245
female students scored at essentially the same level of proficiency
in Spanish, they were achieving at different rates in English. While
these rates were not significantly different at the time of the re
search, it is predicted that in a continuing trend the males would be
achieving at a significantly higher rate in English than the females.
A question which requires further research is the relationship of
BICS to CALP in second language acquisition. Not revealed in the
statistics analyzed in Hypothesis One is the fact that acquisition of
BICS may be relevant to CALP mastery (Fillmore, 1982). The importance 
of this research will be discussed in greater detail in the review of
Hypotheses Two and Three.
The purpose of this research is to provide information which will
be helpful to educators, administrators, and others who must determine
educational policy for students whose first language is not English.
At question here is whether students' ability in one language can help
them learn a second language. Vietnamese students who knew French and
were taught English by utilizing the vocabulary and linguistic structures
common to both English and French, learned English more rapidly than
Vietnamese who did not know French and were taught using standard
English as a Second Language methods (Chamot, 1982). Lexical transfer
across languages within the Indo-European language family is one ex
planation for this relationship. However, common underlying proficiency
is more than knowledge of vocabulary. At whatever level of linguistic
proficiency, the ability to organize and manipulate words, i.e. to
comprehend meaning in one language, can be transferred to another
language. Krashen (1978) believes that inserting second language