RecursosBibliografíaA Commentary on ‘What Teachers Need to Know About Language’
Bredekamp. S. (2000). A commentary on ‘What teachers need to know about language'. Washington, D.C: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Ver El Sitio Web > |  |  | | A Parents’ and Teachers’ Guide to Bilingualism
Baker, C. (2000a). A parents’ and teachers’ guide to bilingualism (2nd Ed.). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
The second edition of this book provides an introduction of practical value to questions of bilingualism for parents and teachers. The style of the book is to pose questions that people most often ask about raising bilingual children. Straightforward answers follow, written in direct, plain English. Ideas and perceptions have been extended and enriched in this edition, and there has been elaboration and refinement in particular answers such as: the advantages of bilingualism; language mixing; trilingualism; and identity problems. Also a variety of new material has been included; for examples: influence of the World Wide Web and the Internet on bilingualism; the benefits for children who have a less developed second language; employment and bilingualism/multilingualism; mixed language marriages; and language strategies with an adopted child. | | A Study of Effective Instructional Practices by Monolingual English-speaking and Bilingual/Bicultural Teachers in Five Programs Serving Hispanic Preschoolers with Developmental Disabilities.
De León, J. & McCarty, L. (1998). A study of effective instructional practices by monolingual English-speaking and bilingual/bicultural teachers in five programs serving Hispanic preschoolers with developmental disabilities. In B. A. Ford (Ed.), Compendium: Writings on effective practices for culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional learners. Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children. | | An Investigation of Collaboration Among School Professionals In Serving Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students With Exceptionalities
Roache, M., Shore, J., Gouleta & de Obaldia Butkevich, E. (2003). An investigation of collaboration among school professionals in serving culturally and linguistically diverse students with exceptionalities. An investigation of collaboration among school professionals in serving culturally and linguistically diverse students with exceptionalities. Bilingual Research Journal, 27 (1), 117-136.
The purpose of this study was to investigate and report the perceptions, practices, and needs of educational professionals as they relate to service delivery to culturally and linguistically diverse and exceptional (CLDE) students. For this study, the Collaborative Survey for teachers working with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse and Exceptional students (CS-CLDE) was developed and completed by a sample of 125 educational professionals (25 English as a SecondLanguage teachers, 25 general educators, 25 counselors, 25 speech pathologists, and 25 special education teachers) in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Quantitative data were analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics and frequencies. Qualitative data were analyzed and formulated into themes and then into clusters. The majority of the participants' responses indicated that they had the training and skills to work with CLDE students. However, they did not know the roles, responsibilities, and practices of other school professionals who worked with CLDE students, they did not receive appropriate training on ways to collaborate, and they did not have adequate support from the administration in order to collaborate with other school professionals in serving CLDE students. The qualitative analysis indicated that there is a need for professional training on collaboration, support from the administration, and time for collaboration, resources related to CLDE students, and information on the other school professionals' roles and responsibilities.
Ver El Sitio Web > | | Bilingual Language Acquisition
De Houwer, A. (1995). Bilingual language acquisition. In P. Fletcher & B. MacWhinney (Eds.). The handbook of child language. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
The Handbook of Child Language, in its 25 definitive chapters on normal and nonnormal language development, represents the authoritative and up-to-date complete sourcebook on child language development. All aspects of child language development are addressed, including phonetics, phonology, grammar, and lexical development. Connectionism and government-binding theory, as applied to language development, are fully represented. The relevance of input, cognition, and social factors to language development is explored. Chapters on methodology, particularly using computer databases, are provided for both normal and nonnormal acquisition. | | Choice of Languages in Instruction: One Language or Two?
Brice, A. & Roseberry-McKibbin, C. (2001). Choice of languages in instruction: One language or two? Teaching Exceptional Children, 33 (4), 10-15.
This article explores the ins and outs of bilingual instruction and helps teachers know (a) whether to use the native language versus English in instruction and (b) the role that code switching (i.e., language alternation or language exchange between two languages) plays in instruction. In addition, the article suggests strategies for using the native language and using code switching.
Ver El Sitio Web > | | Connecting with Latino Children: Bridging Cultural Gaps with Children’s Literature
Nathenson-Mejia, S. & Escamilla K. (2003). Connecting with Latino children: Bridging cultural gaps with children’s literature. Bilingual Research Journal, 27 (1), 101-116.
