Since 1975, the United States has experienced the largest wave of immigration since the beginning of the century. This demographic fact holds important implications for education in the 1990s. First, because the birthrate among recent immigrants is relatively high, an increasing number of first generation Americans will enter the school system. As…

This study concerns the influence of native language instruction in grades one through six on bilingual Hispanics' high school achievement. A nationally representative sample of 58,000 high school sophomores and seniors (the High School and Beyond data set) was used as the data source. Path analytic techniques were used to determine the magnitude…

The fact that early immersion in a second language has led to bilingualism and academic success among majority language children has been used as an argument against mother tongue instruction for minority language children. However, for minority language children, immersion in a second language has often led to language loss and academic failure.…

A study of language maintenance and language shift among Asian Indian speakers of Kannada in the New York metropolitan area within the first generation of settlement in the United States examines this issue from a sociolinguistic perspective. The variables examined include the following: (1) proficiency in and respect for the mainstream language…

Over the last four generations, the language patterns in Maine's bilingual Franco-American communities have undergone a shift characterized by a widespread adoption of English and a decline of the ethnic language. The younger generations generally are unable or unwilling to use the French language and they express negative attitudes towards that…

This paper provides a summary of the proceedings of a public lecture and a seminar conducted by William F. Mackey, on "Options for Language Promotion by Means of the Education System" and "Implications of Bilingualism," including the question and answer sessions. Part one, summarizing the lecture, discusses the role of the…

The aim of this study is threefold: (1) to explore differential/nondifferential code allocations for Spanish and English according to different domains of social interaction among Mexican-American college students; (2) to determine what linguistic and demographic variables are associated with differential usage patterns; (3) to relate the findings…

The National University of Ireland has rejected a move to drop the Irish language requirement. This is in line with government policy, since 1913, to promote Gaelic as the main language, particularly through education. But surveys show a decline in the use of Irish in the schools. (SJL)

Reports on recent work in the areas of bilingual-bicultural education, multicultural education, retention of language and culture, and ethnic studies, noting how Canadian and United States educators integrate second language learning within those more general educational programs. (RL)

Because Yugoslavia is a multinational, culturally pluralistic, and multilingual society, one of its educational aims is to develop the motivation for the equal use of its languages, so that the languages of national minorities/nationalities become appropriate instruments for communication in public and social life and are not restricted to usage…

The history of public policy concerning Cajun French instruction in Louisiana is reviewed, and the prospects for regeneration of the language in the state's schools are examined. (MSE)

Research in the area of language skill attrition encompasses such areas as first-language loss, second-language loss, dying languages, and effects of age or disease on language loss. Research has so far focused on maintenance of language skills and interventions to stop language skill attrition. (CB)

Discusses the school's contribution to the transmission of cultural heritage, focusing on curriculum content rather than on language issues. The kind of conceptual framework within which overt and hidden curriculum analysis might be carried out is suggested. (SED)

As a world community, Indigenous peoples are faced with many common challenges in their attempts to maintain the vitality of their respective languages and to honor the "natural order of the Creator." Ten strategies are discussed that are critical to the task of renewing and maintaining Indigenous languages. These strategies are: (1)…

Two Native people describe their respective journeys to healing, journeys that involved the rediscovery of language and culture. In Part I, "Healing the Tears of Yesterday by the Drum Today: The Oneida Language Is a Healing Medicine" (Grafton Antone), the first narrator taught the Oneida language to adult students at a community center.…