In 1999-2000, over one-third of all students in the 30 Abbott districts spoke a native language other than English, and more than one-tenth were considered limited English proficient (LEP). The proportions of LEP students varied considerably across the districts, but they comprised between 5% and 29% of total enrollments in 18 of the districts.…

This book presents a holistic approach to multicultural educational issues by viewing them in terms of the student as a physical, psychosocial, cognitive, ethical, and spiritual being. Conversely, these levels of a student's being cannot be seen apart from the student's cultural identities. This unique book demonstrates that, in a pluralistic…

Framed within Coleman's theory of family capital, this article examines how different home variables such as family physical, human and social capital affect immigrant children's second-language acquisition in the homes of four Chinese immigrant families in Canada. Specifically, the study analyzes the relationships between family physical capital…

The promise of evidence-based policy is that social scientific research can lead to rational planning that will lead to improved outcomes and life chances for people across the whole spectrum of social provision. This article argues that evidence is politically mobilised to legitimise the reproduction of racial and social advantage and construct…

Some of the literature on the role of teaching culture in second language instruction is reviewed, with some emphasis on the work of Ortunio and the Kluckholn model of French culture. One instructor's use of French print and television advertising to teach French culture is described. Values such as intellectuality, traditionalism, and patriotism…

This paper suggests that language training should be founded on an initial student familiarization with the dimensions of intercultural communication. Using as exemplars problems encountered by Japanese familiar with English but unfamiliar with communication theory, the paper argues that while limited linguistic competency may make it difficult…

The controversy over the optimal age for learning a second language is discussed, examining, from the perspective of Piagetian theory: (1) the argument which suggests that children have an advantage in language learning; and (2) the arguments which states that adults have an advantage in language learning. The first part provides an overview of…

These six briefs summarize what researchers and practitioners have learned on several education-related subjects. They can be used by educators and community organizations in newsletters, handbooks, and school calendars. In "Foreign Languages in America? Gimme a Break!" a case is made for the importance of foreign language instruction for students…

The patterns of acquisition of the passe compose and imperfect tenses in French among 16 adult beginning and intermediate students were studied. Based on 15-minute speech samples in which both verb tenses were elicited by seeded questions and cues for descriptive and narrative monologues, the intermediate learners had greater success with the…

Sketches the preparations for and outcome of a brief trip made by twenty fourth form students, under the direction of eight university students, to a French town they had studied. The official reason was to make a comparative study of the cost of living, but cultural benefits were observed also. (MSE)

A discussion of the role of transfer of native-language knowledge to second language learning proposes that language transfer is as much a sociolinguistic process as a psycholinguistic one. The term "sociolinguistics" is used in a broad sense to incorporate all social factors that affect language, both the relatively static characteristics of an…

Instructional materials for use in the U.S. Foreign Service Institute's Russian language training program are based on the diary of a fictional foreign service officer stationed in Moscow. The materials, written in both English and Russian, are organized as chapters in the diary. A quiz accompanies each chapter and focuses on the influence of…

A study of the social and/or ethnic attitudes within the college French classroom had the objectives of: (1) determining possible social influences; (2) examining attitudinal reactions to bipolar adjectives describing Francophones; and (3) examining the attitudinal reactions to varying degrees of social distance. The 228 subjects were students in…

The author differentiates eight types of verbal communication: (1) Socioeconomic, (2) Domestic, (3) Professional, (4) Sociocultural, (5) Public, (6) Legal-Administrative, (7) Recreational, (8) Entertaining. (HK)

APPROXIMATELY 480 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TAKING JAPANESE AT FOUR LOS ANGELES CITY HIGH SCHOOLS WERE STUDIED TO DETERMINE HOW EXPOSURE TO JAPANESE OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM INFLUENCED THE STUDENTS' WORK IN CLASS. THIS REPORT IS BASED ON RESPONSES TO QUESTIONNAIRES FILLED OUT BY 303 OF THE STUDENTS ABOUT THEIR EXPOSURE TO JAPANESE AT HOME, THEIR…