The article discusses cultural variation in narrative genres, use, and learning. The ethnocentricity of many current approaches to the study of narratives is pointed out. Four universal types of narrative are identified (recounts, eventcasts, accounts, and stories). Teachers should not assume a common cultural background in children's access to…

This article draws on sociolinguistics and educational anthropology to discuss (1) the concept of communicative competence in general and in the classroom setting in particular; and (2) findings from studies of home-school cultural discontinuities. The ability to empathize and understand is seen to help teachers and clinicians bridge differences…

This cross-cultural perspective to language development addresses the historical background and methods of language socialization studies; variation in language socialization; and contributions of language socialization studies to theory, educational, and clinical practice. Stressed is the importance of educating (and remediating) children in a…

This article presents a framework for understanding cultural variations in beliefs, values, and communication styles and considers the role of culture in relation to children's response to formal education and literacy. Major dimensions of cultural variability discussed include individualism/collectivism and high-context/low-context. (Author/DB)

This article uses two case studies of eighth grade students (one attending an Amish school and the other in a residential school for adjudicated juveniles) to illustrate the power of ethnography to contextualize literacy experiences. Five ethnographic questions are suggested for literacy assessment. (DB)

Narratives of children from different Spanish-speaking backgrounds illustrate that children's atypical narrative performance may reflect individual or cultural differences. It is suggested that static assessments may not differentiate narrative differences from disorders. A dynamic assessment model to predict the child's true language learning…

This article examines the multiple factors necessary to attainment of transcultural competence for language specialists in educational settings. Issues discussed include structural linguistics, psycholinguistics, social psychological issues, and, most important, sociolinguistics. Cultural issues in the client-therapist-teacher relationship are…

Cross-cultural communicative competence requires more than learning the language; social cultural competence also is necessary. Challenges beyond semantics (word connotations), beyond phonology (significance of subtle pronunciation differences), beyond pragmatics (relating to cognitive style), and beyond translation (the cultural imperatives of…

After describing the principles of culturally compatible education, the characteristics of Native American and mainstream narrative discourse are compared, and teaching the structure, content, and style of mainstream narratives is advocated. A program designed to facilitate Native American elementary school children's abilities to comprehend and…