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alternatives. Most students and the parents believed that Cuban
schools were good. They were pleased with the bilingual and ESL
programs at the school. They believed the schools in the U.S. were
good, but felt isolated and unfamiliar with the total school system.
Differentiation of sexual roles was visible in the responses.
Males appeared to interact more frequently with the English-speaking
community. Parents depended more on the boys to interpret and act
as their agents. Boys participated in team and individual athletic
activities outside the home more frequently than did girls. Females
tended to stay at home or visit in the homes of friends but not venture
into the English-speaking community as much as the males. Girls
performed household activities that confined their interaction to the
Hispanic community.
The following section looks at the community and the school
environment as an influence in English acquisition.
A View of the Community System
This section will review changes which have occurred in the environ
ment around the school which have affected the social structure and
culture of the area.
Process through time
In 1970, the population of the county where this study was con
ducted was 348,993 persons; by 1980, it was 573,125, a change of 64.2%
(U.S. Census Bureau 1980, Advanced Count, 1982). The Cubans and Haitians
who arrived during 1980 were not reflected in the count. Also under
represented in this census were about 10,000 Mexicans and other Latins