Explores China's literary tradition to refute popularly held beliefs regarding Chinese literary genres and to illustrate how teachers of Chinese students can take advantage of such fundamental Chinese beliefs as: (1) the personal is political; (2) the written word carries power; and (3) the product outweighs the process. (92 references) (CB)

Describes the efforts of the Hangzhou Youth and Children's Center to develop children's skills and interests while educating them in socialist politics and morality. Concludes that recent economic reforms intended to expedite modernization have brought about an elitist educational system, subjugating egalitarian ideals. (KO)

Linkage between students, the Chinatown community in Boston (Massachusetts), and labor solidarity are examined. The focus is on students as supporters of Chinese immigrant workers displaced by the closing of a large garment factory. Aided by the students and the Chinese Progressive Association, the workers organized themselves and won their…

To test whether the critical language learning period applies to second languages, the English proficiency was studied of 46 Asians varying in age at which they moved to America. Results on a grammaticality judgment task support the hypothesis; early arrivals were significantly superior to later arrivals in English proficiency. (TJH)

Subcultural differences existing among various Chinese immigrant groups are described, through examination of such cultural characteristics as languages, religions, philosophy, and family life. Two case studies reveal the difficulties inherent in conducting educational evaluations of Chinese children with special needs. (JDD)

Surveys administered to 823 Chinese in Taiwan to measure the extent of language maintenance of mother dialects and shift toward use of Mandarin revealed a substantial shift toward the use of Mandarin. Successive family generations increasingly used Mandarin, and Mandarin was generally recognized as a common language for intergroup communication.…

Provides a lesson that examines cultural naming patterns in China as a means of drawing students into the study of that culture. Suggests that naming patterns are important in revealing similarities and differences in social and political attitudes and encourages students to develop new perspectives toward other cultures. (KO)

A study compared the effectiveness of high and low pressure methods of teaching Mandarin Chinese to American college students to determine whether students learn better in a lax, permissive, and interactive classroom, or in a classroom with a perceptible but positive tension emphasizing rapid response and memorized sequences. (Author/CB)

This paper explores ways in which the wholesale transfer of assumptions from first-language (L1) literacy can sometimes complicate the process of acquiring second-language (L2) literacy. Using methods of narrative inquiry, the article describes attempts to reach a better understanding of L2 literacy through an autobiographical study of Chinese…

Study results indicate the mean depression levels in a group of Chinese children was similar to those found for children in the West. Positively associated depression with aggressive-disruptive behavior and negatively associated it with social competence. School social and academic difficulties were concurrently and positively correlated with…

Reviews the findings of the 3 research articles in this issue, focusing on Lardiere's claim that only 2 of the 15 Spanish-speakers in her study treated regular and irregular plurals differently. It is argued that Lardiere arrived at this classification arbitrarily. (five references) (MDM)

Addresses problems posed by native speakers in Chinese courses and an Australian university's attempts to meet students' needs, including identifying and directing native speakers away from courses designed for nonnative speakers and a special purpose course for those native speakers who do not necessarily have a unified language experience. (CB)

Describes several theoretical models developed to measure the effectiveness of an electronic mail (e-mail) system for scholastic and professional communications. Results of a test of the models with the e-mail system of the Chinese-American Librarians Association's Midwest Chapter are discussed. (17 references) (LRW)

Examination of native Chinese Mandarin speakers' identification of monosyllables that included oral and nasal stops representing English/Mandarin contrasts and noncontrasts in syllable-initial/-final positions found that the presence of nasal as opposed to oral stop consonants in the syllables appeared to be the most significant factor affecting…

From the mid-1800s to the present, British administrators and Hong Kong educators have selectively used Chinese cultural education to foster in students a somewhat abstract Chinese identity and a sense of being on the periphery of both Chinese and Western worlds, attitudes that help to consolidate outside rule. (SV)