An elementary school program in which older children teach English literacy skills to younger children is described. The Literacy Club program, a regular class activity, matches older students whose native language is other than English (Rapid Readers) with younger students with the same native language (Little Readers) and involves the Rapid…

This book introduces beginning students of linguistics at all levels and general readers to the study of language, providing an overview of key topics and an explanation of basic terms and ideas. The book is also designed to encourage the reader to think about the way language works and reconsider some popular misconceptions about language and…

Noting that language minority and culturally different students are the fastest growing group of students in the public schools, this Digest offers practical strategies for language arts teachers to use when working with language-diverse students in the classroom and discusses some recent research on the subject. The Digest points out that…

Testimony concerning amendments to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 addresses, specifically, the provisions for language assistance for Alaskan native, Asian-American, Hispanic, and Native American citizens in order that they be able to exercise effectively their right to vote. The proposed legislation would extend coverage of Section 203 of the…

This study investigated the nature of and factors in the involvement of both Spanish-speaking and English-speaking parents in an elementary school specializing in two-way bilingual education. The researcher observed parents and teachers in interaction, reviewed school documents, and interviewed parents, families, and school staff, some in short…

A cultural profile of the French-Canadian business community of Quebec is presented, focusing on seven aspects of business communication: language; environment and technology; social organization; degree of contextual understanding; authority conception; nonverbal behavior; and temporal conception. The history of French and English language use in…

Classroom language and literacy practices need to be reconceptualized to account for the valuable role talk and interaction play in the process of learning to write. Teachers should construct learning environments within which interaction between students and teachers is the primary focus. The participation framework of kindergarten journal…

Essentially about classroom practice, this book is based on the idea that social education brings the world into the classroom. The book provides opportunities for young learners to explore and clarify values and attitudes, develop investigative skills, discuss issues, solve problems, make decisions and act on the understandings they have…

This issue of working papers focuses on the relationship between the mind and language. Papers include the following: (1) "The Role of Language of Thought in Foreign Language Learning" (Andrew D. Cohen); (2) "UG Accessibility in Second Language Acquisition: Re-examining the Binding Parameter" (Howard Chen); (3) "Helping Philippe: Constructions of…

This book, the final work of a noted rhetorician and scholar, examines the history and development of English studies, and the economic and social changes that affect the understanding of the humanities today. Noting that while rhetoric once held a central place in the college curriculum, the book describes how rhetoric became marginalized in…

Although reliability and validity are characteristics of test data, social scientists often attribute reliability and validity erroneously to the tests themselves. To determine the extent to which this problem exists, 150 reliability and validity studies selected from 3 prominent social science measurement journals over a 3-year period were…

The role of the French language in Flanders, a region of Belgium, is described. First, the region's characteristics are summarized, including its size, population, language distribution, economy, exports, and vacation migration patterns. Next, Belgium's overall linguistic situation, in which each of three regions has its own language, is outlined…

The report summarizes a British research project, part of a larger initiative on educational quality, concerning the extent of secondary students' knowledge about the nature of language, native and foreign, alongside development of practical language skills. The main study was an empirical investigation of the teaching of English and foreign…

A discussion of the relationship between national identity and language in Spanish-speaking Latin America focuses on issues concerning indigenous languages, education, and literacy. The sociolinguistic history and configuration Spanish-speaking Latin America are outlined briefly, noting the influences of indigenous populations, non-Spanish…

Any model of reading must take into account the role of the language system in reading. Readers' subjectivities and the reading position taken up in a text can be explicated by demonstrating how texts function in context and how readers function in social situations to construct possible meanings. Components of this model include text and context…