Earlier, I proposed that language policy could usefully be analyzed as consisting of three independent but interconnected components, language practices, language beliefs or ideologies, and language management. It was also argued that failure to recognize that language policy can exist in other domains and at other levels than the nation-state,…

Introducing a pioneering series of studies of family language policy and management, this paper points out that classic language policy dealt almost entirely with the nation-state, although it did recognise the critical role of the family in determining natural intergenerational transmission of a variety. After arguing for the need to look at each…

Provides an overview of early work on the translation of sacred texts into various languages. Reviews the language use patterns and practices historically characteristic of different religious traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Quakerism. Describes linguistic effects of missionary activity in several…

The present report is an expanded version of an earlier paper by the authors. Summing up last year's language maintenance study, it goes on to place the Study in its general context as a contribution to Navajo literacy. Following the report is a complete listing of the publications of the Study to date, with ED numbers and other information…

Krashen's Monitor Model of second language learning is examined critically in light of other research, and a unified, more comprehensive theory combining theories of first and second language learning is called for. (MSE)

A model is proposed that maps into a single, multitiered and integrated structure all factors relevant to a bilingual education program: psychological, sociological, economic, political, religious, cultural, geographic, demographic, historical, and linguistic. (Author/SJL)

Considers the extent to which a testing task can be made authentic so that it constitutes an example of normal and natural language behavior on the part of both examiner and candidate. Also considers the effects on test validity and the correct interpretation of test results if a test cannot be made authentic. (SED)

The development of literacy in selected bilingual societies was investigated. Historical and comparative studies were conducted of medieval Jewish communities, the Navajo community, a northern New Mexico village, and the countries of Paraguay and Tonga. The goal of the case studies was to develop a model for the development of literacy in the…

The interaction between theoretical linguistics and language teaching has historically been problematic. This interaction is viewed here from the standpoint of educational linguistics, which is the intersection of linguistics and related language sciences with formal and informal education. The issue is the relevant educational problem that…

One of the central questions in the study of bilingualism is the degree to which it is possible for a group to maintain their language even when accepting other cultural values. There are numbers of cases of peoples who have managed to develop a modern industrial society without giving up their national language; this is difficult, but possible. A…

Two centers of diffusion of the English language are (1) schools on the Navajo Reservation and (2) off-Reservation towns; these diffusion centers were studied to examine factors involved in language shift, especially in terms of internal (on-Reservation) and external (off-Reservation) contacts with English. Teachers in schools with Navajo pupils…

The International Language Testing Association has some 250 members in 15 countries. Most are specialists in the testing of second language skills, with a special interest in performance assessment because of the testing of speaking and writing performance that is critical to second language skills assessment. The association believes that certain…

It is the task of educational linguistics to describe and analyze language education in all aspects. With respect to the Navajo Reading Study, it is within the realm of educational linguistics to develop and make available information that will permit the Navaho people, working through their own institutions, to make informed decisions about…

Israel is fertile ground for research in multilingualism. Revitalization of Hebrew resulted in a tendency for ideological and instrumentally-motivated monolingualism to replace earlier multilingual patterns, even in the context of pressure for language shift by Arabic, Russian, Yiddish, and other languages, and Hebrew's competition with English in…