In this article the author shares his experience visiting two schools that serve Aboriginal children in the state of Queensland, Australia: (1) Cherbourg State School in central Queensland; and (2) Kuranda State School in the Far North. Prior to his visit he had learned somewhat of Australia's troubled history regarding Aboriginal education, a…

This article has two purposes: the first is to give a voice to school leaders in official-language minority schools; the second is to present an empirically based critical analysis of some of the main current models in the field of educational leadership in order to verify whether they are relevant in official-language minority settings. This…

This paper looks at the degree and way in which lesser-used languages are used as expressions of identity, focusing specifically on two of Europe's lesser-used languages. The first is Irish, spoken in the Republic of Ireland and the second is Galician, spoken in the Autonomous Community of Galicia in the North-western part of Spain. The paper…

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.…

Transacting business with individuals who may speak English fluently but have an accent is common today. Use of translation services such as in transportation facilities, government offices, educational institutions, and manufacturers' instruction manuals is on the increase. Consequently, linguistic diversity issues require relevant academic…

This paper examines teachers' attitudes towards their students' heritage language maintenance and their engagement in classroom practices that may or may not affirm the value of maintaining and developing heritage languages among students. Through surveys and interviews with K-12 teachers in California public schools, the data show that the…

Over the last 15 years researchers have taken an increased interest in studying the large pool of recent Korean immigrants. This analysis concentrates on finding how first generation Korean Americans relate and interact with their second generation counterparts. Using studies on the adjustment of first generation Korean immigrants and the levels…

The history of language policy in the United States is explored, focusing on the rights of language minorities. The first chapter presents constitutional and ethnolinguistic background information and gives an overview of the main categories of language rights. Chapter two describes the extent to which the federal government has or has not made…

This paper presents a procedure for the assessment, identification, and placement of second language learners in the Chester Upland School District in Pennsylvania. The second language learner educational program is designed to: (1) make instructional use of both English and the student's native language; (2) enable second language learners to…

This brief details the history of the federal government's stance with language minority students, and analyzes the implications of changes to its guiding principles made by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. With every federal re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act prior to 2001, the importance of bilingual…

This study examined participation in preschool and its relationship with the cognitive and social development of language-minority students. Although there is a large body of research that demonstrates the cognitive and social benefits of attending preschool (Barnett, 1995; Gorey, 2001; National Research Council, Committee on Early Childhood…

This report summarizes research on the role of English oral proficiency in acquiring English literacy, noting issues that English language learners (ELLs) encounter because of their developing English oral proficiency and discussing best practices in supporting English language development in the context of literacy instruction for those students.…

A study, funded by the Australian government, explored differences in the literacy practices of schools, families, and community groups. In particular, the study examined the matches and mismatches between the discourse practices of home and school, and the impact that any differences had on students' school success. Also observed were innovative…

This report describes six studies on the educational progress of students who entered New York City public schools as non-native English speakers, or English language learners (ELLs). Studies examined number of years students were served in bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) programs; characteristics of students receiving these services;…

This digest discusses the problem of overrepresentation of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in special education and provides examples of strategies created by researchers and practitioners to reduce overrepresentation. Strategies include: (1) promote family involvement and respect diverse backgrounds by taking time…