The principal motivation for and main value of the national language concept is its character as a standard for all users, but that standard most often reflects the norms and beliefs of a cultural and economic elite and the "nation" becomes synonymous with the ruling class. It would be more useful to talk about a standard usage imposed on the…

General theory of transfer of knowledge and skill in learning second languages and ways in which language awareness may contribute to second language learning are examined. It is concluded that while recent second language acquisition research work and theories do not support or refute transfer of general language principles to the learning of…

Geolinguistics is the developing branch of human geography concerned with the relationship of languages and their physical and human settings. It investigates the socio-spatial context of language use and language choice, measures language distribution and variety, assesses the relative usefulness and availability of different languages from…

Intended for administrators and policy makers as well as teachers, this digest explores issues surrounding methods of teaching thinking skills and who should teach them. Following an introduction that acknowledges the need for teaching such skills but a lack of consensus on how to meet this need, the digest discusses theories of isolating specific…

A folk theory of the effect of language on thought underlies decisions made in U.S. courts regarding language law. Previous work on folk theory has shown an internal structuring by which a premise entails subsequent terms, consistent within the framework of the folk theory's logic. An analysis of metapragmatic statements in U.S. case law materials…

English language teaching has become part of the process whereby one part of the world has become politically, economically, and culturally dominated by another, and the English language teacher has become an agent in the maintenance of international patterns of dominance and subordination. The core of this process is the central place English has…

Interviews with ten officers in the lending centers of two Dallas, Texas banks concerning their possession of and need for second language skills on the job revealed that all but one had second language training and three were nonnatives. Five of the native-born Americans had lived abroad and/or studied languages in college. Two of the officers…

This profile of the English language teaching situation in Botswana examines the role of English in society and in the educational system. The status of English as the second official language is noted, and the English curriculum is described from its beginning in the first primary year through secondary school and the university. Statistics on…

This profile of the English language teaching situation in Zambia examines the role of English in society and in the educational system. The situation of English as the medium of instruction established by law is noted as well as its status as lingua franca along with the seven official Zambian vernaculars. English in the educational system is…

This study investigated the ability of preschool children in Singapore to conserve number, length, and quantity. Participants were more than 200 children of 3 to 6 years who attended one of six different types of preschool centers. Findings indicated that more than half of the 5.5-year-old children were able to conserve number, but less than 15…

Over 200 news items, journal articles, position papers, and other citations concerning the issue of English as the official language of the United States are included in this bibliography. While information on state and federal legislative efforts is presented, testimony of congressional hearings is kept to a minimum, as are unpublished…

This paper examines the role and variability of Greek ethnicity in Des Moines, Iowa, with special reference to the 230 persons who form the core group of the local Greek community. Operating tangentially to this core group network is another series of networks which operate intermittently to include new members of the community. Despite their low…

The majority of the languages spoken in Papua New Guinea are highly diverse, belong to many unrelated groups, and are spoken by small language communities. This situation has resulted in widespread multilingualism and the emergence of "lingue franche," including the police-type, such as Hiri Motu. Hiri Motu, adopted as a symbol by the…

This profile in outline form of the English language teaching situation in the Sultanate of Oman examines the role of English in society and in the educational system. The predominance of English as the most important foreign language is noted, and its status as a compulsory subject in elementary and secondary school is discussed. The composition…

Theories concerning the relationship between language acquisition and cognitive development are examined, and implications for education are discussed. There is disagreement about the sources and processes involved in achieving linguistic performance, and in particular, determining linguistic competence. Among the many theories and modifications…