Socioeconomic profiles of two Canadian communities are presented in which the language spoken, an official language, is also a minority language: the French-speaking Acadian minority in an area of Prince Edward Island, and an anglophone minority in the Gaspe Peninsula. The profiles are designed to establish a comparative base from which to assess…

A study examined the role of the native language (Arabic) in assessing the reading comprehension of learners of English as a second language. Subjects were 60 secondary school students in two comparable classes in Jordan. After receiving instruction for one month using reading material in the prescribed textbook, students were administered a…

This paper draws on research undertaken during recent years, especially research involving students in classrooms in Australia. The paper focuses on some examples and issues of educational practice occurring in a context where "genre theory"--along with other theories and concepts concerning language and literacy--have been used as a…

Explores the concepts of multiculturalism and multilingualism in Australia against the background of population growth and change, social policies, and regional relationships. Reviews steps taken to date to give these concepts a more positive shape. (EKN)

Many problems--educational, legal, and political--remain in bilingual education. The history of bilingual education in the United States, its current status, and arguments of those representing various sides of the controversy over bilingual education are summarized. (PP)

Educational demography and its economic and social implications in Switzerland are examined from four angles: the factors shaping variations in the numbers of grade 10 gymnasium pupils; foreign children in the education system; the economic and social aspects of public expenditure on education; and changes in the university student population.…

Focuses on ways that British schools, reflecting the social patterns of the larger society, act to crystallize the disharmony between White Britons and immigrant West Indians. Discusses discrimination in class placement and in employment. (Author/GC)

First-year enrollments of minority (American Indian, Hispanic, and black) medical students declined from 1995 to 1996, endangering efforts to achieve a diverse physician workforce. Some institutions are recruiting minorities aggressively and making an added effort to support their persistence. Many minority medical students plan to work in poor…

Discusses the implications of the tendency of adult second-language learners to develop a well-structured, simple form of language outside the classroom, i.e. the Basic Variety (BV). Focuses on the structural properties of the BV, the status of these properties and the reasons why some structural properties of "fully fledged" languages are more…

Discusses teaching English in Mexico, a country with important social, cultural, and economic ties to the United States. Looks at the various English teaching situations as well as teacher education for teachers in Mexico. Concludes that the English teaching situation in Mexico reflects great diversity and growth, and that the knowledge of English…

Discusses the role of foreign languages in the universities of Europe. The article advances the idea of establishing the use of foreign languages in practical settings in every academic discipline discusses a seminar centered on the theme of teaching languages to nonlinguists and on assessing the ability of the European universities to deal with…

Proposes that formal properties of speech reflect individuals' mental processes during problem solving, focusing on ways native and non-native speakers of English construct narrative. In difficult tasks, speakers cope by externalizing their inner order as private speech, whose content and formal properties reflect cognitive processes. It is argued…

Highlights the role of English in Malaysia, English in the education system, students learning English, English teachers, instruction and the syllabus, inservice support, private English education, English in tertiary education, and opportunities for teachers in Malaysia. (VWL)

A Federal Government Policy in Nigeria aimed at unifying the country through the use of three major languages (Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo) has been inhibited because there are no teachers. Resistance from speakers of other languages to the enforced learning of one of the major languages also seems likely. Maintenance of English is suggested as the…

The relationship between language use and second culture acquisition is examined in this study of first generation Iranian immigrants and exiles in the United States. The use of both Farsi and English is found to be instrumental in the process by which American culture is incorporated within the Iranian worldview. (AF)