The role and status of English and English instruction in Kuwait are summarized. English is taught as a compulsory subject in intermediate and secondary schools and is a medium of instruction at the university level. English plays an important role in Kuwait's education, science, technology, and commerce. The status of English instruction within…

Discusses the contemporary abuse of language in communicative behavior and in literature, and suggests that the speech profession concern itself with the aesthetic use of language as well as with messages and message sending. (MH)

Analyzes the problems and educational needs of language teachers in West Africa where English, French, or Portuguese are official languages in most states. All three are recommended as optional subjects in secondary and higher education institutions. Describes the role of these languages in West Africa and the cultural context of language…

The problems of eliminating the archaic sexual assumptions in our language are examined.

A sociolinguist looks at language teaching and the need for bilingual education to help the non-English-speaking poor and to preserve diverse cultures. Bilingual education and second language instruction are seen as interdependent fields with great potential for helping each other. (SC)

An examination of current educational theory regarding the functions of language, exploring the relationship of language and thought, various views of linguistic poverty, and language use and instruction in the school. (EH)

The evolution of "language utilities," a concept confined largely to the francophone world and relating to the uses of language in computer science and the use of computer science for languages, is chronicled. The language utilities are of three types: (1) tools for language development, primarily dictionary databases and related tools;…

This comparison of the development of bilingual education policies and practices presents the legal framework of Peruvian and American policies, the processes of their establishment, and bilingual program implementation. The sociocultural and historical circumstances out of which the policies grew and which the bilingual programs reflect are also…

A course in general semantics has as its primary aim to help students become aware of the interactions between words, perceptions, and behavior, and particularly how language both affects and effects belief and even action. Students are encouraged not only to be more responsive to language, but also to become more skillful users of language…

Current language policy planning in Ireland was examined as part of a larger study of the language behavior of groups with access or exposure to more than one language. Language can be seen as a resource to ethnic groups primarily in their competition for access to the goods and services of a nation. The norm for groups in prolonged contact is…

A discussion of women's oral discourse patterns focuses on the uses made of minimal responses, hedges, and tag questions. The analysis draws on transcriptions of conversations among a group of women friends over a period of months. It is proposed that the conventional treatment of these forms as "weak" is inappropriate in all-female…

The following similarities exist between the language situations of the United States and Australia: (1) both countries have developed and prospered through overseas immigration; (2) until recently, neither country has had a "de jure" official language, only a "de facto" one built around English; (3) in both countries…

The teaching of writing to students who speak nonstandard English can be difficult because students' linguistic differences rarely indicate true incompetence, and students' writing problems may result from conflicts between the cultures and language uses at home and school. Factors found to encourage writing improvement are the following: (1)…

Linguists generally refuse to make judgments about language or define standards of excellence for it. This perpetuates a fundamental paradox of descriptive linguistics: the inability to describe a language without providing a standard or setting a norm. The discipline's desire to escape from ethnocentrism has caused it to avoid a legitimate and…

Six propositions express central and crucial functions of language. Knowledge of these concepts constitutes language awareness, and they should therefore be used as a basis for designing language awareness curricula. They are that: (1) each individual has the ability to produce an unlimited number of different utterances from the limited…