Teachers generally come out of teacher education programs with very little background in multicultural issues and instructional techniques. This study documents the use of Latino children’s literature in field experience seminars to help preservice teachers (teacher candidates) gain background knowledge of the cultures, traditions, language, and issues surrounding Latinos in the United States and the elementary students with whom they will be working. The teacher candidates then use the same literature in their field experience classrooms, tapping into the children’s funds of knowledge and encouraging the children to respond in a personal way. This experience enriches the teacher candidates’ work with children and broadens their personal perspective and understanding of cultures different from their own. This study found that using Latino children’s literature in a university teacher education program benefited both the preservice teachers and their students.
Transferencia Directa en Formato PDF > | | Continuity in Early Childhood: A Framework for Home, School, and Community Linkages
Ahearn, C., Nalley, D., & Cabson, C. (2000). Continuity in early childhood: A framework for home, school, and community linkages (2nd Ed.). Washington, D.C.: Regional Educational Laboratories’ Early Childhood Collaboration Network.
Continuity in Early Childhood: A Framework for Home, School and Community Linkages, a publication released by the U.S. Department of Education with contributions from NWREL's Child and Family Program, aims to support the work of home, school, and community partners to improve continuity and transition in early childhood. Drawing on a study of research, past national efforts, and examples of effective programs and practices developed in communities around the country, the 10 Regional Educational Laboratories created this framework to help early childhood care, education, health, and social service providers learn about continuity, begin to plan for it and become stronger collaborators.
Transferencia Directa en Formato PDF > | | Cultural Ways of Learning: Individual Traits orRepertoires of Practice
Gutiérrez, K. & Rogoff, B. (2003). Cultural ways of learning: Individual traits orrepertoires of practice. Educational Researcher, 32 (5), 19-25.
This article addresses a challenge faced by those who study cultural variation in approaches to learning: how to characterize regularities of individuals’ approaches according to their cultural background. We argue against the common approach of assuming that regularities are static, and that general traits of individuals are attributable categorically to ethnic group membership. We suggest that a cultural-historical approach can be used to help move beyond this assumption by focusing researchers’ and practitioners’ attention on variations in individuals’ and groups’ histories of engagement in cultural practices because the variations reside not as traits of individuals or collections of individuals, but as proclivities of people with certain histories of engagement with specific cultural activities. Thus, individuals’ and groups’ experience in activities – not their traits – becomes the focus. Also, we note that cultural-historical work needs to devote more attention to researching regularities in the variations among cultural communities in order to bring these ideas to fruition.
Transferencia Directa en Formato PDF > | | Dual Language Abilities of Bilingual Four-Year-Olds: Initial Findings From the Early Childhood Study of Language and Literacy Development of Spanish-Speaking Children
Tabors, P., Paez, M. & Lopez, L. (2003). Dual language abilities of bilingual four-year-olds: Initial findings from the early childhood study of language and literacy development of Spanish-speaking children. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 1 (1), 70-91.
This article describes language and early literacy skills in Spanish and English for a sample of 344 bilingual children in Massachusetts and Maryland (ECS) and a comparative group of 152 monolingual Spanish-speaking children in Puerto Rico (PRC). The children in the study were assessed as 4 year-olds entering pre-kindergarten programs. There were no performance differences across languages or between samples on a phonological awareness task. The ECS sample scored, on average, two standard deviations below the monolingual population mean in oral language subtests of the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery in both languages. On average, the PRC sample scored significantly better than the ECS sample in Spanish oral language skills. Dual language analyses demonstrate a negative correlation across languages for vocabulary, but positive correlations across languages for all other oral language and early literacy tasks. Future analyses are outlined.
Transferencia Directa en Formato PDF > | |  | | Dynamic Assessment of Diverse Children: A Tutorial
Gutiérrez-Clellen, V. & Peña, E. (2001). Dynamic assessment of diverse children: Atutorial. Language, Speech, & Hearing Services in Schools, 32, 212-234.
