Discusses the policies governing the teaching of Chinese to foreign students in Peking and the methods used. (KM)

The "working poor" community of Boston has secured for itself a bilingual community health center. This article describes the background of and services provided by the center. Any national health insurance program must include provisions to ensure the continuing existence of primary care facilities that serve the poor and minorities.…

Describes infant and child day care in China as well as touching upon the general system of education and its close relationship with the world of work. The special emphases of child rearing in China are discussed. (MS)

Tagmemic theory, with its insistence on the necessity of three perspectives--particle, wave, and field--can be used to provide a more accurate statement of a contrastive analysis of phonemes in two languages. Examples illustrate how teachers can use these three perspectives in their work. (CB)

Chinese engineering students (n=29) scored significantly higher than Chinese English-as-a-second-language students (n=29) on an engineering-English reading test, although 62 percent of the variation in scores was accounted for by general English language proficiency rather than by components specific to engineering English. (Author/CB)

Identifies the miscues adult Chinese learners of English typically make in their reading, the positive and negative impact of first language influence on their foreign language reading, and the role language development plays in reading comprehension. (RS)

A review of the origin of surnames in China covers such areas as number of surnames, selection of surnames, and surnames in national minorities. (CB)

Discusses language use as a variable in studies of second-language learning, considering a study of 300 secondary school students learning Chinese that showed that integrative and instrumental motivation to be independent and that language use explains one-fifth of total variance in language achievement. (Author/CB)

Interest in the Far East has fueled dramatic increases in the past three years in the number of students taking classes in Japanese and Chinese. Many are studying these languages in conjunction with courses on business or economics in the hope that proficiency in the language will lead to lucrative jobs in international business. (MLW)

Examines the general standards of education in the municipality of Shanghai and finds the area of junior middle school to be the weak link in the system. Summarizes the problem of junior high/middle school education as the "three nots": (1) education that is not balanced; (2) not stable; and (3) not sufficiently comprehensive. (BSR)

The articles and papers included here all relate to the issue of Chinese characters and the continuing debate over whether it is difficult or easy to learn and to use them. (RM)

Describes a study done to test the hypothesis that factors that shape children's production of their native language (L1) will also influence adults' pronunciation of sounds in a foreign language (L2). Results confirmed the hypothesis that developmental processes are "reactivated" when adults attempt to produce L2 sounds not found in their L1.…

Examines literary works by first-generation Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans. Reports that each group has been critical in its portrayals of the other, especially when some direct interaction between the two groups is depicted. Asserts that this literature has shown how ethnocentrism has divided the Chinese in America. (KH)

To make it easier for Chinese children to learn how to read, the Chinese writing system is being changed. The experimental approach of combining Chinese characters and pinyin is currently being carried out in Chinese primary schools. How this approach works in teaching children to read is described. (RM)

Discusses the English writing difficulties experienced by native Chinese students in Canadian universities. Since they have little experience in creative or free writing, conforming to a western format of writing style is a problem which should be dealt within initially by a very basic understanding of Chinese culture and language. (SL)