Characteristics; Womens Education IDENTIFIERS *Hispanic American Students

A study investigating the factors most important in creating and maintaining English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs for Hispanic women in prison is reported. The study was undertaken by an ESL teacher who was also an inmate in a maximum security women's correctional institution. Introductory sections describe the prison, inmate population, history of educational programs, and development of the ESL class. The study's methodology is then outlined. The researcher, a Hispanic woman, inmate; and ESL teacher, drew data from her own and assistant tutors ' journals concerning ESL instruction, interviews in Spanish with 9 students, and student portfolios. Analysis focused on the roles of self-esteem, motivation, educational history, peer influence, and attitudes toward learning in student success. Two major patterns emerged: (1) Hispanic women..-/ith greater motivation, higher self-esteem, longer native-language educationa