trip to the next annual NABE conference in Orlando. Florida. Each secondplace winner will receive a $2,500 scholarship, and each third place winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship. The deadline for submission ofessays is Noyenther 1, 1995. For contest infOrmation in English or Spanish call 1-800-GET-COKE or call NABE at 202/898-1829. Essays printedwith permission .front the National Association far Bilingual Education (NABE).

Bilingual Education - continued front page 1

Learning L iough English to carry on aroutine conversation is one thing; learningenough English to be successful academi-cally in a monolingual English classroom isquite another. For me, it took five years ofbilingual instruction before I was preparedto succeed in an English-only classroom. Iremember trying to take a 10th grade litera-ture class in English. I knew English, butwas absolutely bewildered by the English ofShakespeare. I quickly got out of that liter-ature class, finishing the 10th grade in thebilingual program. In the I 1th grade, I foundthat I was truly ready to make the transitionto an English-only program and made thetransition successfully. Indeed, I was en-rolled in a honors program.

I graduated from high school withhigh grades and test scores, ard I won aPresidential Scholarship to Boston Univer-sity where I received my bachelor's degreein computer science. Since graduating fromBoston University, I earned an M.D. degreefrom Dartmouth College. Now I am com-pleting the last year of a four-year residencyin anesthesiology at Beth Israel Hospital, aHarvard University teaching hospital. As

have said, bilingual education was the dif-ference between life and death in my learn-ing. As a doctor who is bil ingual, I know thatbilingualism can mean the difference be-tween life and death for many patients.

In Boston, many hospital patients arelimited in their English proficiency. Sadly,most doctors are not able to communicateeffectively with these patients. Being bilin-gual has allowed me to serve some of thesepatients more effectively.

One case that particularly comes tomind was a patient who had been misdiag-nosed as having what we call tachycardia ofunclear etiology; in plain English, that's afast heart rate that can't be explained. I

overheard the patient explaining in Spanishthe fact that she was having trouble breath-ing, felt her chest pounding, and was veryanxious. Her doctor understood next to noth-ing she was saying. When I translated hersymptoms, the doctor agreed with my obser-vation that this patient, a post-surgical pa-tient, was a prirne candidate for a pulmonaryembolism, or a blood clot in the lung. Heimmediately ordered the necessary testswhich confirmed our diagnosis. Fortunate-ly, this patient was given anti-coagulants

and lived. In medicine, as in educa-tion, bilingualism can spell the differ-ence between life and death.

My medical colleagues are con-stantly asking for my Spanish ser-vices so that they can communicatewith their patients. I am happy to doso; it is just one more way that I canrepay the second chance to learn thatMs. Malave gave me. Being a bilin-gual doctor has made me a more valu-able doctor, one who is able to helpmore people.

My hope is that you, America'slawmakers, will ensure that the chil-dren who are in school today and thechildren who will come to school inthe future have the same opportuni-ties that I had the opportunities tolearn that are provided through bilin-gual education. For students who cometo school speaking a language otherthan English, these opportunities arc,quite literally, the difference betweenlife and death.

Roberto Feliz, M.D., was completing hisresidency in Boston, Massachusetts at thetime this testimony was presented.

h 12August 1995 ril IDRA Newsletter

Svi 1.1.11(alf,0,\: P i//I .\ /.1.\.1

One conAant element in student achie,Venient is parental inlvehnent Rekarch and inatYsis of 'the Oast I-5 years coiiàlusivàlydembnstrate that when parenti are involved in thew children's education, children do better in school, and the schools do better-, too.IDRA believes that parents are intelligent and want the best education for their children. Parents of all socio-economic levels andall cultural groups can participate meaningfully in their children's schools. They can act as a driving force for innovations thatimprove the education of their children. IDRA helps parents and schools examine ways in which they can make a difference in theirstudents' academic success.

THE PARENT CONNECTION IN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

As the numbers of second languagestudents in classrooms continues to increase,teachers are preparing themselves by at-tending workshops and reading articles onsecond language acquisition, ESL methodsand linguistics. One of the most importantresources to teachers has received little at-tention the students' parents. But interesthas been mounting in involving parents tohelp their children build skills needed inlanguage acquisition.

Many educators now believe thatworking with parents to promote early lan-guage development, before problems oc-cur, is desirable for at least two reasons:

First, according to some authorities, pre-ventive programs are cost effective in thelong term because they reduce the needfor expensive remedial education andsecondly, a preventive approach fore-stalls the emotional and academic dis-tress children experience when they de-velop reading di fficul ties in school(France and Hager, 1993).

Valuing Parents and Their ContributionsTraditionally, however, these parent

involvement and parent training programshave been designed by educators in a man-ner that approaches the training as a meansto "fix" whatever is wrong with the parents.Many well-intentioned but misguided pro-grams adhere to transmission types of frame-works for working with parents (Auerbach,

THERE ARE NOW MORE THAN

1,000 LITERACY PROGRAMS

SERVING FAMILIES THROUGHOUT

THE UNITED STATES THAT ARE

BASED ON THE PREMISE THAT

PARENTS, AS THEY ARE, CAN

CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR

CHILDREN'S LANGUAGE

DEVELOPMENT BY MAKING

READING AND WRITING AN

INTEGRAL PART OF FAMILY LIFE.

1989). These consist of training parents toteach their children in ways that replicateschool practices. They are frameworks thatcharacterize non-mainstream and language-minority families as "literacy deficient."Assuming that literacy is acquired onlythrough formal schooling, the transmissionmodel does not acknowledge the work fam-ilies do to provide an environment condu-cive to learning. Furthermore, it supposesthat literacy development is best supportedby using English in the home while ignoringliteracy development in native languages.

