Reviews the present situation of foreign languages in the U.S. and discusses the prospects for their future. Sees reasons for believing that the near future may bring a resurgence of interest in at least some modern languages and advocates intimate knowledge of a foreign language and culture for its humanistic value. (MES)

Illustrates some of the difficulties inherent in bilingual education, including inadequate appraisal of matters such as ethnicity, cultural pluralism, and language maintenance and shift. The paper suggests that bilingual education and its implications must be considered in the broadest possible sociocultural perspectives. (Author/PJM)

Traces the shift of paradigms in the political science profession from the 1960s to 1980, examines the classical paradigm, compares it with modern paradigms, and reviews contemporary efforts to articulate a new paradigm which takes the ecological crisis into account. (Author/DB)

Considers the idiom of ethnic discrimination in one small and extremely "closed" Greek village, with the object of demonstrating the artificiality of the prejudice-xenophobia distinction in an ethnographic context. Uses a "folk taxonomy" model which examines the relativistic sense in which group stereotypes are applied.…

Discusses the goals of native language instruction advocating a broadening of horizons, away from traditional grammar and literature teaching, and towards culturally based communication skills. Sociocultural awareness is stressed as the fundamental component of a teacher's background and the basis for mastering the relevant aspects of…

Sport sociology as an academic specialty and its stages of development are described. Problems confronting future developments in sport sociology include critical mass, academic status, and ideological orientation, both in physical education and in sociology. (CJ)

Presents a method of contrasting sociocultural patterns through a contrastive analysis of linguistic forms and their usage across cultures. Examples are provided for English and Tagalog. (AM)

The modern sports spectacular contains all the necessary elements of symbolic rite, and the public's behavior patterns during large-scale athletic events dramatically illustrate a ritualistic enactment of social and cultural power struggles via vicarious participation. (LH)

The lesson plan for grades six through nine demonstrates an innovative way of analyzing student ideas and attitudes about sports activity. It includes readings, photographs, and teacher suggestions designed to generate ideas and reactions to personal and social aspects of sports. (Author/DB)

Notes Modell's examination of complexities of adoption from the perspectives of birthparents, adoptive parents, and adoptees, using lenses of kinship theory and symbolism, particularly blood as the central symbol of kinship in western cultures. Argues that as an anthropological study, Modell's work does not explicitly draw implications for…

A critic of Deborah Tannen's book "Gender and Discourse" responds to comments made about her critique, arguing that the book's analysis of the relationship of gender and discourse tends to seek, and perhaps force, explanations only in those terms. Another linguist's analysis of similar phenomena is found to be more rigorous. (MSE)

The socioeconomic importance and fierce competition related to high school and university entrance examinations in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea lead students and their parents to seek spiritual support through prayer and religious rituals. Japanese students leave donations and written prayers and promises to the gods at Shinto shrines…

Sketches out the argumentative strategies used by three 17-year-old boys to interpret the disagreement presented to them. Shows that they were inclined to adduce current ideas about science--framed according to a realist, empiricist epistemology--but that there are grounds for thinking that high school students would be capable of actualizing…

Investigates meanings of an innovative, reform-based curriculum (Active Physics) in various contexts. Explores how meanings of the curriculum transformed as it traveled across space and time. Discusses how aspects of the context enabled innovative science and those that constrained the potential of the curriculum. Demonstrates potential for…