Response to an article on multiculturalism and the status of community languages in Australia, focusing on issues of language maintenance and shift emerging from the article and adding examples from other countries. Questions addressed include who is responsible for maintaining community languages, which are maintained, how this is done, and why,…

Describes sociohistoric influences on the development of Papahana Kaiapuni, an indigenous language-immersion program in kindergarten through grade 12 in selected public schools in Hawaii. Highlights the importance of parental activism and the value of this program as a model for other threatened languages. (SLD)

Presents an analysis of the opinions of two generations of Asian parents, one from a 1970-74 survey, and one from a 1995 survey, regarding their children's education. Reveals increasing satisfaction with their children's education; greater mother participation in educational activities; and greater concern with teaching mother tongues in schools.…

Languages reflect and reinforce cultural values, giving insights into their speakers' world view and relationships to the natural environment. Indigenous languages help us to respect local knowledge and extend our sense of community to the larger world. However, despite bilingual education in schools, all Native American languages are endangered;…

English-only proponents cite linguistic divisions in Canada and Belgium as reason to avoid bilingualism. Data on language shift, language demographics, and language prestige indicate that the situations in these two countries are not comparable to the United States. A better lesson to draw from these two countries' experiences is that coercive…

Seventy educators and community members in six northern Saskatchewan Aboriginal communities were interviewed to examine policies and practices related to Native language planning and education. The language circumstances in the six Cree, Dakota, and Dene communities are discussed in terms of Fishman's eight-stage scale of language disruption and…

Examined the extent to which foreign student families view attrition of the first language (L1) and academic skills as a serious issue for their children, and what steps they take to maintain these skills. Suggests foreign-student parents are concerned their children are losing L1 literacy and academic ability and are supplementing their…

Explores the loss and maintenance of Spanish in Hispanic children in Vancouver from the perspective of parents. Focuses on the experiences of Hispanic parents of children either developing bilingually (Spanish-English) or monolingually (English).(Author/VWL)

Reviews sociological analysis of the transformation of the link between language and identity among Soviet Jewish immigrants in Israel, focusing on their common desire for Russian language maintenance after their immigration to Israel. Argues that although the immigrants acquire fast, the former Jewish intelligensia's perception of the dominant…

Language is easiest to learn before age 5. The Cherokee Nation supported production of a toy that teaches young children basic Cherokee words. When figures that come with the toy are placed into it, a computer chip activates a voice speaking the name of the figure in Cherokee. Learning takes place on visual, auditory, and tactile levels. (TD)

An indigenous rights organization works to preserve and revitalize indigenous communities and their lands by recording tribal creation songs. The songs spiritually reconnect Native people with their land, establish indigenous territorial rights, and preserve endangered languages. An ethnographic audio recording training program will enable tribes…

This article investigates the effects of the maintenance of Japanese as a heritage language on English and overall academic achievement. The interrelationships among Japanese oral and writing proficiency, SAT I Verbal, SAT I, and high school grade point average (GPA) were examined. The participants were 31 second generation Japanese-American…

Diasporic communities formed as a result of recent migration movements face particular issues and challenges in supporting the intergenerational transmission of their heritage language through language maintenance and heritage language education (HLE) initiatives, especially when the language involved is not one that has high visibility and…

This paper summarises the key issues and challenges that have emerged from a recent major report by the authors on Maori-medium education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The discussion is situated within a wider international analysis of bilingual/immersion programmes, including heritage language programmes for indigenous peoples. Key issues explored…

Globalisation is often viewed as a threat to cultural and linguistic diversity and therefore is a central concern of educational practices and policy. The present study challenges this common view by demonstrating that local communities can use global means to support and enhance their specific practices and policies. An historical exploration of…