There are now more than 1,000 lit-eracy programs serving families throughoutthe United States that are based on the

STRATEGIES EDUCATOR'S CANSUGGESTFORPARENTS TO DO AT HOME

Ensure that home offers an environment rich in print in the firstlanguage.

Read aloud to children in the first language.

Share stories about the family with the child in the first language.

Allow and encourage children to read to parents in the first language.

./ Talk to children in the first language.

premise that parents, as they are, can con-tribute to theirchildren's language develop-ment by making reading and writing anintegral part of family life and by playing anactive role in children's education in what-ever language is used in the home (Einstein-Sh, 1992). The problem continues, though,with some of these programs because edu-cators do not realize that the use of firstlanguage to teach the second language is anintegral part to language acquisition of thechild who speAs a language other thanEnglish. Not being aware of this, manyeducators feel that parents who are limitedin the use of the second language havenothing to offer the child in the area oflanguage acquisition. Research shows thatthe best literacy development training pro-grams for parents arc those programs thatbuild on the strengths and skills of the indi-vidual parents and what they have to offer totheir child in their native language in acqu'a.-ing the new language (Lee and Patel, 1994).

D. Freeman and Y. Freeman state:Although the idea that 'more Englishleads to more English' seems logical, it iscontrary to the research evidence whichshows that the most effective way forbilingual students to develop both aca-demic concepts and English proficiencyis through the use of their first language(1993).

Using the first language to teach thesecond language is the underlying conceptto bilingual education. In bilingual classes,students learn English while developing ac-ademic content through first language in-struction.

First language instruction providesthe comprehensible input students need todevelop academic concepts. Cummins ar-gues that a concept learned in one languagetransfers to the second language becausethere is a common underlying proficiency(1989). For example, students only learn toread once. Students who have been taught to

Parent Connection - continued on page 13

August 1995 IDRA Newsletter

Valued Tutors - continued li.om page 5

with them. I didn't go the first day we wentso I went the next day."

November "Tutoring is a good ex-perience for me and for my tutees becausethey like me and I like them. I work withthem alot and give them stickers for goodbehavior. I learn a alot from them and I'mlearning work that I didn't know how to dowhen I was there. I hope I will learn more intime.

"Tutoring is fun for me and for thetutee that I help. Hike it so much because mytutee likes to give me stuff and I give himsomething back or say something nice. Nextweek I am taking a tiger poster to a girlbecause she likes tigers and so do I. She gaveme a pencil to remember her by. My brotheris in that class. He has trouble reading. I helphim a little at school and alot at my house."Journal entries of another student:

After winter holidays "The last timeI went to tutor, the kids were happy to seeme. They said they missed me. I was very

happy to hear that. I love all the little kids,even though some of them give me a hardtime (but that is only sometimes). I also washappy to see the teacher. She said she need-ed our help. I am happy we can go back towork."

March "I think this program shouldcontinue. It has helped me come to schoolmore. It also has been a great experience.Before I was in the Valued Youth Program,I didn't really care about school. It hashelped me because now I want to finishschool and graduate because I want to besuccessful. Before [VW] my grades wereF's and D's. Now my grades are A's andB's. I love to help people and also love mytutees. This is also going to help me in thefuture. It also has helped me understandkids. I hope this program continues nextyear."

Dealing With FeelingsFrom a tutor-developed guide:

"Well, first of all, I am going to tell

you how to deal with feelings. When you aretalkiug with a person or a child, you shouldunderstand how they feel.

"Feelings mean something people feelin their hear. Showing feelings can some-times be hard to express. Dealing with feel-ings is a hard step in life. Sometimes feel-ings can be worthwhile in life. You shouldshare your feelings with someone. You canhelp yourself by sharing your feelings withsomeone. How to talk to kids about feelings.Find help for yourself by asking someoneelse, a friend or someone you can trust tolisten to you. You can also share your feel-ings with your parents.

"If you don't deal with your feelings,life will be hard for you. Everybody hasfeelings in this world and there is always away to deal with your feelings. For example,when you are angry you can calm down andtalk to someone you trust. When you arebored you can call your friend and go some-where. When you are confused you can talkwith your parents or someone you trust."

Valued Tutors - continued on a e 14

Parent Connection - continued .from page 12

read in their first language do need to learna new set of sound-letter correspondences,but they do not have to relearn the wholeprocess of reading. This explains why stu-dents with previous education in their owncountry often do better academically thanstudents who have been in English-speakingschools longer but never received any school-ing in their native language. Students whoreceive instruction from the beginning in alanguage they can understand develop con-cepts, negotiate meaning and learn to read.When they begin studying in an all-Englishsetting, they transfer these experiences tothe new setting. When bilingual studentsreceive support in their native language,they develop academic concepts and En-glish language proficiency.

Tips for Educators to EnhanceParent Involvement

Some strategies educator's can sug-gest for parents to do at home to enhance thelanguage and literacy development of theirchildren include the following:

Ensure that home offers an environ-ment that is rich in materials printedin the first language. Encourage par-ents to supply children with books, maga-zines, etc. written in the first languageand to assist their children in reading intheir first language. The teacher, schooland public library may offer parentsmaterial that can be used in the home in

the primary language.Read aloud to children in the firstlanguage. Encourage parents to readaloud to young children. This promoteslistening comprehension and a knowl-edge of story structure.Share stories about the family with thechild in the first language. All childrenlove to be told stories about their familyhistory. Encourage parents to includetheir children in learning about a richpast.Allow and encourage children to readto parents in the first language. Oncematerials are available in the first lan-guage, children need help in using thesematerials. Oral reading with children isrecommended as a strategy to involveyoungsters in the reading experience.Talk to children in the first language.Encourage parents to provide time whenthey and their child can talk in the firstlanguage. This can be around the dinnertable, driving in the car or simply dis-cussing what is happening on the televi-sion. To learn a language one must usethe language.

