The most outstanding characteristic of language in education policy for South Asia (SA) is its multilingualism. All through recorded history the seven countries that constitute SA have been multilingual. For at least the first two decades of their existence as sovereign states the large nation states of SA failed to take into account this…

This article discusses the different problems of public school systems in Hawaii. Hawaii's schools face many challenges. They have one of the highest rates of private school attendance, in the U.S. at about 33%, while schools in the single, state-wide public school district, the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE), are seriously under-funded.…

This article describes a project involving teachers, parents, and university researchers in collaborations to support multilingual children's development and use of language. Strategies for fostering an inclusive climate included building on the interests and resources of the local community, involving community members in curriculum development,…

This book can be used as a comprehensive introduction for instructors, researchers, and students, and as an interactive text for students. In designing the text the authors have been particularly attentive to the needs in teacher education, especially in the preparation of bilingual teachers. Thus, each of the readings is followed by questions and…

This paper argues that while there are factors common to second language learning in both monolingual and multilingual contexts, there are also predictable differences in degree arising from a one-many or many-one language learning situation, common to both contexts, as opposed to a many-many language learning situation typical of the multilingual…

This paper reports on an investigation into the communication activities in a multicultural elementary school classroom in England. In the first exercise, the whole class worked in groups of three, each group led by a bilingual child, to devise a doctor-patient dialogue in that child's foreign language. When the dialogue was presented to the…

A prospective study investigating pragmatic transfer in the learning of Japanese as a third language (L3) is described. The study will test the hypothesis that the learner's perception of linguistic and cultural distance between the first/second languages (L1/L2) and L3 will determine conscious and unconscious decisions about which linguistic and…

Issues in the debate in Ireland over Irish language instruction in the schools are reviewed in light of the establishment of the European Economic Community. In the first chapter, three points of view are compared: results of research on Irish, attitudes of the general public, and those of language interest groups. The second chapter provides a…

A discussion of multilingualism in Switzerland begins with a description of the country's linguistic characteristics. Historical Swiss policy recognizing four official languages, one of which (Romansch) is spoken by very few people, is compared with the current situation in which internal and external migration and multilingualism are common. The…

A study examines the dynamics of cultural pluralism and language in the ethnic mobilization, and resulting dissolution, of the USSR. It first examines ethnic composition, dominant nationalities, language groups without separate nationalities, patterns of ethnic populations within nationalities, and the influence of this multiculturalism on…

Discussion of the role of languages in Macau focuses on three areas: forces in determination of language policy; actual language use in Macau; and prospects beyond 1999. Four main forces for language policy are identified: emergence of a middle class due to economic progress and access to higher education; arrival of well-educated, liberal…

In this investigation of education, conducted in South West Africa/Namibia, it was found that the medium of instruction was one of the basic causes of the teaching and educational problems experienced at schools. In South West Africa/Namibia, several languages, including English and Afrikaans as official languages, are involved in the…

An investigation of the stability and replicability of aptitude, attitude, and achievement factors in second language acquisition used 31 groups of over 100 second language students each from five grade levels (7-11) and seven Canadian geographic areas of varying degrees of bilinguality. The groups were administered a series of related measures…

This report is the result of a two-month study commissioned by the World Fertility Survey prior to the inclusion of Cameroon in the WFS program, in order to examine the problem of linguistic diversity and the obstacles this problem might pose to a demographic survey of the country. The study was to propose a strategy which would uphold the WFS…

The place of the English language in contemporary Africa is changing. English has spread rapidly, but, at the same time, the indigenous languages have remained and have grown in strength because of an increase in population and an awakening of national consciousness. A developing country must have a national language, whether English or native, to…