It has been claimed that there is only one language, the English language in the United States, because America is not a "polyglot boardinghouse ..." (Portes and Rumbaut 196). The fact is that America has always been a multilingual society, even though this mythical notion of a monolingual American identity reflecting American loyalty…

This paper focuses on the study of markedness theory in Universal Grammar (UG) and its implications in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), showing that the language learners should consciously compare and contrast the similarities and differences between his native language and target language, which will facilitate their learning. (Contains 2…

This paper provides an example of micro-planning which involves community, government and non-government organisations both in the context of immigrants' source and host countries. The community in question is the Hungarian diaspora in Australia. The language planning activities are aimed at maintaining an immigrant heritage language and identity.…

The first stage of the HyTuS (Hypermedia Tutoring System) project, developed by the Alliance Francaise (a training institute supplying French courses for foreigners in France and abroad), and professional partners, is presented. The aim of the project is to provide a hypermedia CD-ROM-based environment for learning French according to the Alliance…

The report on areas needing further development in provision of quality literacy services for Ontario's (Canada) native populations, based on site visits to native literacy programs, identifies seven key areas for change: (1) strategic planning for program development and implementation and advocacy; (2) program growth and administration; (3)…

It is proposed that explicit explanations of grammar concepts in the first language can be useful in teaching the related structures in a second language. The example used is that of the subjunctive mood, taught first in English and then in Spanish. Specific procedures for presenting the concept in English are outlined, including a set of…

A bibliography of materials recommended for inclusion in a literacy library includes over 160 citations of books, textbooks, curriculum guides, and other resources on several areas related to literacy education. In each citation, basic bibliographic information is given and the item's classification as to skill level, language skill, and topic…

The main themes of a broad interpretation of literacy are discussed in this digest, and examples of approaches to literacy education in use and resources are cited. The information presented is focused on native language literacy, but the themes, recommendations, and materials are relevant for adults of English as a Second Language. Specific…

This document, one of a series of British occasional papers on basic education, investigates adult literacy practices in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The texts and their authors are "Building a National Movement: The Caribbean Experience" (Didacus Jules); "Literacy and Empowerment: A Definition for Literacy"…

Using animals as a means of learning the Arapaho language, the fourth student workbook presents 15 lessons. Lessons include spelling; matching words and pictures, word search puzzles; substituting Arapaho words of animals in place of the picture; cross-word puzzles; fill-in-the-blank statements; transcribing English words into Arapaho and Arapaho…

TREX, which stands for "translating into the mother tongue as an exercise in written language," is a classroom technique for exploring the native language by translating from a second or source language. The central feature is the individual student activity of translating, with subsequent group examination and comparison of lexical,…

Research has demonstrated that many linguistic features correlate with social stratification of speakers and that these features often serve as social identifiers that trigger language stereotypes. An experiment was conducted to verify these findings with regard to Portuguese ethnic groups. Judges from four Portuguese-speaking ethnic groups…

This evaluation report summarizes results of the Bilingual Language Arts Program (BLAST), Walton High School, Bronx, New York, 1983-1984. BLAST was designed as a transitional program emphasizing student integration into society. The program provided instruction in English as a second language and native language arts, as well as bilingual…

Posits that a child's success in acquiring English may depend to a large degree on his or her proficiency in the heritage language. (CB)

Describes a study which examined the literacy approach to Spanish for Native Speakers (SNS) by focusing on one SNS class. The focus was on the relationship between the teachers' and the students' perceptions of the uses for Spanish literacy and the kinds of tasks found in textbooks and assignments. (Author/SED)