Attracting parents and keeping theminvolved is a challenge when working withany group of parcnts. Retention problemsdo not stem from lack of parental interest inmost cases. We, as parent educators, oftenfail to express the value of parents in thelearning process. We must also keep in mindthat many minority parents may not feel

welcome in schools dominated by White,middle-class culture and values. However,research indicates that a sense of sharedresponsibility for the education of childrenis a determining factor in making parentsmore comfortable in the school setting. Wemust take special care to empower the roleof parents in their children's educationalprogress no matter what language they mayspeak.

ResourcesAuerbach, Elsa Roberts. "Toward a Social-Contextual

Approach to Family Literacy," Harvard Educa-tional Review (May 1989). 59(2).

Cummins, J. Empowering Minority. Students (Sacra-mento, Calif.: California Association for BilingualEducation, 1989).

France, M.G. and J.M. Hager. "Rccruit, Respect,Rcspond: A Model for Working With Low-IncomeFamilies and Their Preschoolers," The ReadingTeacher (April, 1993), 46(7), p. 568. .

Freeman, D. and Y. Freeman. "Strategies for Promot-ing the Primary Languages of All Students," TheReading Teacher (April, 1993), 46(7), p. 553.

Green, Chris. "Myths in Bilingual Education," Mate-rials developed for training. (San Antonio, Texas:Intercultural Development Research Association,1994),

Lee, Vivian W. and Neeta Pa el. "Making LiteracyPrograms Work for Immigrant Families," NewVoices (1994), 4( I ).

Einstcin-Sh,G."Family Literacy in Multilingual Fam-ilies," Center for Applied Linguistics, TempleUniversity (February, 1992).

Ninta Adame-Reyna is an education associate inthe IDRA Division of Professional Develop-ment.

IT%. 14

August 1995 rgi IDRA Newsletter

VALUED TUTORS SOMETIMES ILLUSTRATE

THEIR WRITINGSad-24.y coaA3-.06414..

Qxc: Ifing

Valued Tutors continued from page 13

Making JudgementsFrom a tutor's journal in the Spring:

"My best tutee is a little girl in Mrs. K--'s class. She is a very sweet little girl. Whenshe finishes all her work, she tells me abouther problems. She likes to talk about herproblems at school and at home. She hasmany friends at school . One day she told meI was her best friend in the whole wideworld. She is such a good little girl, kind andcaring."

"My favorite tutee was D---. Heworked hard and jid his work. He nevercomplained or behaved bad. He respects meand does what I tell him to do. His legs arecrippled and he has to use braces. He exer-cises his legs so that one day he can walk. Igave him candy and a coloring book forbeing the best kid and for Christmas. He ismy favorite tutee."

Modifying People's BehaviorFrom student-generated lists of unaccept-able behaviors and suggested consequenc-es..

"If the person who goes to 1SS [inschool suspension] is at fault, the coordina-tor should not let the tutor work for two

weeks so that he can learn not to go to ISS.If the person goes to the alternative centertwice, the person should be kicked out [ofthe program]. Ifthe person should get caughtsmoking or doing drugs, the person shouldautomatically be kicked out."

"1. Hitting people with folders. Con-sequence: They get you out of the bus andwalk to school.

"2. Not participating in fund raisers.Consequence: You don't go on field trips.

"3. If you get caught skipping. Conse-quence: you get docked."

"If you don't respect your other aca-demic teachers or do work in class, you haveone week to straighten up your act. If youdon't, you're out!"

"If a tutor was to say a bad word heshould not be paid for that day."

"If you are failing too many classesand you don't care if you are failing, you arekicked out of the program."

Expressing Personal FeelingsJournal entries.from a student on differentdays:

"When 1 need to be alone, I cry. It'susually when I'm mad or sad, especiallywhen I remember my mother's death. When

I need to be alone, I rcmember all thewonderful things my mother and I used toshare. Being alone is as if I was by myself.My mother always told me that when Iwould feel alone or sad, she would be withme. That's why I sometimes need to bealone.

"When I'm alone I like to cry. Why?I don't know. I get very sad when I'm alone.I remember that on my mom's death I want-ed to be alone with her. But I didn't want toadmit that she was dead. It took me a whileto admit it. When I'm alone 1 like to look atpictures of when my mom was well. I like tobe alone once in a while.

"1 hate today. I'm tired and bored. I'mjust writing because I need a grade. Well, Idon't know what else to write, so I'm writingthis one thing. I guess that's all. Bye."

Interacting SociallyFrom a guide developed by tutors .for newtutors..

"How to Make a New Friend Inter-view Questions: You can start with intro-ducing yourself. ex: Hi, I am ____. How areyou? Excuse, I'm _____. What's your name?Can I help you in anything? Are you havingtrouble in something? I can help you."Closing rap song of a student-producedvideo "Tutors on Tutoring":

This song's about tutorsmaking good deedsHelping little kids' needs.

Showing them the waybecause it will payIn the futureand in the rest of the way.

We started with problemsand ended with answers.Now we're touching the jatureand leading the way.

The kids heard our foot stepsand opened their hearts.We opened up new pathsto success from their start.