Dynamic assessment (DA) has been advocated as an alternative and/or supplemental approach to traditional standardized testing with children who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD). However, there is great variability across DA methods and applications, as well as limited information concerning which methods and procedures may be best suited to differentiate language disorder from difference. In this tutorial, DA methods are compared with respect to their assessment applications. Next, an assessment protocol recommended for the identification of language disorder versus difference is described. Finally, examples of two Spanish-English bilingual children are used to show how the protocol may be useful to assess children's language-learning potential and to minimize misdiagnosis. | | Early Language Discrimination Capacities inInfants from Bilingual Environments
Bosch, L. & Sebastian-Galles, N. (2001). Early language discrimination capacities ininfants from bilingual environments. In M. Almgren, A. Barreña, M-J Ezeizabarrena, I. Idiazabal, and B. MacWhinney, Research on child language acquisition: Proceedings of the 8th conference of the International Association for the Study of Child Language (CD-ROM).
Previous research data indicate that soon after birth, infants from monolingual families can discriminate utterances drawn from languages that differ prosodically, but discrimination between rhythmically similar languages, such as English and Dutch, has not yet been established by 2 months of age. In the case of bilinguals, the question of how early they can distinguish between the languages of exposure remains unanswered. The goal of this study was to analyze language discrimination capacities in 4-month-old bilingual infants simultaneously exposed to 2 Romance languages belonging to the same rhythmic category, Spanish and Catalan. Using a familiarization-preference procedure, 2 groups of bilingual-to-be infants showed a capacity to discriminate between these 2 familial languages. Moreover, when compared with 2 groups of infants from monolingual environments, the size of the observed effects was the same. These results can be taken as initial evidence of an early capacity to distinguish languages in simultaneous bilingual exposure, thus challenging the hypothesis that language discrimination capacities are delayed in bilinguals. | | Educating All Our Students: Improving Education for Children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds
McLaughlin, B. & McLeod, B. (1996). Educating all our students: Improving education for children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Final report of the National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language.
This paper discusses the educational difficulties faced by students from linguistic and culturally diverse backgrounds and successful educational strategies that have been used by exemplary schools to meet the needs of these students. It explores how culture and cognition are linked, cultural influences in the teaching-learning process, two-way bilingual programs, new approaches to learning science that stress the social construction process, mathematics instruction that involves a problem-solving approach to real-life questions, cooperative learning, and innovative uses of time.
Ver El Sitio Web > | |  | | Educating Second Language Children: The Whole Child, the Whole Curriculum, the Whole Community
Genesee, F. (Ed.) (1994). Educating second language children: The whole child, the whole curriculum, the whole community. New York: Cambridge University Press.
This text brings together the work of 15 elementary education experts who support an integrative approach to educating second language children. The paperback edition is a collection of articles from fourteen elementary education experts who espouse an integrative approach to second language education - one that goes beyond language teaching methodology - to cover a wide range of issues affecting the academic and social success of language minority children. The volume deals not only with second language development, but with the development of the whole child. Rather than focusing on language instruction, it addresses the entire curriculum, and instead of restricting itself to classroom learning, it examines the role of the school, family, and community. | | Education in California: Looking Through the Prism
California Department of Education. (2001). Education in California: Looking through the prism. | |  | | English Language Learners with Special EducationNeeds: Identification, Assessment, and Instruction
Artiles, A. & Ortiz, A. (Eds.) (2002). English language learners with special educationneeds: Identification, assessment, and instruction. McHenry, IL: Delta Systems and Center for Applied Linguistics.
Because procedures are not in place in many schools and school districts to successfully determine academic placement of English language learners, many of these learners are placed inappropriately. Some who do not need special services (other than English as a second language) may find themselves in special education classes. Others who need special services may be placed in regular classes without the extra supports and services that they need. Working with English language learners and with students requiring special education services requires collaboration among teachers, school psychologists, speech pathologists, and assessment personnel with expertise in general, bilingual, and special education.This book describes the challenges involved in identifying, placing, and teaching English language learners with special education needs. It describes model programs and approaches, including early intervention programs, assessment methods, parent/school collaboration, and native and dual language instruction. All students deserve the best possible education, that meets their individual needs and capitalizes on their strengths. This book will take us a long way toward achieving that goal. | | First Language Maintenance and Second LanguageAcquisition of a Minority Language in Kindergarten
Hickey, T. & Cainin, P. (2001). First language maintenance and second languageacquisition of a minority language in kindergarten. In M. Almgren, A. Barreña, M-J Ezeizabarrena, I. Idiazabal, and B. MacWhinney, Research on child language acquisition: Proceedings of the 8th conference of the International Association for the Study of Child Language (CD-ROM). | |  | | From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development
Shonkoff, J. & Phillips, D. (Eds.) (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Scientists have had a long-standing fascination with the complexities of the process of human development. Parents have always been captivated by the rapid growth and development that characterize the earliest years of their children's lives. Professional service providers continue to search for new knowledge to inform their work. Consequently, one of the distinctive features of the science of early childhood development is the extent to which it evolves under the anxious and eager eyes of millions of families, policy makers, and service providers who seek authoritative guidance as they address the challenges of promoting the health and well-being of young children.
