221
in which printed information was presented and previous cultural ex
periences in Cuba. In spite of the questionable validity of the
surveys, the data which emerged from both the student and parent
versions was similar in several important areas. This information was
corroborated by the interviews and participant observation. Of im
portance is the data indicating that males have more opportunities
to use their English skills after school than do females. Males re
port that they participate on English-speaking sports teams, help
their fathers in repairing the family motor vehicles, and assist the
family by serving as interpreters more frequently than females do.
Females report that they help mothers at home, visit Spanish-speaking
friends in their homes, and watch television more frequently than
males. Both males and females report that television is a valuable
means of learning English.
Students' self-ratings of English proficiency correlated signifi
cantly with oral and total rank in English. Students' self-ratings
in Spanish did not. Parents' self-ratings in Spanish correlated
significantly with students' rank on oral Spanish. This data raises
additional research questions. Have students learned to be more
evaluative or aware of their English proficiency than of their fluency
in Spanish? Did parents' proficiency in Spanish influence student
proficiency in Spanish which is influencing acquisition of English?
The relationship between parent and student language is a fruitful
area for additional research as conducted by Wells (1981).
The community where the research was conducted appeared to have
developed both negative and positive conditions for English language