The Valued Youth Programhas helped us succeedBecome better persons.jalfill all our dreams, yes indeed.

Now get your own answers.don't you see?Hope you'll be luckyand join V-Y-P!

Aurelio Montemayor is a senior education asso-ciate in the IDRA Division of Professional De-velopment

August 1995 ri IDRA Newslettert. 15

Conversational Insights - continued from page 3

ature-based approach to a basal approach(1992).

Alicia Salinas Sosa recommends us-ing children's literature specifically withsecond language learners for both languageand literacy development (1989). El leyfound that second language learners in theSouth Pacific, Southeast Asia, Canada andthe United States exposed to high amountsof quality literature made greater languageproficiency gains and had more positiveattitudes toward books than students experi-encing structured, sy stematic second lan-guage instruction (1991). Helene Reyesfound that journal writing, children's litera-ture and art projects helped seventh gradebilinfmal students make significant gains inreading comprehension, vocabulary and sel f-concept (1993). These positive results forlanguage-minority students seem to stemfrom the fact that literature-based approachesare characterized by a focus on meaning,imn-icrsion in print- and language-rich envi-ronments, and intrinsic motivation.

J.G.: Attitudes toward reAding, theaffective domain, are of critical importance.We may be teaching students how to read,but we have forgotten to instill in them alove for reading (Garcia, 1993). That's howI conceive of intrinsic motivation. We wasteenergy if we teach children to read and writebut they continue to avoid independent read-ing and writing activity (Allington, 1995).

Good stories were the key to motivat-ing my students to read. The children wanted

books, real books! i then found that theirwide and continuous contact with literaturedeveloped and refined their sensitivity tolanguage. They became entranced with themagic of words. This exposure to the so-phisticated language found in books in-creased their vocabularies and theirabilitiesto use complex language patterns.

C.G.: Vocabulary development is acritical need for second language learners.How did you use the arts and literature toexpand your students' vocabularies?

J.G.: We became word gatherers,collectors of unusual and interesting ways toexpress things ( Pilon, 1985). We used cre-ative dramatics to act out new words in funand memorable ways. We drooped andsagged as we demonstrated wilt; we madesad, tearful faces as we discovered the mean-ing of melancholy. We "roared [our] ter-rible roars and gnashed [our] terrible teeth"as we showed how Max tamed the creaturesin Where the Wild Things Are. We also drewand painted a lot of pictures of our newwords, making our images visual as well asauditory and kinesthetic.

Soon I heard the children using thewords, the idioms, the metaphors and simi-les from our books out on the playground, inthe lunchroom, and, of course, in class. Weincorporated them into our journal writingand described each other with big words likegregarious and.diligent.

C.G.: That all sounds like a lot of fun,but what about TAAS? How did you pre-pare your students to pass the state-man-

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE

IDRA provides professional devel-opment services in many aspects of lan-guage acquisition and development (seePage 20). Ms. Garcia and Dr. Green havecreated a process for IDRA training ofteachers to develop and implement highlymotivating and effective literature units.In addition to using the high qualitychildren's litetature in English that is free-ly available from mainstream publishers,they draw on their knowledge of literaturein Spanish (literatura infantfl) and bilin-gual literature from a Latino perspective.The process includes both training andtechnical assistance components.

The training cotnponent is predi-cated on the premise that "professionaldevelopment is more effective when itfocuses on a topic in-depth rather thanseveral topics superficially" (Green andLopez, 1994). Teachers attend a series of

training sessions that establish a rationalefor literature-based reading and demonstratehow to incorporate reading and writing skills,the fine arts and instructional technologyinto the daily language arts program. Thesetraining sessions are spread out over thecourse of at least one entire school year andall center on the topic of literature-basedinstruction.

The technical assistance componentis based on the assumption that "profes-sional development is more effective whenit is followed-up with immediate technicalassistance that supports the new teachingconcepts and methods presented" (Greenand LOpez, 1994). Training sessions arefollowed, within one month, by on-site tech-nical assistance in which the consultantsperform demonstration lessons in the teach-ers' classrooms. They show the teachetsthat the methods and techniques they r.P,

dated test for reading? Was your literature-based approach enough to help them pass it?

J.G.: In discussing students who arereading below grade level, Allington stressesthat they must read at least an hour a day,choose much of what thcy read themselvesand write for at least half an hour a day(1995). This formula seems to have workedfor me because 100 percent of my studentspassed TA AS reading and writing. I alsofollowed the advice of many educators whorecommend skills practice using the sameformat that will be used in the target tast. ButI never used those boring worksheets devel-oped by commercial publishers. My stu-dents wrote their own TAAS-like questionsbased on the stories and books we werereading in class. This one activity gave themexceptional insights into how questions weredeveloped and therefore how they could beanswered.

C.G.: Seems like your language artsprogram had it all classroom excitementthat motivated students to read and writevoraciously, excellent skills developmentespecially for reading comprehension andvocabulary development, and the integra-tion of the visual and performing arts intothe center of inst.ruction.

C.G.: Did you ever use word process-ing programs or programs that can be usedto create graphics?

J.G.: No, I was unfamiliar with them.How do they work?

C.G.: I recommend incorporatingConversational Insights - continued on page 16

advocating can work within their class-room environments and with their stu-dents.

The demonstration lessons are fol-lowed by "debriefings" in which teachersmeet with the consultants to ask questionsand discuss other, related activities thatcan be used for future lessons. The con-sultants have found it is important toallow teachers to express their concernsabout the new ways ofteaching in an openand honest way. Answers that meet indi-vidual teachers' needs can be immediate-ly given so as to assist them in makingsometimes difficult changes in their usualways of teaching.

