Testimony concerning Senate Bill 1595 includes statements submitted by Senator Daniel Inouye, from the Select Committee on Indian Affairs, and S. Timothy Wapato, Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans, Department of Health and Human Services. The bill in question aims to preserve and enhance the ability of Alaska Natives to speak and…

This report presents the findings of a study which assessed the validity of statements made by officials of the Department of Education supporting their policy position that a requirement of native-language teaching be dropped from the current Bilingual Education Act. In response to the officials' claim that research in this area is inconclusive,…

Past U.S. policies toward Indian and other Native American languages have attempted to suppress the use of the languages in government-operated Indian schools for assimilating Indian children. About 155 Native languages are spoken today in the United States, but only 20 are spoken by people of all ages. The Native American Languages Act of 1990…

This document was developed for use with American Indian students receiving tribal language instruction. The material is based on the content and format of the 1996 "Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Preparing for the 21st Century." The U.S. national standards recognize that language and culture go hand in hand and are organized around five…

This Senate hearing received testimony expressing the concern that Alaska Native languages are dying, and suggesting ways to stimulate and improve Native language instruction in schools and community settings. The director of the Alaska Native Language Center (University of Alaska, Fairbanks) provided information about the history of suppression…

Testimony offered to the United States Department of Education focuses on the need to legitimize the value of adult biliteracy, particularly among the Hispanic population. Using the demography of Lawrence, Massachusetts as an example, it is suggested that English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction alone will not lower the language barrier…

This collection of papers addresses improvement of programs for the growing numbers of limited English proficient children in America. Included are: (1) "Improving Conditions for Success in Bilingual Education Programs," (2) "The Role of English as a Second Language in Bilingual Education," (3) "The Role of Research in…

A Senate committee hearing received testimony on the educational needs of Native Hawaiian families and young children and on existing programs that serve them. Oral and written statements were presented by Senators, parents, teachers, school and program administrators, and organizations concerned with Native education and culture. These statements…

A Senate committee received testimony supporting reauthorization of the Native Hawaiian Education Act as part of reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). In the previous week, the House of Representatives had narrowly defeated an effort to delete the Native Hawaiian Education Act from ESEA reauthorization. The Native…

In June 1992, a Senate hearing received testimony on the need for federal aid for maintenance of Native American languages. Such aid would fund community language facilities and programs, training of Native speakers as teachers, development of instructional materials, and compilation of oral materials. A speaker from the Administration for Native…

Alaska Native educators have developed standards that schools and communities can use to examine the extent to which they are attending to the educational and cultural well-being of their students. These "cultural standards" are intended to complement Alaska state content and performance standards. Standards have been developed for five…

The bilingual education policies established by the Michigan State Board of Education as a result of four state and federal policy actions are summarized, and seven guidelines for action are presented. The seven guidelines for action include the following: (1) students receiving bilingual instruction should be encouraged and given assistance to…

The report, entirely in French, describes Alberta's curriculum for first-year French native language instruction. An introductory section offers background information on the curriculum's design, links between the core curriculum and French native language instruction, underlying principles of language instruction, the curriculum's objectives and…

The report, entirely in French, describes Alberta's curriculum for second-year French native language instruction. An introductory section offers background information on the curriculum's design, links between the core curriculum and French native language instruction, underlying principles of language instruction, the curriculum's objectives and…

The report, entirely in French, describes Alberta's curriculum for third-year French native language instruction. An introductory section offers background information on the curriculum's design, links between the core curriculum and French native language instruction, underlying principles of language instruction, the curriculum's objectives and…