The study discusses the dynamics English language instruction in the Philippine basic education curriculum. Although English enjoyed immense popularity as early as 1900s during the American entry to the country, its role in Philippine education has transformed gradually as the country undergoes political, social and economic reconstruction in the…

In this paper a comparative analysis of the status of four types of languages present in the Serbian compulsory education system is presented: (1) Serbian as L1; (2) Serbian as L2 (for ethnic minorities); (3) minority languages; as well as (4) traditionally designated "foreign languages", such as English, French, Russian and German,…

This book presents a collection of classroom practices that view the personal experiences of diverse student populations as valuable resources for instruction. It offers teachers various responses to the challenges posed by students' cultural, linguistic, and social group affiliations. The book contains essays arranged into three interwoven…

A discussion of bilingual education programs focuses on the methodology and stated results of program evaluations. It begins with definitions of five program designs for limited-English-proficient students: English-only; structured English immersion; English as a Second Language (ESL); structured home language immersion; and transitional bilingual…

A study of language attitudes in Sub-Saharan Africa, an area of 45 countries and over 1,700 languages, attempts to: (1) pinpoint attitudinal patterns towards European and indigenous languages; (2) give these attitudes historical perspective; (3) identify attitudes toward language use in education; (4) encourage language research on attitudes in…

Defining metalinguistic awareness as the ability to reflect on and manipulate the structural features of language, this article examines the hypothesis that the metalinguistic demands of learning to read are shaped by the structure of a language and its associated writing system. The article examines the relationship between phonemic awareness and…

A study analyzed the perspectives, as expressed in gestures, of six sixth-grade students in science classes as they either explained in-the-moment or described book-learned or previously thought-out ideas. Student behaviors were analyzed for evidence of three perspectives: (1) outside observer, shown by the observer standing apart from his gesture…

English instructors often find themselves in a position of upholding what they realize is an institutional form of racism and classism. Such "standards" presuppose a "correct" language form, one that is often stultifying and unchanging. In today's college classrooms, many English as a Second Language students appear whose…

The third year of an ongoing research project to document and evaluate an innovative Japanese language program in grades K-5 (n=195) is reported. Two strands of research are examined. The first deals with school and community ambiance, and attempts to capture in a systematic way the attitudes and perceptions of parents, teachers, and students in…

This report summarizes advances in bilingual education that help linguistically and culturally diverse (LCD) students reach high levels of achievement and performance. Factors to be considered include the native language, bilingualism and academic achievement, curriculum, parental and community influences, and programmatic evaluation. The reports…

The analysis presented here attempts to specify the various conditions, including school-wide and classroom practices, that maximize English language learners' opportunities to meet challenging outcome expectations, and synthesize them into a model for change at the levels of school and classroom. The attributes of effective programs identified…

This report provides data on standard and non-standard African language varieties occurring in urban areas of South Africa, drawn from nine smaller reports. It illustrates the language use patterns in black urban communities and describes the language varieties spoken in them. It was found that the impact of non-standard varieties on the use of…

A study analyzed patterns of usage of political vocabulary in Hong Kong English as found in newspaper reports of a leading Hong Kong English-medium newspaper and two other English-medium newspapers. Data were drawn from a computerized corpus and a clippings file. The report begins with an overview of the theoretical basis of the study of ideology…

In a case study, a child's acquisition and maintenance of Chinese (as a first language) and English (as a second language) were documented. The child brought to the United States at age 3.5, acquired English in 2 years and was encouraged to maintain his Chinese skills through a family-based education program. For 6 months the boy was given Chinese…

A study investigated cognitive, social, and psychological aspects of language and literacy among five young adult Ethiopian students who had emigrated to Israel. The subjects were four males and one female aged 18-25, enrolled in an Israeli university's pre-academic program. All had come to Israel a number of years previously, when their…