"A little-known fact is that Smoke Jumpers from Montana were recruited by the CIA to work in Laos. Some collaborated with General Vang Pao who would later move his family to Montana.

Among these was Jerrold B. Daniels from Missoula who, in the early 1960's, became the liaison officer between Vang Pao and the CIA. For twenty years he worked closely with the Hmong and became a trusted friend. When the communists took over Laos in 1975 and United States pulled out, thousands of Hmong fled across the Mekong river to Thailand where they lived in refugee camps.

Until his death in 1982, Jerry Daniels remained in Southeast Asia. As chief Ethnic Affairs Officer in charge of the Highlander and Lao refugees, he helped his Hmong friends both in the camps and in resettlement in the United States.

Jerry Daniels died at the age of 41 in his home in Bangkok on April 29, 1982. His body was shipped back to Montana where Hmong friends and colleagues gathered from all over the United States to pay final tribute to their beloved friend at a traditional Hmong funeral ceremony.

This eulogy was written by Moua Cha and Lue Yang at the time of Jerry Daniel's funeral and placed at the top of Jerry's picture with a floral wreath given by the Hmong Field Liaison Officers.

OVERVIEW

By discussing commonly held myths and misconceptions, this paper attempts to clarify a number of important issues in the area of second language learning. These include the ease and rapidity with which children learn a second language, the optimal age at which to begin second language instruction, the importance of the extent of exposure to the second language, the relationship between oral communication skills and academic language skills, and cultural and individual differences in language learning styles.

Each myth presented in this paper is followed by a discussion of related research on second language learning and its implications for classroom teachers. It is important for the teachers of language minority students to understand that second language learning by school-aged children is a longer, harder, more complex process than most of them have been led to believe.