Determined language proficiency among multilingual Indo-Fijian primary school children who have the languages, Fiji-Hindi, Standard Hindi, Urdu, English, Fijian, and Fijian English in their speech repertoire. Identifies the variables that affect multilingual proficiency in this group and determines whether classroom practice reflects educational…

A study of mother tongue (MT) use in second-language classrooms was conducted in United Kingdom primary schools in two bilingual settings: North Wales (Welsh/English) and Lancashire (Mirpur Punjabi/English). Prewriting activities were carried out with comparable pairs of classes (MT or English, second language). Although attitudes in the MT groups…

Describes a Bruneian project to improve the English language learning of children in a bilingual education system. The article discusses implementation problems and surveys initiatives to encourage cooperation within the educational community for sustaining and improving change. Mee's response discusses issues related to the teacher, teaching…

Compares the position of ethnic minority languages versus Frisian in Dutch primary schools, and considers the roles of legislation, educational models, minority language usage, language attitudes, pressure groups, teacher quality, instructional materials, and the serious lack of basic research data on the acquisition, use, shift, and loss of…

Presents the results of the first impact evaluation of the Local Language Literacy Project in the Southern Sudan, conducted in late 1980. (EKN)

Discusses current research on six bilingual elementary schools in Friesland, focusing on students' command of Dutch and Frisian, and on school policies concerning Frisian as an instructional subject. The proportions of Frisian- and Dutch-speaking children in an area, the pedagogical and sociolinguistic climates, and the problems associated with…

Presents study of two groups of students in an early French immersion program in British Columbia. In comparison to peers in regular English program, immersion students performed at similar level in mathematics and attained equivalence in English language skills soon after English language arts were introduced into curriculum. (Author/BK)

Reports on a large-scale longitudinal study into the development of language proficiency of Dutch primary school children aged 7-10. Data on language proficiency and a range of background variables were analyzed. Results suggest that while immigrant children develop their language skill in Dutch considerably over 2 years, they are nonetheless…

In a Norwegian study of fifth grade linguistic minority (LM) children's comprehension of the language of instruction, it was found that some LM children still have serious comprehension problems in spite of being born and schooled in Norway. Teachers correctly expected the LM children to comprehend less than their Norwegian classmates. (33…

Reviews evidence related to the readability and comprehensibility of material in primary school science textbooks, which shows that texts are often too difficult for children, particularly in developing countries where pupils are learning through English as the medium of instruction. (69 references) (Author/CK)

Using the Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching (COLT) observation theme, this study compares the second-language-learning environments of elementary-level students of French in four submersion and four immersion classrooms in Montreal, Canada. Results indicate clear differences between the two environments. (Author/VWL)

Examined bilingual Australian elementary students' attitudes toward their first and second languages, noting attitudes they attributed to significant others in various contexts and investigating the impact of demographic and educational factors. Interviews indicated that children held significantly different attitudes toward first and second…

Gives an overview of the issue of English medium and Chinese medium schools in Hong Kong. The issues addressed are: (1) the two official languages in Hong Kong; (2) government policy; (3) selection of language of instruction; (4) problems in the use of English as medium of instruction; and (5) a suggested solution. (AMH)

Study of native language maintenance of 10- and 11-year-old children of Lebanese immigrants in Australia found that most could speak but not read or write Lebanese. Lebanese competence depended on subjects' parents' literacy level and interest in language quality, and actual use reflected children's opportunities or necessity to speak Lebanese.…

Focuses on the importance of developing the native language (L1), i.e., "Bahasa Melayu," as a firm foundation for the learning of a second language (L2) in Brunei and analyzes problems facing learners of "Bahasa Melayu" and English in Brunei classrooms. Saravanan's response focuses on the structure of the Brunesian bilingual…