In Romania most Hungarian-speaking children study in their mother tongue, in Hungarian-language classes. Some of these are organised in 'mixed schools', where parallel Hungarian and Romanian classes coexist in the same institution. Although these institutions seem a good solution for inter-ethnic coexistence, no systematic research has been…

Traditionally, languages have been separated from each other in the school curriculum and there has been little consideration for resources that learners possess as emergent multilinguals. This policy is aimed at the protection of minority languages and has sought to avoid cross-linguistic influence and codeswitching. However, these ideas have…

This article offers a critical appraisal of "educación intercultural bilingüe," an educational model with at least five decades of implementation. When this term was coined, Indigenous populations were mostly monolingual and their settlements mostly rural and distant from the seats of cultural hegemony and power. The situation is now…

This paper tackles the important question of practitioner engagement and is the first to present an overview of relevant Gaelic medium education (GME) research. Following the formal inception in 1985, GME is now more widely available across Scotland. An overview of GME is presented and situates provision within the other Celtic minority languages…

Support for the use of local languages for learning and communication is currently in fashion among national policy-makers in Africa. This position has been promoted by UNESCO and other local-language advocates for years; more recently it is being seen favourably by a range of influential international institutions. However, even positive language…

Discusses the factors affecting the relationship between a program of publishing in Gaelic and the readership the program serves. These factors include the push for bilingual education at the primary school level, the emphasis on local and folk culture, and the economics of publishing for a comparatively small readership. (SED)

Illustrates some of the difficulties inherent in bilingual education, including inadequate appraisal of matters such as ethnicity, cultural pluralism, and language maintenance and shift. The paper suggests that bilingual education and its implications must be considered in the broadest possible sociocultural perspectives. (Author/PJM)

Discusses the role of the school in supporting minority group identity, particularly through language maintenance programs. While language shift may not be countered by schools acting in isolation, identity can be maintained through periods of language shift. (Author/CB)

As diglossia is the societal counterpart of individual bilingualism, diethnia is the stable, societal counterpart to individual biculturalism. Diethnia requires societal compartmentalization as well as institutionally protected functional specificity. Maintenance of this division is difficult, given modern, interactive, mobile, and individualistic…

Describes five types of schools presently functioning in Catalonia, a Spanish state with its own language existing alongside Spanish. The typology accords with the role of Catalan and Spanish in instruction and in student activities. The expected evolution of this situation is discussed along with a description of the Catalan-education project.…

Compares two different types of bilingual education programs--the Canadian immersion programs, designed primarily for foreign language enrichment, and the European School bilingual education program, designed primarily for language maintenance. Achievement scores for both approaches were comparable, pointing to the importance of environment and…

Discusses some current developments in mother tongue teaching in Great Britain and the United States. British approaches to bilingual education, curricular materials, and teaching methods are highlighted in the description of the Mother Tongue Project and are compared with American projects and studies. Considers the controversy surrounding mother…

Discusses the status of bilingual education in Slovene and German in Southern Austria and describes in detail the curriculum allocation of languages to subjects. The study analyzes the objectives of bilingual education and the sociocultural factors which will determine the future of bilingual schools. (Author/SED)

The National Council for Mother Tongue Teaching presents its response to the Swann Report, with particular reference to the report's discussion of the role of ethnic minority languages in Great Britain. The Council concludes that the thinking of the Swann Report is far behind that of current research and educational trends. (SED)

Discusses the role played by German schools in Denmark in the maintenance of the minority's identity and describes those constraints and tensions which are due to the symbolic value of German. The interrelationship of pedagogical problems and potential solutions with the perceptions fundamental to the minority group's identity are highlighted.…