Arguments for students' use of their first language as well as English in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom are reexamined. Pedagogical and political aspects of ESL instruction are noted. (LB)

Discusses the results of a study designed to investigate the effects of five different program models on both acquisition and maintenance of Spanish by native Spanish-speaking kindergarten children. (Author/CFM)

Reviews language planning theory and discusses language planning in South Africa, both historically and in a postapartheid context. A politically minimal approach is suggested for the postapartheid state, where individuals would receive instruction in English, while being encouraged or allowed to maintain their native languages. (21 references)…

A story is told of how inner-city youth organizations use dramas that young people write, cast, and direct to enable them to retain their first language or dialect while gaining standard English and preparing for job entry. The story ends with implications for the language classroom. (seven references) (Author/LB)

The relationship between U.S. national policies on literacy, available literacy programs, and individual lives is examined. A discussion of the pressures to become literate in English is followed by an analysis of language use in immigrant families and the effect of native language loss. Recommendations regarding the plurality of literacies are…

Discusses the sociolinguistics of literacy with reference to three examples: the history of Jewish education and attitudes toward literacy, the Rock Point Community School bilingual program, and the Pacific Northwest Indian Reading Program. (EKN)

Historical, political, and sociolinguistic aspects of the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) in Puerto Rico are examined. It is suggested that the apparent failure of ESL instruction is in reality a motivated failure: a society's successful resolution of a conflict between government planning for bilingualism and social pressure for…

Investigated the cultural identity of the second generation of a group of recent Hmong immigrants to the United States to determine the relationships among acculturation, ethnic identity, second-language acquisition, native language maintenance, self-esteem, and academic success. (JL)

This debate presents two viewpoints on mother tongue maintenance: (1) that all individuals have a fundamental right to education in their native tongue, and that multilingual societies should actively promote multilingualism for all individuals; and (2) that the multitude of languages and rapid economic development in many countries calls for…