What Language Discourse Tells us about Bilingual Adolescents: A Study of Students in Gifted Programs and Students in General Education Programs

Abstract

The Latino/a population of the United States continues to increase dramatically; consequently, educators face the challenge of how best to provide educational services for those whose primary language is Spanish. The purpose of this study was to examine student discourse between bilingual students in gifted programs and bilingual students in the general education programs in an urban middle school. This study suggests a minor language advantage for the bilingual students in the gifted program. The overall conclusion seems to indicate that bilingualism, language abilities, and giftedness involve many variables and that the relationships are not necessarily direct.