The Ecuadorian mestizo groups speak either Spanish or Quechua. Although Spanish is dominant, both are considered the national language of Ecuador. Further, "the inclusive term for national identity (Ecuatoriano) does not correspond to any of the terms designating the narrower ethnic identities" (Minaya-Rowe, 1980, p. 16). In the United States, the situation is quite different. The term "American" implies both national identity and "that ethnic category of citizens who are tokens of the identity, i.e., not members of any other of the many 'foreign' ethnic groups" (p. 15). English, the national language of the United States, is also considered the language identity of the socially-dominant population group.

Since English is the national language in the United States, the aim of education programs is to produce a nation of monolingual speakers. Although bilingual education programs exist in America, most perceive bilingualism as a transitional state. Teachers aim at taking monolingual students through a transition to bilingualism with the ultimate goal of creating a monolingual community. Therefore, bilingual education in the United States pr

Egginton, Everett and DeBevoise, Wynn. (1987). Ecuador. World Education Encyclopedia. Ed. George Thomas Kurian. New York: Facts on File.

The appropriate testing and placement of Spanish-speaking children such as Ecuadorian immigrants requires a comprehensive assessment system. This system must include teachers, administrators, counselors, and parents. The comprehensive assessment would be obtained from observational data, other data available, language dominance, educational assessment data, sensory-motor and/or psycholinguistic data, adaptive behavior data, medical and/or development data, personality assessment data (including self-report), and intellectual assessment data (Samuda, 1983, p. 182). In a comprehensive assessment, psychological assessment and special education should be the last options considered.

Bilingualism in Ecuador promotes an intercultural exchange between the Spanish language and the indigenous Quechua language. This placing of language in an intercultural context received widespread implementation by the Ecuadorian government in 1983. An article to the Ecuadorian Constitution was approved which provided that native languages would be the first languages of education in areas with predominantly indigenous populations. The article further provided that, in these indigenous areas, Spanish would be used as a second language or language of intercultural communication.