Considers the pedagogical validity of English immersion education in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, Melanesian countries of the South Pacific. Questions the appropriateness of implementing a policy of English language immersion education in a postcolonial, multilingual Third World context where support for first language maintenance and second…

Discusses "Te Whariki," the New Zealand Draft Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education, in relation to historical and cultural contexts. Addresses aspirations of the Maori people for their language and culture to be protected and sustained. Asserts a bicultural imperative for early childhood education curriculum. (BGC)

Dr. Robert W. Young discusses what led him to work in the Navajo Nation and to begin studying Navajo, the method he used for developing a Navajo orthography, his professional relationship with Dr. William Morgan, the system they used to develop an English-Navajo dictionary, his views on language loss, and his greatest accomplishment--a reservation…

Reviews the literature about preschool immersion education for Indigenous languages. Describes the two oldest and best known of such programs: Kohanga Reo ("language nests") in Aotearoa/New Zealand and Punana Leo in Hawaii. Looks at existing U.S. programs, particularly Arapaho preschools in Wyoming. Outlines major themes and issues in developing…

Describes establishment of language renewal program, Te Kohanga Reo, for Maori preschool children. The plan reinforces a sense of community through local collaboration and promotion of Maori cultural values. Examines the influence of Maori social and cultural values in the program's organization, content, and style. Contains 36 references.…

Maintains that linguistics has great potential value for historians. Contends that the pidgin and creole languages of the former colonies of European nations provide avenues for examining the histories of "people without history." (CFR)

A group of 20 British-born Chinese children aged 12 to 14 were examined in terms of ability to use their mother tongue and of social network structures. One finding is that, to make community language education more effective, parents and children should be brought closer together socially. (Contains 46 references.) (Author/LB)

Focuses on how parents and teachers can help bring nonnative English-speaking children become literate in both their native language and in English. The activities most likely to ensure success in achieving these goals are those which can be done with the materials at hand in the context of normal daily living and in which everyone is happy to…

The information gained from analysis of bilingual students' writing can be used to inform instruction that helps students improve their writing in Spanish and English. The writing of one native Spanish-speaking third grader is analyzed, and instructional strategies are given for helping the writer improve content and mechanics. (Author/TD)

The literature on language diversity, linguistic human rights, and language renewal is reviewed, and Web sites dedicated to Aboriginal languages are examined. The Internet provides a resource center where grammars, lexicons, fonts, and other resources can be developed; a means of learning languages; and a medium for communicating in Aboriginal…

Less than 200 years ago, nearly every Cherokee could read and write the Cherokee language because of the syllabary form of writing invented by Sequoyah. Language use declined due to government boarding school policies that forbade use of the Cherokee language. Isolated communities and medicine people kept the language alive. Current efforts to…

Discusses the development of tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), highlighting how they have dramatically changed higher education for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Selected institutional portraits demonstrate the intersection between culture and community in TCUs. The paper concludes that TCUs are promoting a new mindset that is…

Case study describes the efforts of Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat, the K-12 school in Quinhagak, Alaska, to implement school reform initiatives that support the merging of school and community values and priorities. Despite nearly a century of outside acculturation efforts, the Yupik people of Quinhagak are attempting to integrate their language,…

Focus groups and interviews with 37 teachers and 4 principals examined their roles and experiences in Papahana Kaiapuni, a K-12 program taught entirely in Hawaiian. Teachers integrated Hawaiian culture into the curriculum and viewed the program as a model of school reform for Native Hawaiians. The program transformed many teachers' views of…

Attitudes toward bilingualism in Ireland were explored among 38 fifth-grade students attending Irish-medium or English-medium schools, their parents, and staff. English-medium school students indicated little need for Irish and valued bilingualism in other European languages but not Irish. Irish-medium students found Irish useful immediately and…