The French-speaking population of Quebec constitutes a small, isolated island in the midst of an English-speaking world. The cultural survival of its six to seven million inhabitants depends upon the quality of its educational system. In the last few years, however, the balance of this system has been upset by a number of factors and the…

Any activity that brings together people from different cultures leads to the emergence of cultural differences and similarities. The 35 lesson plans contained in this document suggest activities that highlight the differences. However, without being surrounded by various activities showing essential similarities, these activities would have the…

During the 2.5 years the project was in operation, the International Center for Culture and Environment (Santa Fe, New Mexico) provided courses concerned with aspects of intercultural communication related to environmental design and planning to students and practitioners from 15 U.S. states and 15 foreign countries. Courses were provided in three…

This five-part report describes George Brown College's Multicultural Demonstration Project (MDP), which was developed to: (1) increase awareness of issues of multicultural change among senior managers at the college; (2) assist two departments to implement aspects of the college's Race and Ethnic Relations Policy and the recommendations of the…

A contrastive study of Japanese and American English sought to explore how speakers agree and disagree in the two languages. Japanese-speaking college students and American English-speaking teachers of English as a foreign language were informally questioned about food preferences, with their comments surreptitiously recorded for analysis. Results…

This case report describes a rural Alaska high school teacher's efforts to motivate nine Yup'ik Indian seniors to plan for their futures after high school. The case was written as a training tool to help teaching students to: (1) spot issues and frame problems in complex teaching situations; (2) interpret a situation from different perspectives;…

This casebook was developed collaboratively by a researcher from Far West Laboratory, a staff developer/researcher from the San Francisco Unified School District, and 11 veteran teachers who teach in large metropolitan settings. It contains 14 narrative cases written by teachers about problems that all teachers face who teach ethnically and…

Part of an international series of amply illustrated, colorful, small size books designed for children ages 5 to 10, this volume talks about Japanese culture, modern life style, geography, music, arts, sports, and traditions. There is a brief description of how Japanese children learn to read and write. Japanese hot baths, school books, the…

Differences between American and Japanese society and culture that contribute to differences in the use of body language are examined. These include historical and social factors. Examples of the differences and of the misunderstandings that can result are analyzed and illustrated, using a system of classifying kinesic codes into categories…

This bulletin of student worksheets complements teacher strategies for Theme III entitled, "Changes in Thought and Action Led to the Emergence of the Modern World." The worksheets contain materials corresponding to specific strategies, and the questions which accompany each worksheet are included on the appropriate strategy page. Included are…

A pilot study attempted to document the existence and incidence of learning disabilities (LD) among primary school children in Botswana. The study also sought to identify effective identification procedures and to determine if LD students are unique to technologically-oriented societies. Data were collected on 620 children from 4 schools (2…

To gather evidence on black-white differences in media-use habits, a study compared mass media and news exposure among university students in sub-Sahara Africa and in the United States. Two versions of a self-administered questionnaire were developed, one for each sample group. One part of the questionnaire--common to both groups--sought to…

The ERIC digest examines the paradox posed to social studies educators by the new wave of immigrants and increasing ethnic diversity: namely, how do educators depict accurately and fairly the rich ethnic diversity of the United States and also teach core values of a common American heritage? With the underlying theme being the promotion of both…

Two articles address teaching English in the Peoples Republic of China. In "Why Bother About Culture in English Language Teaching?," Hu Wenzhong attempts to determine opinions about the importance of awareness of cultural traits through a study of 36 English-speaking teachers at Chinese institutions and 64 Chinese students who had…

The performance of students of different ethnic backgrounds as they progressed through school was investigated. The school was a traditional one that focused on academics and in which all students followed the same program of study. The study analyses similarities and differences in grade point average and scores on standardized tests for…