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Thepurpose ofthis study was to determine the amount oflanguage shift and language maintenance of Vietnamese in a large urban center in California.To determine language use in the Community, 106 Vietnamese parents were surveyed. A definite language shift could be seen within the families. There were a substantial number of homes where both English and Vietnamese were spoken. Approximately one-fifth of the children spoke only English among themselves while one-third spoke both languages. Income and parents' education didnotplay a significant r öle in language shift. However, the longer afamily lived in the United States, the greater the shift toward English use. Most parents encouraged the maintenance of Vietnamese. The longer one had lived in the United States, the more the parents encouraged the children to retain Vietnamese.

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The cultural disparity between teachers and students has been a concern among educators for quite some time. While the student body grows more ethnically heterogeneous, non-Hispanic Whites, especially women, continue to dominate the teaching profession. Ethnicity, language, and socioeconomic status (SES) all play a critical role in the education of our students. Starting in 1994, California has required teachers who provide instruction for Englishlanguage development to have the Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development or Bilingual Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development certificate. The purpose of this study was to compare beginning teachers from these two certification programs regarding their cultural backgrounds and initial employment placements. More specifically, the study investigated the linguistic, ethnic, and SES makeup of schools where they found initial employment. Secondly, this study investigated whether the two programs differentially attracted candidates by gender, age, linguistic background, SES, and cultural backgrounds. Results indicate that teachers often teach students with characteristics and backgrounds similar to their own. Teachers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds taught more students from diverse backgrounds. Moreover, teachers who came from culturally, linguistically, and economically disadvantaged (low-SES) backgrounds appeared to be more attracted to a certificate program that allowed them to gain the skills and abilities to work with students from similar backgrounds. Downloaded by [Tulane University]

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