rmany, where students would have almost any resource that would aid in their language acquisition. In public schools a classroom is fortunate to have one bilingual dictionary per student, which however would have to stay in the classroom, requiring all homework be in the native language. He adds that there is also the shifting population, heterogeneity of skill levels, and unsure proficiency of teachers. Lastly, Valencia cites a Wong-Fillmore study that found "some students tune out the teacher when their primary language is not being used" (123).
Valencia deals with techniques, technology, and curriculum first, and then addresses culture in ch. 6. Before that, however, much about the interplay of Hispanic culture is implied or can be inferred. For example, That students tune out a teacher may be connected to a cultural emphasis of one sex having more clout in speaking than the other. National pride, fostered by residence in barrios where the Hispanic family can shop, visit, play, and conduct business in their native language, can undo many of the efforts to teach a second language. It is easily perceived as unimportant, since existence is possible without it. It can also be perceived as traitorous, learning the language becoming a step in being co-opted by the "white" culture. Some Mexicans feel that if they accept American language, customs, and citizenship they are, by so doing, "stepping and spitting" on the Mexican flag. Recently in the election debacle over California proposition 187, Mexicans protested the aims of the proposition noisily while carrying Mexican flags. Their message that the proposition harmed innocent people who lived and worked in the U.S. was belied by the presence of another country's national symbol. Yet the protestors themse
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