In Japan, absolute social status and power relationships among people are clearer than in the United States. The Japanese language supports this social system with the use of a special polite language ("keigo"), structural use of which is the same as polite language in English. The differences lie in the degrees of familiarity used and…

While the concept of language awareness by language exploration and the use of performance objectives and testing seem mutually contradictory, they may not be. Where the processes of language learning are concerned, the two approaches may have important points of contact. In curriculum, the two complement rather than threaten each other. Both help…

A descriptive case study reports and examines a five-year-old Finnish child's attainment of English language and communication skills during his first eight months in the United States, within a pragmatic theoretical framework, focusing on the various functions of utterances. The child's language usage is divided into social and egocentric speech…

The effects of sexist language on the status and self-concept of women is investigated in this paper, with particular emphasis on media sexism. The paper first examines the origin and effects of some of the most common ways in which language is used to reinforce existing sex stereotypes. The paper then discusses: (1) ways to weed out of daily…

A five-year course sequence focusing on the relationship of language and culture in world history is described. The program, beginning in grade 3, prepares students for later study of foreign and classical languages, develops English language skills, and cultivates general cultural interest. At the first level, students are introduced to some…

Attention is drawn to aspects of the transfer of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) expertise to both developing and developed nonnative English-speaking countries. It is maintained that: (1) several facts that have nearly the strength of canonical truths in the West reveal an ignorance of, and perhaps an indifference to, the socio-cultural,…

This paper focuses on a language variation model that incorporates a number of concepts from linguistic and rhetorical studies. The model views language variation as a product of two correlating causes: one, the user and his or her personal, regional, and social dialect; and the other, the user's use of the language in terms of such discourse…

In this paper the impact of French language education on linguistic assimilation among Canadian francophone minorities outside of Quebec is assessed. The Study of Adult Recurrent Education, conducted in 1974-75, was the data set used in the study. The sample was selected from a target population of those persons 18 years of age and older in the…

The double issue of the journal, "Bilingual Resources," presents nine articles pertaining to American Indian education in various perspectives, poetry by four American Indian poets, and identifies 27 publications about American Indians. Subjects of articles include: evaluation and recognition of narrative competence within peer group…

The need for cooperation between bilingual teachers and teachers of English as a second language is addressed in this position paper. Operational definitions and characteristics of bilingual education and English as a second language are presented, and the interrelationship of bilingual education and English as a second language is clarified. The…

The discussion following Roger Shuy's presentation on "The Mismatch of Child Language and School Language" focuses on the value of studying language functions, the problems associated with identifying those language functions and their stages of development, and whether knowledge of such language functions will increase reading teacher…

This is a collection of conference papers which focus upon factors and variables in conflict among urban ethnic groups in American cities and abroad. Included are the following articles: (1) "Ethnic Conflict, Community-Building, and the Emergence of Ethnic Political Traditions in the United States," by Peter K. Eisinger; (2)…

The term "village English" has been used by a number of people to label the English used by Alaskan natives. The term appears in discussions of educational problems and often the phenomenon is cited as a significant reason for the lower than expected achievement of Alaskan school children. It is suggested that statements about…

This volume contains the reports of the task forces assigned to advise the President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies. Task forces were formed in the following areas: Institutional Language Policy, Commonly Taught Languages, Less Commonly Taught Languages, Public Awareness, and Government Relations. The longest report,…

This is one in a series of eight discussion pamphlets produced by the Writing Across the Curriculum Project dealing with some of the issues connected with writing in the schools and their relation to learning. This pamphlet is concerned with what is involved in the learning of new ideas and what part language plays in the process. It includes…