Contact the IDRA Division of Profes-4onal Development (210/6844180) forfurther information,on this exciting andeffective trainingandtechnicaloyistan,ce

; :2,

BEST COPY AVAILABLE v it 16August 1995 IDRA Newsletter

Conversational Insights - continued on page 15

them into your writing program. My ownresearch supported the findings of manyother studies that have documented the ben-efits for monolingual students ofcombiningword processing with writing (Green, 1992).I found that bilingual third graders wrotelonger pieces and improved their languagemechanics, attitudes towards writing andeven their reading achievement scores.

For example. let's say you decided toproduce play based on one of the storiesyou have read. Some or all of your studentswould write the first draft of the script usingpaper and pencil, just like you have alwaysdone. Then they would type the first draftinto the word processing program (input it),making revisions and editing changes asneeded. Word processing makes thesechanges fun rather than the drudgery stu-dents experience when they must recopyeverything by hand. Then you would get aprintout of the final draft, making copies forthe speaking roles and others who wouldneed it.

J.G.: What about the sets, costumesand props?

C.C.: Your set and costume design-ers could use a paint program or clip artgraphics to create the sets and parts of thecostumes. Some programs designed for chil-dren allow for printouts of art creations thatare very large, suitable for backdrops. Masks,accessories like crowns and scepters, andother smaller items could be created with acombination of printouts, art materials, andreal objects.

J.G.: What other kinds of technologytools would help me with our play?

C.G.: Naturally you would probablywant to videotape your production. Video-taping is also helpful at the rehearsal stage.You can videotape rehearsals and have thestudents watch themselves, evaluating partsthey need to practice more or otherwiseimprove. You also might like to share yourscript, set designs or even video clips withother students. Wouldn't it be fun to sendthem to Spanish-speaking students in othercountries like Mexico or Spain?

J.G.: Would we mail them copies?C.C.: You could, but a less expensive

and faster way would be to send them yourcreations electronically. If you have accessto a modem you can locate the recipientsthrough the Internet and then forward themthe products. They, in turn, can send youwritten comments about your play or sendyou their own creations. You can, for exam-ple, exchange favorite folktales, comparing

the ones your students know with the onesfamiliar to their foreign peers.

J.G.: That sounds very exciting. Buttell me, I've heard a lot lately about CD-ROM software. How can it be used byclassroom teachers?

C.C.: CD-ROM programs have espe-cially rich graphics, animation, sound andeven video segments in them. My two favor-ite kinds of CD-ROM applications are elec-tronic books and reference materials. Theelectronic books can be used just like aregular hook, for repeated reading of a fa-vorite story. Some allow you to record yourstudents' voices reading the story aloud orto do reading and writing connection activi-ties like retelling the story or changing theending. Others have exploratory graphicsenvironments in which students can click onparts of a picture and then watch what hap-pens next. I like to have students predictwhat will happenbefore they click, support-ing their predictions with reason. This de-velops recognition of cause and effect rela-tionships.

Electronic reference materials I ik?..

elFxtronic encyclopedias can bring a wealthof information to your students. Studentscan look up topics by merely typing a keyword into the search facility. Instantly theywill see a list of articles, pictures, photo-graphs, sound clips or video clips associ-ated with that topic. They can printout thewords and still pictures or copy them intoword processing or desktop programs sothat they can customize them, creating theirown reports and other products.

J.G.: That sounds wonderful! Howexpensive are these programs and how hardare they to learn to use?

C.G.: If you have the hardware, thatis. the computer itself, preferably with a CD-ROM and a printer, then the software is veryaffordable. Take for instance my encyclo-pedia example. Most encyclopedia bookvolumes cost at least $1,000. But very goodelectronic encyclopedias are running from$100 to $200. And later updates, so that youare always current with the latest informa-tion, are even cheaper. Electronic books areusually around $50 to $75. Of course, theykeep getting more affordable everyday.

As for learning how to use them, Icould probably show you most of the basicsin an hour or two. Most are designed to beused by children and others who have littleor no technical knowledge. Once you knowhow to use a mouse to open menus and clickon your choices, you have almost all theskills you need to use these programs. Word

processing and graphics programs are alittle more complicated, but the basics canalso be acquired fairly quickly for mostprograms.

J.G.: I am definitely excited about thetraining and technical assistance processwe've put together (see box on Page 15).Integrating the arts and technology into lan-guage instruction gives children the chanceto be more active learners.

ResourcesA II ington, R. "No Quick Fix: Creating Classrooms

Where All Children are Readers and Writers."Keynot address, Texas State Reading Assn. An-nual Conference (Austin. Texas, March 4, 1995).

Belpre, P. Juan Bobo and the Queen's Necklace (1963).Bryant, S. C. The Burning Rice Fields (New York,

N.Y.: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963).Elley, W.B. "Acquiring Literacy in a Second Lan-

guage: The Effect of Book-Based Programs."Lan-guage Learning (1991), 41(3), pp. 375-411.

Garcia, J. "Literatura Infant& Bilingual Children'sL iterature,"IDRA Newsletter (San Antonio, Texas:intercultural Development Research Association,1993), 20(9) pp. 1, I I.

Gómez del Manzano, M. El Protagonista-Niiio en laLiteratura Infanta del Siglo XX'. (Madrid: Narcea.S.A.. no date indicated).

Green, L. C. "Computer Assisted Writing Helps His-panic Students Close the Achievement Gap,"Read-ing Education in Texas (1992), 8, pp. 73-78.

