This paper discusses some major theories of social and educational change (e.g., evolutionary theory, structural functional theory, systems theory, group conflict theory, and cultural revival and social movement theory), and delineates the identification and interpretation of variables relevant to an understanding of bilingual education within the…

Articles are included on such issues as the following: heritage languages; the psychology of language; the Voice of America broadcasts; dual language programs; linguistic autobiography in the language classroom; pronunciation; electronic education; dialects; world languages; bilingual education; language travel; language structure; conceptual…

This collection of papers examines approaches to teaching near-native ability in foreign languages. The 13 papers focus on the following: (1) "Principles and Practices in Teaching Superior-Level Language Skills: Not Just More of the Same" (Betty Lou Leaver and Boris Shekhtman); (2) "Toward Academic Level Foreign Language Abilities:…

Dual language education is a programme that combines language minority and language majority students for instruction through two languages. This book provides the conceptual background for the programme and discusses major implementation issues. Research findings summarize language proficiency and achievement outcomes from 8000 students at 20…

A study addressed educational and psychological issues raised by the phenomenal growth of Irish-medium pre-schools ("naionrai"). Data were gathered in surveys of almost 2,000 parents, over 170 teachers and advisors, and 225 children in 25 Irish-medium pre-schools in both "Gaeltacht" (Irish-speaking districts) and…

In spite of political pressure, bilingualism is emerging as a strategy for improving the academic achievement of all students. Two-way bilingual or dual-language programs integrate language-minority and language-majority students for instruction in two languages. Site-based decision making has enabled schools in cities that border with Mexico to…

This collection of papers includes the following: (1) "Insights from Research and Practice in Spanish as a Heritage Language" (M. Cecilia Colombi and Ana Roca); (2) "Toward a Theory of Heritage Language Acquisition: Spanish in the United States" (Andrew Lynch); (3) "Profiles of SNS Students in the Twenty-First Century:…

This edited volume includes the following chapters: "Three Kinds of Sociolinguistics and SLA: A Psycholinguistic Perspective" (Dennis R. Preston); "Getting Serious about Language Play: Language Play, Interlanguage Variation, and Second Language Acquisition" (Elaine Tarone); "Oppositional Talk and the Acquisition of Modality in L2 English" (Tom…

A key to closing the achievement gap between students who come to school speaking a language other than English and native English speakers is adoption of two-way bilingual immersion (TWBI) programs. The bilingual immersion approach fosters excellent academic achievement and positive school attitudes in students of any ethnicity who participate.…

This article reports the results of a survey of third-grade teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs) in Arizona regarding school language and accountability policies--Proposition 203, which restricts bilingual education and mandates sheltered English Immersion; the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB); and Arizona LEARNS, the…

This edited volume contains 15 chapters. Part one, "Language Teaching, Language Learning, and Literacy," has three chapters: "The Monolingual Teaching and Bilingual Learning of English" (Henry G. Widdowson); "Literacy: The Extension of Languages Through Other Means" (Ellen Bialystok); "Bilingual Processing…

This collection of essays on early French second language instruction includes: "Why Bilingualism?" (Steven MacKinnon); "French Second-Language Programs: Alternative Approaches" (Henry P. Edwards); "Core French: A Brighter Future" (Janet Poyen, Judy Gibson); "The Parents' Role" (Deborah Whale); "Franco…

A 3-year, three-part study investigated the learning strategies (LS) of children in grades 1-4 learning a foreign language (French, Spanish, Japanese) in an immersion setting and assisted immersion teachers in using LS for instruction. A sample of 72 high-rated and low-rated students were followed for 2 to 3 years. Professional development…

A discussion of English-as-a-Second-Language teaching techniques and approaches for young children focuses on principles found to contribute to successful program development. First, characteristics of successful language immersion programs are outlined: parental involvement and support; students who are members of a majority group; positive…

The Threshold Project examined the nature of the language and learning difficulties that black Standard Three (Std 3, or grade 5) children in South Africa experience when they change from their mother tongue to English as a medium of instruction and learning, a policy known as "delayed immersion." This report focuses on the first major…