Deaf children of monolingual Hispanic families possess unique linguistic needs and are recognized as a "minority within a minority" because of their unique language situation, in which case, American Sign Language (ASL), is not available in their environment, and both Spanish and English are essentially spoken languages and not accessible to them. In order to develop a strong language foundation, deaf children need exposure to ASL. Moreover, their own parents, if non-signing, also need exposure to ASL to serve as a language model and to maintain reciprocal and effective communication. A formal signed language intervention program is critical for deaf children and their families of non-English-speaking backgrounds. In response to the linguistic and educational challenge posed by Hispanic deaf children, a complete approach has been developed and utilized in this case study. The ASL intervention project is especially designed to explore the feasibility and outcome of this study in meeting the unique linguistic needs of the Hispanic deaf child and the family.

The status of bilingual education in Texas has been examined in this paper in order to explore the nature of bilingual education and bilingual education programs, to ascertain whether the implementation of bilingual education programs has been successful in Texas, and to determine if there is sufficient justification for the continuation of such programs.

<p> The education of English Learners in the United States is an urgent matter that merits the attention and, more importantly, action from the educational and academic communities. A long history of oppression of non-English speaking peoples echoes in the consistently low academic achievement results of students identified as English Learners and economically disadvantaged. The benefits of dual immersion programs in closing the achievement gap and producing students with proficiency in English have been documented and supported through years of research and analyses. However, neither political leaders nor the research community have focused sufficient attention on Spanish language outcomes, in regard to language development and academic achievement. In a political context where new federal policy, Every Student Succeeds Act of 2016 (ESSA), and the California educational policy known as the LEARN initiative (Lara, 2016), allow for more local control of funds and programs for underserved student subgroups, including English Learners, it is more important than ever to explore and critically analyze programs that have the potential to meet these students&rsquo; academic and cultural needs. </p><p> The intent of this mixed-methods case study was to examine the Spanish language achievement, classroom use, and language attitudes of 4th and 5th grade students and their teachers in a dual immersion setting in a large urban school district in Southern California. Through classroom observations and participant interviews, qualitative data was analyzed to explore the implementation of dual immersion at three elementary school sites. Quantitative analysis of Spanish language assessment results in reading and mathematics from four dual immersion elementary sites allowed for the exploration and description of students&rsquo; Spanish language achievement within the district.</p><p> The findings from this case study included lower Spanish achievement outcomes for Spanish-speaking English Learners and economically disadvantaged students in comparison to English proficient and economically advantaged classmates. Classroom observations during Spanish instruction and participant interviews revealed significant differences in program implementation and support at each school site. Alarming achievement outcomes combined with qualitative findings highlight the need for more research on dual immersion programs that focus on Spanish language development and qualitative data collection and analysis. Study findings and recommendations highlight the need for specialized training for district and school leadership as well as school-wide faculty and staff where dual immersion programs are implemented.</p>

The literature sees community members of Mexican ancestry as persons who are denied full participation in matters of school policies and practices. It also cites that forty percent of children of Mexican ancestry who enter school drop out before they graduate from the twelfth grade. In view of these perceptions, this study was designed to examine what relationship existed among three factors: (1) the goals of a school district; (2) student academic achievement as indicated by GPA; and (3) the intra-group variability among Chicano, Mexican American and Mexican students. This study assumed that if students, parents and teachers prioritized goals congruently, students would do better in school than if there was not a congruity of ranking. However, data results revealed that the existence or nonexistence of goal-ranking congruence among students, parents and teachers made no practical significant difference in student GPA. The research sample included 267 middle school age students of Mexican ancestry, their parents and 74 teachers. The three groups of students, that is, Chicano, Mexican American and Mexican, each ranked communication, work skills, logical thinking, critical thinking skills, study of one's own heritage and other ethnic groups, and accomplishing one's own potential among the seven most important goals. It is recommended that school districts develop their goals with representative input from the total community and that goals with representative input from the total community and that goals be coherently and consistently publicized among professional and lay people in order that the purpose and consistency of school practices be underscored.

