This Is 1987,Not 1980: A Comment on a Comment

Abstract

A comparison of Baker and de Kanter (1981 , 1983) and Willig (1985) on three points relevant to current policy debates in bilingual education shows that issues driving the original report are moot in 1987 and that Willig provides more useful information, adheres more closely to accepted terminology, and restricts itself to a more relevant body of literature than does Baker and de Kanter. Baker’s “Comment” (1987) that Willig failed to replicate the original study misses the point; Willig represents a conceptual and methodological advance over that study. Moreover, in the years since Baker and de Kanter was issued, a new body of more technically sound research has been produced that is more relevant to current debates.