Ver El Sitio Web > | |  | | Improving Schooling for Language-MinorityChildren: A Research Agenda
August, D., & Hakuta, K. (Eds.) (1997). Improving schooling for language-minoritychildren: A research agenda. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press.
The National Research Council project is an ambitious attempt to synthesize the prevailing knowledge about the schooling of linguistic minority students. A primary goal of the project is to take stock of the current state of the field in order to form the foundation for the next generation of research. In so doing, the 487 page report, Improving Schooling for Language Minority Children: A Research Agenda, reviews the principal threads of research in a number of key areas related to the education of linguistic minority students and indicates the research needs in each of the areas.
Ver El Sitio Web > | | Language, Culture, and Disability: Interacting Influences on Preschool Inclusion
Hanson, M., Gutiérrez, S., Morgan, M., Brennan, E., & Zercher, C. (1997). Language, culture, and disability: Interacting influences on preschool inclusion. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 17, (3), 307-336. | |  | | Language, Culture, and Teaching: Critical Perspectives for a New Century
Nieto, S. (2001). Language, culture, and teaching: Critical perspectives for a new century. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Tremendous cultural and linguistic diversity is evident in our schools today. This text by one of today's best-known and most highly respected multicultural educators presents examples of real-life dilemmas about diversity that teachers will face in their own classrooms; ideas about how language, culture, and teaching are linked; and ways to engage with these ideas through reflection and collaborative inquiry. | | Maintaining Spanish Proficiency in the United States:The Influence of English on the Spanish Writing of Native Spanish Speakers in Two-Way Immersion Programs
Serrano, R. & Howard. E. (2003). Maintaining Spanish proficiency in the United States:The influence of English on the Spanish writing of native Spanish speakers in two-way immersion programs. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence.
Language contact is a phenomenon that has taken place for thousands of years. There is no evidence of any language that has developed in total isolation, with no contact with any other language (Thomason, 2001). The pioneering work on “languages in contact” started with Haugen (1950a, 1950b, 1956) and Weinreich (1953). As described in Weinreich (1953), one of the consequences of such contact is the adoption of borrowings and semantic shifts from one language to the other. The focus of this paper will be on English borrowings into the Spanish language that are the result of migration of native Spanish speakers into the United States.
Transferencia Directa en Formato PDF > | | Moving In and Out of Bilingualism: Investigating Native Language Maintenance and Shift in Mexican-Descent Children
Pease-Alvarez, L. (1993). Moving in and out of bilingualism: Investigating native language maintenance and shift in Mexican-descent children. Research Report 6. National Center for Reserach on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning. University of California, Santa Cruz.
Recent research has emphasized the economic, social, and cognitive advantages available to bilinguals. Yet for many immigrant groups, bilingualism is a temporary phenomenon. Most immigrant children arrive in the United States as monolingual speakers of their native language, develop bilingualism as they acquire English, establish English-speaking households, and raise their children as English-speaking monolinguals. According to survey data, even Spanish, a language thought to be particularly enduring in the United States, seldom lasts beyond the second or third generation. Despite evidence that shift toward English is occurring for many immigrant groups, most researchers have neglected to focus on the different levels at which shift occurs, the factors that influence its development, and the course it takes during individuals' lifetimes. In an effort to address these concerns, this paper reports on research that investigates native language maintenance and shift to English among 64 Mexican-descent children and their families. Although the participants in the study live in the same suburban community, they have different immigration backgrounds (Mexican-born, U.S.-born of Mexican-born parents, U.S.-born of parents who were also born in the United States.) Data sources referred to here include a variety of interviews and activities used to investigate the participants' language proficiency, attitudes, and choices.