Green, L. C. and R. Lopez. "Making a DifferenceThrough Effective Professional Development,"IDRA Newsletter (San Antonio, Texas: Intercul-tural Development Research Association. 1994),21(9), pp. 1, 11-12.

Jett-Simpson, M. Creative Drama and Story Com-prehension. In J.W. Stcwig and S.L. Sebesta(Eds.), Using Literature in the Elementary Class-room. ( Urbana, ill.: National Council of Teachersof English, 1989), pp. 91-109.

Morrow. L.M. "The Impact of a Literature-BasedPrograni on Literacy Achievement, Use of Litera-ture and Attitudes of Children from MinorityBackgrounds," Reading Research Quarterly(1992), 27 (3), pp. 251-275.

Pilon, A.B: Teaching Language Arts Creativity in theElementary Grades. Malabar, Fla.: Robert E.Frieger Publishing Co., 1985).

Reyes, H.E. "A Reading Program for Bilingual Stu-dents that Works," Illinois Reading Cou4il Jour-nal, (1993), 21, pp. 37-41.

Sinatra, R. "Literature and the Visual Arts: NaturalMotivations for Literacy." In E.H. Cramer and M.Castle (Eds.), Fostering the Love of Reading: TheAlJective Domain in Reading Education (Newark,Del.: International Reading Association, i994),pp. 104-117.

Sosa, A. "Bilingual Education Heading Into the 1990s:Thc U.S. Perspective," 1DRA Newsletter (SanAntonio, Texas: Intercultural Development Re-search Association, 1989), 18( 1), pp. 9-13.

Tunnel!, M.O. and IS. Jacobs. "Using 'Real' Books:Research Fint ings on Literature-Based ReadingInstruction." The Reading Teacher (1989), 42(7),

pp. 470-477.

Juanita Garcia, M.A., and Laura Chris Green,Ph.D., are education associates in the 1DRADivision of Professional Development.

August 1995 IDRA Newsletter

41J 4.0

I. 7

NEW BOOK PRESENTS A GENERATION OF ADVOCACYThe Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) and

Ginn Press announce the publication of a new book on multiculturaleducation. The book, Multicultural Education: A Generation of Advo-cacy by Dr. José A. Cardenas, is a compilation of 92 articles on multicul-tural education published over a 25-year period. Dr. Cardenas is thefounder of IDRA, was its executive director for 20 years and now servesas director emeritus of the organization.

The contents of the book provide a historical overview e;' theauthor's involvement in the most significant issues in multicuituraleducation as a teacher, administrator and an active advocate for children.It is being distributed by Allyn & Bacon as areference textbook on this subject.

The book includes a preface and introduc-tion, and a timely foreword by Dr. Maria "Cuca"Robledo Montecel, the present executive directorof 1DRA. In the foreword, Dr. Robledo Montecelstates, "What is needed is a place to stand, a placeto come from as wc create workable solutions. Inthis compilation and examination of 25 years ofadvocacy, Dr. José A. Cardenas offers such a place...The premise is simple: all children are valuableand schooling must acknowledge, nurture, andbuild on that value. This book is an urgent andalways insightful call for clarity of purpose."

The dates of the various articles included inthe textbook range from 1970" to 1992, thoughsome of the material dates back to the middle1960s. Articles are organized into 10 chaptersdealing with each of 10 major issites in multicul-tural education. Each chapter is accompanied by abibliography and appropriate discussion questions. The book also con-tains five cumulative indices of authors, court cases, legislation, organi-zations and topics.

The first chapter, "Minority Education," addresses problems inthe education of minority children encountered by the author during a 42-year period and terminates with recommendations for the creation ofculturally lemocratic learning environments in our nation's schools.

Chapter 2, "Bilingual Education," provides a historical perspec-tive on the development and implementation of bilingual educationprograms in the United States. One article, "The Role of Native LanguageInstruction in Bilingual Education" (1986), may be the most frequentlypublished rationak for bilingual education in the country. This chapterprovides insights into the history of legislation and litigation, attacks on

MulticulturA Genewstio,

bilingual education by individuals and organizations, issues of segrega-tion and financing, and ends with an extraordinary article on contempo-rary problems in the implementation of bilingual programs.

Chapter 3 deals with the education of undocumented children.The recent enactment of Proposition 187 in California make these articleson past court cases extremely relevant today.

Chapter 4, "School Dropouts," has a shorter time span, covering theperiod between the first Texas study on school dropouts conducted by IDRAin 1986 and current successful, and unsuccessful, approaches to the problem.

Chapter 5 conlains seven articles on retentions in grade and theimplication ofthis practice on the subsequent schoolperformance of children.

Chapter 6, "Early Childhood Education,"presents a rationale for early intervention in theeducation of minority and disadvantaged children.the success of early childhood education and cur-rent problems in the implementation of such pro-grams.

Chapter 7 presents four articles on science,math and technology in the schools, and its rela-tionship to equal educational opportunity.

Chapter 8, "Standardized Testing," pre-sents various articles on the use, and misuse, ofstandardized tests. The 1972 article on intelligencetesting of bilingual children is an excellent rebuttalto contemporary literature which maintains that IQtests are valid and contain no cultural biases.

Chapter 9 contains 13 articles on schoolreform. The author identifies thany of the currentattempts at school reform as being dysfunctional.

and even counter productive, for minority and disadvantaged children.The last chapter, "A New Educational Paradigm" (1992). brings

closure to the book with several hundred specific recommendations forcultural, language, socio-economic, geographic, psychological and gen-der equity in our country's schools.

