Immigrant minority groups and immigrant minority languages in Europe are viewed from three perspectives (demographic, sociolinguistic, and educational) through case studies. The first part, using a demographic approach, includes research on immigrant minority groups in population statistics of both European Union and English-dominant countries…

This short book argues that the idea that there is one best English--or standard English--is wrong, and that nonstandard dialects are not bastardizations of standard English but alternate variations upon the basic plan of English, of which the standard one. With a general focus on classroom applications, this book makes accessible to teachers,…

This paper reports on the strategies used by an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teacher to help law students whose first language is Chinese in an English-for-law course learn and understand how to negotiate legal texts and ordinances and connect them with the concerns of people in the real world. The example of the recently enacted Human Organ…

Studied ethnic variations in academic motivation among 1,000 adolescents from Asian, Latin American, and European backgrounds. Found that a sense of family obligation was associated with greater belief in the value of education and accounts for tendency of Asian and Latin American adolescents to have greater academic motivation than their equally…

This paper compares two sets of data from the same year, 2001--the numbers of students taking languages other than English at primary and secondary level, and census statistics for the home use of languages other than English. The data draws attention to languages that are taught principally in day schools and those taken mainly in after hours…

Reports of research in phonetics and psycholinguistics include: "Interaction with Autonomy: Defining Multiple Output Models in Psycholinguistic Theories" (Julie E. Boland, Anne Cutler); "Vocal Tract Evolution and Vowel Production" (K. Bretonnel Cohen); "Final Lowering in Kipare" (Rebecca Herman); "Gestural…

A discussion of the language and literacy situation in Singapore looks at the role of each of the four official languages (English, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil, and Malay) and at trends and issues in adult and vocational education for labor force development. Usage patterns of each official language, common dialects and varieties and their use, and…

California has developed a new series of credential examinations for foreign language teachers to make it possible to test the competence of teachers in six languages less frequently taught than Spanish and French. These languages are German, Japanese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Russian, and Vietnamese. Each assessment is based on the specifications…

This study compared Chinese-American and Caucasian-American children and families in order to better understand which cultural and family characteristics, parent beliefs, and parent practices operate at the early childhood level to produce the more uniform high level of math achievement among Asian-American children. Forty second-generation…

In order to study for citizenship tests, amnesty students need to be able to read U.S. history material, although they usually have no background knowledge for it. According to schema theory, background knowledge is important for reading comprehension. Research has shown significant improvement in the reading comprehension of intermediate level…

Essays and research reports on the relationship between teaching second languages and teaching culture include: "Teaching Culture as an Integrated Part of Language Teaching: An Introduction" (Chantal Crozet, Anthony J. Liddicoat); "Primary Socialization and Cultural Factors in Second Language Learning: Wending Our Way through Semi-Charted…

This study explores the concept of deep-structure sociocultural transfer and its impact on second language learning. It reviews three case studies of Chinese students in the United States, describing how the students allowed their native sociocultural values and beliefs to dominate their communications with Americans, even though they had resided…

In response to the changing world economic market, foreign language teachers of the University of Akron and Akron Public Schools (Ohio) began a joint project, federally supported, to strengthen foreign language teacher proficiency in the area of careers in business, education, and government service, strengthen oral proficiency of high school…

In 1981-82, the bilingual program of New York City's Auxilliary Services for High Schools served 1335 out-of-school youth (mostly between the ages of 16-22) from Spanish, Chinese, Greek, Italian, and Haitian backgrounds. The program provided educational and support services to a variety of students including actual or potential dropouts, older…

A bibliography on English language teaching to native Chinese-speakers contains 130 citations of journal articles, books, and other publications on a variety of topics, including language processing, material development, instructional techniques, language teaching and learning research, linguistic theory, cultural context and differences,…