Ver El Sitio Web > | | Multi-Language Programs
Child Care Information Exchange. (September/October, 2003). Multi-language programs. | |  | | New Ways in Teaching Young Children
Schinke-Llano, L. & Rauff, R. (Eds.) (1996). New ways in teaching young children. Alexandria, VA: teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.
Teachers of English as a second or foreign language to young children must impart English skills at the same time that they foster socialization; heighten an awareness of the self, the immediate classroom community, and the community beyond the school; introduce content concepts; and expose students to art, drama, literature and music. They must accomplish these objectives through enjoyable activities that address the whole child - the child's physical, cognitive, social and emotional development.New Ways in Teaching Young Children offers 14 chapters of language activities that involve children in social interaction; real-life situations; learning through the senses; learning through actions; learning through realia; literature, art, music, drama and storytelling; writing; content knowledge; and games. | |  | | One Child, Many Worlds: Early Learning in Multicultural Communities
Gregory, E. (Ed.) (1997). One child, many worlds: Early learning in multicultural communities. New York: Teachers College Press.
The authors look at the scope of out-of-school language and learning practices (the role of care givers, siblings, and community language classes) and go on to look at the ways in which the teacher can act as mediator of a new language and culture in school. | |  | | One Child, Two Languages: A Guide for Preschool Educators of Children Learning English as a Second Language
Tabors, P. (1997). One child, two languages: A guide for preschool educators of children learning English as a second language. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
Written expressly for teachers, this highly readable resource moves beyond the basics of child development to describe the natural progression of second-language acquisition in young children.Teachers will learn how to create a supportive classroom environment for second-language learners — with effective ways to measure progress, address individual differences, and work with parents — while acknowledging the importance of children's home languages and cultures. This idea-packed handbook combines research findings with firsthand observations of linguistically and culturally diverse children, making it an important addition to every early childhood educator's desk. | | Parents and Early Immersion: Reciprocity Between Home and Immersion Preschool
Hickey, T. (1999). Parents and early immersion: Reciprocity between home and immersion preschool. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2 (2), 94-113.
This study examines the importance of parental support for early immersion in the context of a study of Irish-medium pre-schools or naionrai. Data were collected from all of the major participants in this early immersion model, including parents, teachers, classroom assistants and inspectors, in addition to detailed tests of 225 three-year-old children. This allows an analysis, not only of the effect of the parents' support for the child's early learning in the naionra, but also of the impact of the child's target language learning on the language use in the home. Focusing here on the results from parents allowed the development of a profile of those choosing early immersion in Irish, based on socioeconomic and educational data. Parents' reasons for choosing this type of pre-schooling are examined, as well as their satisfaction with their child's experience. Multivariate analyses of children's test results show the significant influence of parents' ability in the target language on their children's language scores. Finally, parents' requirements are examined in order to target ways of increasing their active support for their children's language acquisition. Overall, these data indicate an urgent need to involve parents as partners in order to maximize the effectiveness of early immersion.
Transferencia Directa en Formato PDF > | | Practices for English-Language Learners: An Overview of Instructional Practices for English-Language Learners: Prominent Themes and Future Directions
Gersten, R. & Baker, S. (2001). Practices for English-Language Learners: An overview of instructional practices for English-language learners: Prominent themes and future directions. National Institute for Urban School Improvement.
This review of research considers how best to teach English-language learners. A realistic appraisal of the empirical database indicates that research findings have failed to provide answers to questions about the importance of native language instruction and the best age and best methods for introducing academic instruction in English. The review suggests that good bilingual programs anchor curriculum goals to vocabulary development, and develop teachers' awareness and provide them with resources to allow the use of visual aids in their instruction. Good bilingual programs also use small-group cooperative learning and peer tutoring to enhance learning. They develop the skills of bilingual teachers to use students' native language strategically to reinforce academic content learning, and they use ongoing research as a resource for staff development. The review concludes that it is beneficial to use students' native language, but it should be done in a strategic manner. There is virtually no research to support the position that proficiency in a student's native language is needed before full-time instruction in English can be provided. | | Responding to Cultural and Linguistic Differences in the Beliefs and Practices of Families with Young Children
Okagaki, L. & Diamond. K. E. (2000). Responding to cultural and linguistic differences in the beliefs and practices of families with young children. Young Children, 55 (3), 74-80. | |  | | Second-Language Acquisition in Childhood: Volume 1, Preschool Children
McLaughlin, B. (1984). Second-language acquisition in childhood: Volume 1, Preschool children (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.
