Gender and Ethnicity as Factors in the Development of Verbal Skills in Bilingual Mexican American Women

There is little question that opportunities for interaction between bilingual learners and target language (TL) speakers are important for further development of the speaker’s second language (Krashen, 1985; McLaughlin, 1985; Swain, 1985; Wong Fillmore, 1982). Researchers have also

concluded that the necessary interaction between bilinguals and TL speakers includes not only appropriate input but opportunities for output, as well (Swain, 1985; Wong Fillmore, 1982).