Integrating twenty-first century competencies into the curriculum has become an important issue for education reform worldwide. This study examines and compares twenty-first century competencies demonstrated in mother tongue curriculum standards in China, the United States and Finland. It identifies key similarities and significant differences…

Due to globalisation and migration, multilingualism has become both a reality and an aim of education systems across Europe, affecting how language education is shaped. To improve the ways in which schools cater for language education in diverse settings, research is required on the potentials of multilingualism in order to design curricula that…

Until recently Chinese language learning in Australian primary and junior secondary schools has been characterised by programs primarily designed for second language learners who have had no prior knowledge of or exposure to Chinese language. Participation in such programs by Australian-born children who speak Putonghua (Mandarin) or another…

This study aims to elaborate a framework for both the foundation and application of professional standards for mother-tongue teachers. The main issue with which this study is concerned constitutes the lack of a set of clear standards for the initial training of mother-tongue teachers. In terms of theory, that which has currently been analyzed in…

While heritage language learners are becoming visible in the research literature as a distinct group of language learners with specific needs, existing curriculum structures in secondary schools often focus on programs either for foreign language learners or for first language learners. The study reported here examines the experiences of heritage…

This paper reports on a new pedagogy for Chinese language teaching and learning at elementary schools through exploratory classroom instruction using Information and Communication Technologies. The study used quantitative method to collect data from two elementary schools of China. The results showed that: (1) the three-in-one pedagogy of…

This report describes a study (part of the IEA Written Composition Study) which used a questionnaire to collect curricular information from 16 countries about mother tongue teaching in general and teaching writing in particular. The report describes some basic dimensions of mother tongue curricula and writing composition curricula as well as how…

Native education's linguistic and cultural content is effective only using traditional cultural values concerning ways of using language, interacting, and knowing. Brokerage between native and school learning processes emerges in the new role of native educator. Language and cultural inclusion lead to a broad cultural base in native Canadian…

The curriculum for Manitoba's heritage language instruction program in Polish outlines the curriculum's rationale and design and suggests techniques and materials for carrying out instruction. Introductory sections discuss general program goals and specific objectives of the program. Subsequent sections outline in greater detail the curricula for…

The materials in this document discuss the Alberta (Canada) public school curriculum for French native language instruction for 5-year olds in preschool, intended for implementation in September 2000. The first part outlines the rationale and organization of the curriculum model and its five guiding principles. The second part describes the seven…

Teacher education is essential to the centralization of Canadian Heritage and Native language instruction within the mainstream classroom. English as a second language teachers have a crucial role in helping mother tongue, Heritage, and other foreign language teachers prepare to work jointly in administering their programs. (CB)

The curriculum for Manitoba's heritage language instruction program in Filipino outlines the curriculum's rationale and design and suggests techniques and materials for carrying out instruction. Introductory sections discuss general program goals, general and specific objectives for each language skill area (listening, speaking, reading, writing,…

This curriculum for Manitoba's heritage language instruction program in Portuguese outlines the curriculum's rationale and design and suggests techniques and materials for carrying out instruction. Introductory sections discuss suggested time allotments, oral and written evaluation methods for grades 1-6 and 7-12, general program goals, and…

This curriculum for Manitoba's bilingual heritage language instruction program in Ukrainian outlines the objectives, content, and design of instruction of the bilingual program, open to all children regardless of language background. Introductory sections describe the program's rationale, goals, and objectives, and provide notes on program…

A conceptual and practical structure for designing a local native language and culture curriculum for preschool through grade 9 is presented. The first section outlines the program's philosophy, rationale, and general and specific learner expectations, and offers an overview of the suggested linguistic and cultural content of such a program. The…