This book is a comprehensive treatment of the literature on second language acquisition in childhood. There is increasing interest in this area and a number of collections of readings have appeared, dealing with various aspects of the topic. There is, however, no general overview of the field for the interested professional reader. The present book is intended to fill this gap.
Ver El Sitio Web > | | Sign with Your Baby: Opening the Doors to Communication
Tompkins, M. (2002). Sign with your baby: Opening the doors to communication. Infant Development Association of California News, 29 (1). | |  | | The Care and Education of Young Bilinguals: An Introduction to Professionals
Baker, C. (2000b). The care and education of young bilinguals: An introduction to professionals. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Comprehensive introduction for all professionals working with bilingual children. For speech therapists, doctors, psychologists, counselors, teachers, and special needs personnel. The book addresses among other issues: the nature of bilingual children, everyday language use of bilinguals, children as interpreters, code switching, dialects and bilingualism, home and school relationships, bilingual classrooms, language delay and language disorder. | |  | | The Inner World of the Immigrant Child
Ioga, C. (1995). The inner world of the immigrant child. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
This powerful book tells the story of one teacher's odyssey to understand the inner world of immigrant children, and to create a learning environment that is responsive to these students' feelings and their needs. Featuring the voices and artwork of many immigrant children, this text portrays the immigrant experience of uprooting, culture shock, and adjustment to a new world, and then describes cultural, academic, and psychological interventions that facilitate learning as immigrant students make the transition to a new language and culture. Particularly relevant for courses dealing with multicultural and bilingual education, foundations of education, and literacy curriculum and instruction, this text is essential reading for all teachers who will -- or currently do -- work in today's school environment. | | The Linguistic Landscape of California Schools
Tafoya, S. (2002). The linguistic landscape of California schools. California Counts: Population Trends and Profiles. San Francisco, CA: Public Policy Institute of California.
Explores the demographics of English learners (formerly known as limited-English-proficient or LEP students), who now account for nearly 25 percent of California's public school population. Examines trends over time and provides a current geographic portrait of the distribution of these students throughout the major regions of the state.
Transferencia Directa en Formato PDF > | | Theoretical and Practical Implications of Assessing Cognitive and Language Development in Bilingual Children with Qualitative Methods
Gonzales, V., Bauerle, P. & Felix-Holt, M. (1996). Theoretical and practical implications of asssessing cognitive and language development in bilingual children with qualitative methods. Bilingual Research Journal, 20 (1), 93-131.
This study has the objective of using qualitative data to support theoretical and practical implications of important methodological problems affecting the assessment of bilingual children's cognitive and language development. Three instruments were used for accurately identifying gifted students among seventeen Hispanic bilingual kindergartners (first, second, and third generation Mexican-Americans) from low socioeconomic backgrounds. (I) a Home Language Survey, (2) a locally-designed Teachers' and Parents' Rating Scale of Creativity, and (3) the Qualitative Use in English and Spanish of Tasks (QUEST) measuring cognitive and language development in bilinguals (Gonzalez, 1991, 1994, 1995). Using chi-square tests and case studies, six interacting patterns were found indicating the influence of first and second language, verbal and non-verbal assessment procedures, multiple measurements and informants, individualizing assessment, and evaluators' personalities on the assessment of bilingual children's cognitive and language development.
Transferencia Directa en Formato PDF > | | Transfer of Skills from Spanish toEnglish: A Study of Young Learners.
August, D., Calderon, M. & Carlo, M. (2002). Transfer of skills from Spanish toEnglish: A study of young learners. Report for practitioners, parents, and policy makers. Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students, ED-98-CO-0071.