Multicultural Education: A Generation of Advocacy is a readingimperative for teachers, administrators, teacher tra iners and policy formu-lators interested in providing equal educational opportunity to all seg-ments of the school population.

At the request of the author, all royalties from the sale of this bookwill be used as stipends for school youth participating in IDRA's dropoutprevention program.

al Educationof Advocacy

Josó &Cardenaslismaimd Wativsmis Iewsweb AgswItsks

PUBLICATION ORDER FORM

Use this form to order publications, to request to receive the 1DRA Newsletter regularly, to order back issues of the IDRA Newsletter (such us thoselisted on Page 18), or to request injOrmation about a workshop listed on Page 20 or mentioned in an article. Send this form with yourcheck or purchaseorder (if applicable) to IDRA, 5835 Callaghan Road, Suite 350, San Antonio, Texas 78228. Make sure to include this form when ordering.

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August 1995

18IDRA Newsletter

RESOURCES ON LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT

PROFICIENCY ON THE PART OF OUR

CITIZENS IN MORE THAN ONE

LANGUAGE IS TO THE ECONO.1.11C

AND CULTURAL BENEFIT OF OUR

S7ATE AND THE NATION, WHETHER

THAT PROFICIENCY DERIVES FROM

SECOND LANGUAGE STUDY BY

ENGLISH SPEAKERS OR FROM HOME

LANGUAGE MAINTEN4NCE PLL'S

ENGLISH ACQUISITION BY SPEAKERS

OF OTHER LANGUAGES.

- New Mexico Legislature adoptedHouse Joint Memorial 16, a

nonbinding resolution. Quoted in"Supporting Language Rights

in the United States," LanguageLoyalties (March 1989), p. 154

A DDITIONA.LPEADING'S AND INFOR,IIATIONAsher, Carol. "Assessing Bilingual Students for Placement and Instruction," 1DRA

Newsletter (San Antonio, Texas: Intercultural Development Research Association,February 1992), pp. 8-11.

CArdenas, José A. "Current Problems in Bilingual Education: Part I & II," 1DRANewsletter (San Antonio, Texas, Intercultural Development Research Association,September 1993 and October 1993), pp. 6, 10; pp. 2, 12.

Cárdenas, Jose A. "The Role of Native-Language Instruction in Bilingual Education,"Bilingual Education: A Generation q[Advocacy (San Antonio, Texas: InterculturalDevelopment Research Association, 1995), pp. 203-211.

Flores, Rosa. "ESL Strategies: What Works in Second Language Instruction," 1DRANewsletter (San Antonio, Texas: Intercultural Development Research Association,October 1993), pp. I, 1 I .

Garcia, Juanita. "L weratura Infantil: Bilingual Children's Literature," IDRA Newslet-ter (San Antonio, Te,a2: Intercultural Development Research Association, Septem-ber 1993), pp. 1, 11.

Gonzales, Frank. "1 eaching Content Subjects to LEP Students: 20 Tips for Teachers,"IDRA Nesiwlet!er (San Antonio, Texas: Intercultural Development Research Asso-ciation, February 1995). pp. 3-4, 9.

McCollum, Pam. "I n gu age Use in Two-Way Bilingual Programs,"1DRA Newsletter(San Antonic,, Texas: Intercultural Development Research Association, February1994) pp. 1, 9- II.

National Coalition of Advocates for Students. The Good Conunon School: Making theVision Work for All Children (Boston, Mass.: Author, 1991).

Sosa, Alicia. "Questions and Answers about Bilingual Education: IDRA Responds toParent and Educator Concerns,"1DRA Newsletter (San Antonio, Texas: Intercul-tural Development Research Association, February 1994), XXI(2), pp. 4-5, 12.

Titles in bold are available front IDRA at no cost.Contact IDRA's Communications Manager to obtain reprints. Thank .1.ou.

PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE FROM IDRAThe fbllowing publications are available .from IDRA at the listed price; there is no additional charge Ibr shipping and handling.Publication orders should be directed to the Communications Manager, IDRA. 5835 Callaghan Road, Suite 350. San Antonio, Texas78228-1190. It is IDRA policy that all orders totaling less titan $30 be pre-paid. Thank you.

HISPANIC FAMILIES As VALUED PARTNERS: AN EDUCATOR'S GUIDEby Maria Robledo Montecel, Ph.D.. Aurora Gallagher, Aurelio M. Montemayor, M. Ed., A belardo Villarreal, Ph.D., Ninta Adatne-Reyna, M.S. and Josie D. Supik, M.A.

This publication explores the role of Hispanic families, particularly parents, in U.S. education. Through a presentation of facts aboutI lispanics in the United States and an honest discussion of Hispanic cultural values and mores, the authors dispel the myths thatmany educators have about their Hispanic students' families. The book focuses on the common ground shared by schools andHispanic homes most notably that education is important. It shows the value of family participation in education.

90 Pages; $19.951993 First Edition; Quality Paperback/wire bound; ISBN 1-878550-47-0

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION: AN OVERVIEW FOR PRACTITIONERSkr Bradley Scott, M.A.This training set ofmaterials includes a 30-minute training video and a training guide with activities, transparency masters, handoutmasters for training participants, and an extensive bibliography. It is designed to be used to train teachers, administrators, parentsand community people in the basics of prejudicc, discrimination, cultural pluralism and sensitivity to cultural diversity in schools,programs within those schools and curriculum used by those schools to educate their students.

