The present work is a historical/linguistic account of an unprecedented fact regarding the existence of two English Speaking Communities [British English and American English], in our country the Dominican Republic, where Spanish is the official and most used language, to the extent of being considered a monolingual nation or country. It is…

Despite their permeation in standard French, language variations, such as "argot" and "verlan" are seldom included in the curriculum of French university language programs in the U.S. Variations are often perceived negatively, leading to stigmatization towards the social groups who use them (Bourdieu 1982; Devereaux and Palmer,…

In the context of an undergraduate program in modern languages that includes the learning of French, Italian, Portuguese, and German in addition to English, this paper problematizes anglonormativity; that is, the dominant discourses of English as the taken-for-granted language of development. From the particular context of Colombia, where the…

Montreal, the largest city in the province of Quebec, Canada, is where most newcomers settle down. Many will attend one of the 'francization' (French as a second language) courses offered by the provincial government. Learning French and its adoption as a common language are essential conditions to gain social inclusion through participation in…

Language policies in any country exist within socio-historical contexts--embedded in history and influenced by socio-political factors. In Canada, such factors were the impetus to the formation of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, which was grounded in an English/French partnership and recommended that Canada become an…

In a surprise announcement in December 1996 in a speech at the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs, the late Nigerian Head of State, General Sani Abacha said "Nigeria is resolutely launching a programme of national language training that will in a short order, permit our country to become thoroughly bilingual". General Abacha's…

Describes a pilot scheme for the Early Teaching of Modern Languages (ETML). Four points are discussed: (1) the aims and organization of the Pilot Scheme; (2) the limitations of the scheme and implications for ETML in general; (3) current developments in Britain; and (4) implications for the future of ETML. (PJM)

Examined the language and cultural attitudes of middle school students participating in a foreign language exploratory program. Some students participated in culture-related lessons that employed attitude-change theory. Results demonstrated that many students enter their first language class with misconceptions about language learning that may…

Describes peer tutoring in French in urban comprehensive school. Aim was to interest and motivate older pupils to obtain valuable oral practice, and through teaching another, to learn the work better themselves. Observations, achievement tests, and attitude measures suggest that this process may have a great deal to offer and teachers can run…

A follow-up study of a cross-cultural program bringing together French Canadians and native-English-speaking students of French found that fourth, fifth, and sixth grade Anglophone students gained in French language proficiency and in friendships with Francophone peers outside of school. (MSE)

This article examines the controversy over the alleged sexism of "French in Action" (1987, 1994) within the context of key differences between French and American feminist thought. Read within a French cultural context, this text can be more accurately perceived as a postmodernist, feminist critique of Hollywood's heterosexual romance…

The National Core French Study had the objectives of defining and developing four syllabuses and assessing their applicability in Core French classes in Canadian elementary and secondary schools. The general language education syllabus discussed here is intended to improve the psychological conditions for second language learning by adding to…

The study has two main components: a descriptive study of the secondary French program (SFSL) in a large school district in the Vancouver, British Columbia metropolitan area, and a followup study of grade nine students who had been surveyed initially when they were in grade six of the elementary French program (EFSL). The followup study examined…

Interviewed 24 students in 2 Ontario secondary schools about their decision to enrol or not to enroll in a French-as-a-Second-Language (FSL) program when it became optional for them at the end of ninth grade. Participants indicated that achieving a satisfactory level of communicative competence in French was important as a motivator to continue…

This article describes the context and conditions of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs in Quebec's French-language schools and reports on several studies of the intensive ESL classes used in some elementary schools. Research on these programs demonstrates their effectiveness in fostering English language skills and positive attitudes…