Educational policy continues to be of major concern. Policy debates about economic growth and national competitiveness, for example, commonly focus on the importance of human capital and a highly educated workforce. Defining the theoretical boundaries and methodological approaches of education policy research are the two primary themes of this…

Reform-oriented efforts geared toward transformative education and equal educational opportunities for all U.S. school children (regardless of race, gender, or cultural/linguistic background) are underway and advocacy is emerging as an important topic of discussion and debate among language-in-education specialists, applied linguists included. …

Since the emergence of the concept of communicative competence, the language teaching field has focused on teaching appropriate language use in addition to general linguistic elements. Speech act studies have contributed to providing appropriate models for second and foreign language learners. In this paper, the effort toward the creation and use…

The research in this paper was motivated by continuing Soviet claims that the country's language problems have been solved. First, the nature of Soviet nationality policy is reviewed, and then available evidence and the question of linguistic and cultural assimilation of the non-ethnic Russian minorities through Russian language and culture are…

This book provides an overview of the history, present circumstances, and future prospects of the native languages of Quebec: Abenaki, Algonquin, Atikamekw, Cree, Inuktitut, Micmac, Mohawk, Montagnais, and Naskapi. Chapter 1, "The Situation of Aboriginal Languages in the Americas" (Jacques Maurais), discusses the linguistic demography of…

One cause for illiteracy that is often overlooked is the difficulty of learning the English orthographic system, which is less consistent than that of many other languages. Several historical and linguistic factors have contributed to this inconsistency, including: the "freezing" of the rapidly changing spelling system in the early years of…

Linguistics is the study of language, as contrasted with knowledge of a specific language. Formal linguistics is the study of the structures and processes of language, or how it works and is organized. Different approaches to formal linguistics include traditional or prescriptive, structural, and generative or transformational perspectives. Formal…

A sociolinguist looks at language teaching and the need for bilingual education to help the non-English-speaking poor and to preserve diverse cultures. Bilingual education and second language instruction are seen as interdependent fields with great potential for helping each other. (SC)

An analysis of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which requires basic English language proficiency and knowledge of United States history and civics of illegal aliens seeking permanent residency status, suggests that the Act is an example of poor language planning. The analysis has three components. First, the legalization…

Language policy and planning has become a major concern of applied linguistics. Most language planning is institutional and not systemic, planning not the forms of the language but the relationship between the language and the individuals who use it. Institutional language planning, policy formation, provides the context for systemic language…

Current language policy planning in Ireland was examined as part of a larger study of the language behavior of groups with access or exposure to more than one language. Language can be seen as a resource to ethnic groups primarily in their competition for access to the goods and services of a nation. The norm for groups in prolonged contact is…

The following similarities exist between the language situations of the United States and Australia: (1) both countries have developed and prospered through overseas immigration; (2) until recently, neither country has had a "de jure" official language, only a "de facto" one built around English; (3) in both countries…

Linguists generally refuse to make judgments about language or define standards of excellence for it. This perpetuates a fundamental paradox of descriptive linguistics: the inability to describe a language without providing a standard or setting a norm. The discipline's desire to escape from ethnocentrism has caused it to avoid a legitimate and…

The final report of a workshop convened by UNESCO is presented. The objective of the workshop was to formulate a conceptual framework for language instruction in a multicultural context that would be in harmony with the aspirations and interests of the population of individual countries and that would contribute to bringing national communities…

Spanish language planning needs and efforts in the public domains of health, law, work, media and communication, citizenship, social welfare, and education are described. For each of these domains, communication inadequacies, planning authorities, plans for alleviating inadequacies, and efforts at implementation of plans are identified. Perceived…