30-minutc video/76 Pages; $49.501992 First Edition; VHS/Paperback; No ISBN

August 1995 IDRA Newsletter 19

SCHEDULE

Tlu.s list includes activities

OF IDRA TRAINING AND WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES

that have been scheduledPr particular school districts and othergroups. They are not open to the public. For information -srent Pr your school district or other group, conu.ct 11)RA at 210/684-818aon scheduling a similar ev

DATE

July 27 - Aug. 2

Aug. 2

Aug. 3

Aug. 4

Aug. 9Aug. 10Aug. 11

Aug. 13Aug. 14

Aug. 15

Aug. 16

Aug. 17

Aug. 18

Aug. 19

Aug. 21

Aug. 22-23

Aug. 22

Aug. 23

Aug. 25

Aug. 28

Aug. 29Aug. 29-30Aug. 31

SCHOOL DISTRICT/AGENCY TOPIC

Harlandale ISD

Early Childhood Education Conference -

Corpus Christi, TexasSan Diego Independent School District (ISD)

Early Childhood Education ConferenceCorpus Christi, Texas

Alice ISD

Bishop Consolidated ISD (CISD)

Freer ISD

Brownsville ISDDallas ISDLaredo, Webb County Head Start

Wichita Falls, Texas

East Baton Rouge Parish, LouisianaSouthside ISD

Brownsville ISL)Mission ISDRio Grande City CISDSanta Rosa ISDArkansas State Education AgencyDonna ISDDonna ISDOur Lady of the Lake UniversityGonzalez, LouisianaLa Villa ISD

South San Antonio ISDLaredo, Webb County Head StartMidland ISDGoose Creek ISDSouth San Antonio ISD, Southside ISD

and Southwest ISDSan Antonio ISD

San Diego ISDMidland ISD

McAllen ISDNorthside ISDEl Paso ISDEl Paso ISDIllinois State Board of EducationOur Lady of the Lakc UniversityArkansas State Education AgencySan Antonio ISD

South San Antonio ISD and Southside ISDNorthsidc ISD and Southside ISDEast Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

4 August 1995

2n

IDRA Math Increases Job Aspirations (MIJA)Summer Math Institute

Building Dreams

Learning Styles for Limited-English-Proficient (LEP)Students

Administrator Role in Creating Magic (Keynote)

integrating Active Learning Strategies to Enhance S(.1condaryNeeds Assessment

Integrating Active Learning Strategies to Enhance SecondaryNeeds Assessment

Integrating Active Learning Strategies to Enhance SecondaryNeeds Assessment

Teacher RenewalReview of Desegregation Laws and Major ConceptsDeveloping Strategies for Children's Integration into the

SchoolAccelerating Achievement of English as a Second Language

(ESL) StudentsCultural DifferencesCoca-Cola Valued Youth Program (VYP) -- Introduction and

General OverviewTeacher RenewalDiscipline ManagementDealing with Developmental Stages of Sixth GradersEffective Teaching PracticesESL Strategies and Methods for Intermediate ESLHigh Expectations and Effective CommunicationReading Project Task Force LearningFacilitator TrainingDiversity in the ClassroomESL Strategies in the Content Area to Meet the Needs of LEP

StudentsCoca-Cola VYP First Tutor MeetingClassroom Management for Student Success

z-Kindergarten and Daycare CentersF irst and Second Language StrategiesCoca-Cola VYP Elementary Receiving Teacher Training

Young Scientists Acquiring English (YSAE) First TaskForce Meeting

Bilingual Education ResearchReading Strategies, ESL Strategies, and New Approaches to

Spanish ReadingCoca-Cola VYP First Implementation MeetingYSAE First Task Force MeetingIntroduction to CALLALanguage Proficiency AssessmentState Assessment Task Force MeetingFacilitator TrainingPlanning, Conceptualizing Compliance ProceduresProject San Antonio Literacy Net York (SALNET)

Ovemiew Project Learn to ReadCoca-Cola VYP First Implementation MeetingYSAE Fitst Task Force MeetingImplementing Playtime Is Science

IDRA Newsletter

994To request fiirther information on these or other training and technical assistance topics, please contact IDRA at 210/684-8180.

WORKSHOPS FOR TEACHERS

Bilingual Book Magic: Literature-based Reading for Bilingual and ESL StudentsA book is often a student's best friend in education. Literature-based reading, teaching skills in context, alternatives to round-robin reading and guiding reading groups and their schedules are discussed in this full-day workshop targeting kindergartenthrough sixth grade teachers. Participants create literature units based on the before, during and after phases of literacy. A 30-page packet is included in the workshop.

Harnessing Writing Power in the Bilingual ClassroomEverything from how to stimulate the birth of a written article to its final revision, are explored in this full-day workshop.Alternatives to workbooks and book reports, poetic forms, emergent literacy, reading-writing connections, and revision andediting are discussed by participating kindergarten through sixth grade teachers.

Language and Literature in the Classroom/La Lengua y la Literatura en el AulaWritten or oral, language dominates the school arena. Through language we can create, play, construct and analyze. This half.day to full-day workshop helps participants develop techniques and strategies that contain oral and written literature. A keyobjective is to develop the art of oral communication and the role literature takes in its didactical process.

Literature-based Reading InstructionIt is sometimes hard to ignite a student's reading interest. In this full-day workshop teachers compare three patterns ofliterature-based reading instruction aimed at doing just that. Ways to use the written word as a creative tool for languagedevelopment is also discussed.

Second Language Reading and WritingSocial studies and science papers is a special focus for participants in this full-day workshop. The facilitator discusses thelanguage principles for second language learners and reviews the steps for process writing. Three graphic organizers todevelop vocabulary and concepts are utilized.

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5835 Callaghan Road, Suite 350San Antonio, TX 78228-1190

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