Models of conceptual and language development by Orwell, Piaget, Whorf and Sapir, Vygotsky, and Bruner are reviewed. Their implications for teaching and some individual problem-solving experiments are discussed. (CP)

Discusses the historical role of the Romance languages and the practical value of Spanish in today's world. (NCR)

Franco-American parish priests in Vermont no longer oppose the anglicisation of the state's French-speaking population. This shift in policy helps to explain the progressive decline of Franco-American institutions in Vermont today. (Author/AM)

An informal survey of textbooks used since 1982 in undergraduate classes in the University of Zimbabwe history department shows that only 8% were written by Africans. Relying on records made by foreigners pursuing colonial objectives, European historians view early Africa as a dark place of illiteracy, disease, famine, witchcraft, and cannibalism.…

Finds recent brain research sheds light on roles played by a positive affective environment and the interactive use of language in teaching the learning process through content area classes. Implements these ideas over a 10-month period in a ninth-grade classroom. Compares program students to other ninth graders on measures of metacognitive…

Argues that the most fundamental aspect of language rights is the freedom of choice to use a language for a given purpose to realize one's interests. Discusses how the legitimate interests of the state and the individual, particularly the speaker of a minority language, do not always coincide. (nine references) (Author/CK)

Discusses points made in a previous paper, arguing that the presence of the basic word order Agent-Verb-Patient in the Basic Variety (BV) may reflect the salience of this word order in the target language as suggested by comparable data from creoles. Although the BV may serve the communicative functions of true languages, they may not fulfill…

Explains why Evald Ilyenkov (1924-79) is a serious cultural philosopher whose ideas are of enduring significance. Argues that Ilyenkov offers an intriguing vision of the relation of mind and world, which has radical implications for conceptions of thought, language, and human communication. Attempts to show that one thinker in the Soviet tradition…

A narrative approach to moral development sees a role for language in moral experience and regards the self as dialogic, or relational, as opposed to the epistemic self of the cognitive-developmental approach. This article reviews empirical foundations of the narrative approach, explores the dialogic conception of the self, and considers…

Examines the socialization of anxiety based on analyses of narrative interactions between an agoraphobic woman, her husband, son, and daughter, who has been diagnosed with separation anxiety. Notes that although children of agoraphobic parents are at risk for developing anxiety, little is known about the socialization process and anxiety may be…

Introduces this special issue of the journal on English in South America, focusing on questions of language, culture, and identity. (VWL)

Presents a study completed in Quito, Ecuador that investigates the attitudinal perceptions toward English in advertising in the Ecuadorian commercial context. Findings are the result of four data collection procedures; a questionnaire administered to advertising experts, an analysis of business names in ten shopping centers, an analysis of…

Analyzes conflict talk among three-year-old friends playing in same-sex triads at their day care center. Interprets the gendered aspects of two disputes in terms of an anthropological linguistic model and a psychological framework. Demonstrates the gendered nature of children's peer talk at as young as three years of age. (RS)

Traces the history of English in Fiji, especially in relation to education. The role of English in interethnic communication and as a language of wider communication with the outside world is discussed, and features of Fiji English, a local language variety, are described. (Author/CB)

Reviews the history of English and education in the Samoas. Discussion focuses on the social, political, economic, and educational factors that relate to levels of English and native language literacy in the two Samoas, and that help to explain the decline of native language literacy in American Samoa over the past several years. (Author/CB)