This paper reports on the relationship between the perceptions of the native listener of personality traits of nonnative speakers and the grammatical errors and phonetic errors of nonnative speakers' speech. Research to date shows that native listeners do have definite attitudes towards "accents," and their attitudes differ according to what accent is produced. However, no empirical study has yet been reported investigating the parts of the "accent" that elicit a particular response. / In this study, speech samples were collected from three nonnative speakers of English, one Spanish, one German and one Arabic. Each speaker recorded a speech sample of English that contained only grammatical errors and another which contained only phonetic errors. The respondents were 122 randomly chosen college freshmen. Each respondent heard eight speech samples, the six from the nonnative speakers and a control of each speech sample type. However, the respondent was led to believe that s/he was hearing eight different speakers. While the respondent was listening to a given speech sample, s/he was filling out a semantic differential questionnaire; attributes such as good looks, leadership, humor, and likability were measured. / Results show that, when listening to speech containing phonetic error, native listeners differentiate between American English and each of the other language background speech samples, perceiving the American English speaker more positively; but not among the language background speech samples. In speech containing grammatical error, native listeners do not differentiate between American English and either German or Spanish language backgrounds, but do differentiate between American English (more positively) and Arabic, as well as between German (more positively) and Arabic. It is concluded that, with respect to phonetic error, native listeners have strong perceptions of persons speaking with such errors. However, speech containing grammatical error does not elicit as strong a reaction from native listeners. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2492. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The purposes of the study were twofold: first, to analyze the structures and characteristics of pretend play, and second, to explain how the second language learner manages extended pretend play interaction with his native-English speaking friend over time. Two preschool children were videotaped biweekly for a ten-month period during sessions lasting approximately one and one half hours. One boy, a native speaker of Korean, was five years old at the beginning of the observation, and the other, a native-speaker of English, was four years and seven months old. For analysis, pretend play episodes were selected according to criteria established by Smilansky (1968) and were transcribed verbatim. / Based on Garvey and Berndt's framework (1977) of analysis of pretend play in first language learners, the data of the study were analyzed in terms of the following aspects: (1) macro-level components of play, (2) themes/internal structures of play, (3) individual performances, (4) topics of communication, (5) communicative strategies, and (6) functions of social language in play. With the extension of Halliday's functions of language (1975), the children's utterances were scrutinized in order to understand what types of functions were generated from the transcribed data. Several salient functions of their social language were identified. / The results of the study demonstrated that (1) the schematic structures of play served as a scaffold for the second language learner so that he could contribute to the unfolding of play and keep the play on track, and (2) what developed most significantly was the second language learner's increased ability to use specific language functions over time. The crucial developmental phenomena were observed in his more frequent use and great familiarity with the following functions: (a) retorts such as negation and challenge, (b) elaboration, and (c) regulatory utterances. In addition, the children's use of demonstration had the function of language teaching. Until the second language learner became able to utilize these functions with frequency and facility, he could not move towards the control of play and his playmate. / The results of the study underline the importance of imaginative play as a problem-solving context in child second language learning that allows second language learners to use the L2 productively in a sustained manner. The observation that the second language learner acquired and practiced various functions of language in such problem-solving contexts as imaginative play without adult intervention further suggests that encouraging young children to interact with peers in sustained pretend play contexts would be beneficial to their learning of communicative, social, and cognitive skills. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-09, Section: A, page: 3352. / Major Professor: Elizabeth Platt. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This study was designed to develop an in-depth understanding of the nature and quality of the international graduate student experience which would facilitate the exploration of theoretical implications of the dynamics involved in social and academic relationships and interactions. A secondary purpose was to assess whether administrative and student perceptions of the international graduate student experience at the Florida State University reflected National Association for Foreign Student Affairs principles for international education exchange. The target population for this research consisted of international graduate students who were near completion of their academic programs and middle-level adminstrators (unit directors and department chairpersons). Data was gather primarily through individual interviews with randomly selected students and a survey of administrators. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-07, Section: A, page: 1663. / Major Professor: Joseph Beckham. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

In 1970, after two decades of disappointing results from development assistance programs, USAID initiated a new policy, the education sector analysis policy. Its objective was to provide the kinds of information necessary for formulating education policy recommendations and assistance programs tailored to the cultural, political, social, and economic realities facing individual countries. / In this study, the origin and evolution of USAID's education sector analysis policies and practices were traced from their inception in 1970 until the present, 1989. Also, a comparative analysis was made of the recommendations from four sector assessments conducted the late 1980s. Overall, this study showed: that USAID did not successfully implement its sector analysis policy, that the analytical methodologies actually implemented obfuscated national differences, and that assessments generated almost identical sets of policy recommendations for the education sector regardless of the country. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-12, Section: A, page: 3873. / Major Professor: Sydney R. Grant. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

The purpose of this study was to describe the establishment of the multicultural requirement at Florida State University using the political model (Baldridge, 1971). The research questions focused on six aspects of the policy making process: (1) the nature of the interest in the establishment of a multicultural requirement, (2) type of conflicts, (3) the affect of interest groups or individuals on the policy making process, (4) the process used to translate articulated interests into policy, (5) resolution of conflicts and pressures, and (6) status of the multicultural requirement. / Qualitative research data were collected through interviews and documents. The researcher identified faculty members and others involved in the policy making process. The units of analysis for this study were: (a) the responses of faculty members; and, (b) documents and other information obtained from the case university. The data were triangulated to ensure the trustworthiness of the study. / Based on the findings from this study, institutions that decide to establish a multicultural requirement will face a long and complex political struggle. Each institution will face different challenges depending on the institutional social structure, involvement of groups and individuals who have a vested interest in policy decision, legislative processes, and policy formation and execution. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-04, Section: A, page: 1194. / Major Professor: Barbara Mann. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

No description available.