ABSTRACT
A myriad of social factors affects children in general. For bilingual students these interact with language, ethnicity, and culture. Girls are constrained by gender and cultural views. Social factors influence the opportunities students have and the way students are perceived. Students are at the mercy of socially constructed attitudes toward some of their characteristics, whether gender, ethnicity, rage, language, dialect, or level of language proficiency. Social circumstances differ for different ethnic groups, explaining differential attitudes toward bilingual students. Most social factors are closely connected with others. Status of languages often drives attitudes toward the language and its speakers. Economic level influences expectations of students. Governmental support of particular ethnic groups colors societal attitudes toward those groups.