The major research question that guided our study is "Does transfer exist? " That is, for children entering school in the early grades, do literacy skills that are acquired in Spanish actually transfer during the process of learning to read in English? Moreover, how is this demonstrated? Thus, the focus of our study is on understanding the manner in which enabling skills for reading are transferable across languages, in this case Spanish and English. The study examined how performance on indicators of Spanish reading at the end of second grade (April 1999) predicted English reading performance at the end of the third grade (April 2000).
Ver El Sitio Web > | | Two or More Languages in Early Childhood: Some General Points and Practical Recommendations
De Houwer, A. (1999). Two or more languages in early childhood: Some general points and practical recommendations. Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) Digests.
In an increasingly diversified and multilingual world, more and more young children find themselves in an environment where more than one language is used. Similarly, with job changes that involve moving to different parts of the world, parents can feel overwhelmed by the linguistic demands on them and their children. What can parents expect of their children? Do parents have anything to contribute to the process of early language development? Does it confuse children to learn two or more languages at once? Do children have to be especially intelligent to be able to cope with more than one language?
Ver El Sitio Web > | | Understanding Child Bilingual Acquisition Using Parent and Teacher Reports
Gutiérrez-Clellen, V. & Kreiter, J. (2003). Understanding child bilingual acquisitionusing parent and teacher reports. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24, 267-288.
There is limited research regarding what levels of proficiency in each language should characterize the language behavior of bilingual children and the impact of language exposure or language use variables on bilingual performance. This study was designed to examine the extent to which years of exposure to a language(s), amount of language input at home and at school, and amount of exposure to reading and other literacy activities in a language(s) relate to observed bilingual performance in young children, as obtained from parent and teacher reports. A secondary goal was to determine the extent to which parents or teachers could assist in determining language status by examining relationships between their ratings of the child's use and proficiency in the two languages and the child's grammatical performance. Fifty-seven children and their families were sampled from second grade classes of a large school district serving primarily low-income families in southern California. Multiple regression analyses for each language indicated that amount of Spanish input at home was a significant predictor of grammatical performance in that language. These input effects did not hold for English. Although there were some cross-linguistic differences, parent and teacher ratings of use and proficiency correlated with the child's grammatical performance in the target language. The findings suggest that parent and teacher estimates may be useful to determine bilingual status. | | What Teachers Need to Know About Language
Wong Fillmore, L. & Snow, C. (2000). What teachers need to know about language. Washington, D.C: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Lily Wong Fillmore and Catherine E. Snow argue that all teachers need a depth and breadth of expertise about language to support their students’ language and literacy development. In the first chapter of this book, they tell us what they think teachers need to know about language and why. They then outline the courses in educational linguistics that they think all teachers should take as part of their preservice or inservice education.
Transferencia Directa en Formato PDF > | | When Learning a Second Language Does Not Mean Losing the First: Bilingual Language Development in Low-Income, Spanish-Speaking Children, Attending Bilingual Preschool
Winsler, A., Díaz, R., Espinosa, L., & Rodriguez, J. (1999). When learning a second language does not mean losing the first: Bilingual language development in low-income, Spanish-speaking children, attending bilingual preschool. Child Development, 70 (2), 349-362.
This article discusses two investigations which explored the bilingual language development outcomes of comparable groups of low-income, Spanish-speaking, Mexican American children who either did or did not attended a bilingual (Spanish/English) preschool. Study 1 is a replication of a study by Rodriguez, Diaz, Duran, and Espinosa, involving a new sample of 26 children who attended bilingual preschool for one year and 20 control children who remained at home. Study 2 represents a 1-year, longitudinal follow-up of Rodriguez et al.'s, sample of children during and after the children spent another year at home or in the preschool. In both investigations, standardized, objective measures of three components of children's language proficiency (productive language, receptive language, and language complexity) in English and Spanish were obtained at the beginning and end of the academic year. Contrary to fears that have been expressed by some that early exposure to English would lead to children's native language loss, the results of both studies offered no evidence of Spanish proficiency loss for children attending bilingual preschool. Children who attended bilingual preschool, compared to those who remained at home, showed significant and parallel gains in Spanish language development as well as significant and greater increases in English language proficiency over time. Results are discussed in terms of the need for more systematic research to be conducted in this area to inform policy and practice in the early education and development of language-minority children. | |
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