This handbook was prepared for use by the various ethnic associations in Canada whose members want to find effective means of helping their children learn or maintain their ancestral language. The program described involves the use of recreational activities for language instruction, based on the theory that the nature of and motivation for…

This report, prepared by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, collects federal, state, and other legisltation in effect as of April 15, 1975. This is an update of the report published by the Center for Applied Linguistics in 1971. The notes preceding the statutes presented here indicate the laws in the previous compilation which were…

In various of the newly independent countries of Africa and Asia local language candidates are appearing to claim the role of national and official languages. These languages, indigenous to the general area where they are used, such as Swahili in East Africa, are being actively promoted to assume a more important place in the linguistic life of…

Bilingualism and the cultural and linguistic pluralism that it involves should be preserved and encouraged within the national educational system. Statistics concerning bilinguals on a national scale would present a more accurate picture if based on John Macnamara's definition of bilinguals as "persons who possess at least one of the language…

This paper is a study in language acculturation with special reference to the Indianization of the English language. It briefly traces the history of the diffusion of bilingualism in English on the culturally and linguistically pluralistic Indian subcontinent. The functional roles of English are discussed and the formal influences of Indian…

The United States' colleges and universities can promote the use of languages to develop understanding of other cultures by using languages in interdisciplinary modes, by studying the role of bilingual education in meeting language needs, and by helping with accurate assessment of national language needs--the basis for language policies. (JHZ)

This book presents a proposal for the inclusion of indigenous languages in the classroom. Based on fieldwork in the United States and Mexico, it explores ways in which the cultural and linguistic resources of indigenous communities can enrich the language and literacy program. There are nine chapters in two parts. Part 1, "A Survey of…

Describes the three methods of teaching French in elementary schools in France: the traditional, the Freinet, and the "Plan de renovation pour l'enseignement du francais." A description of a model for the l980s is given. Techniques influenced by sociolinguistics seem most suited to replace traditional methodology. (AMH)

Discusses the language policy existing in the "New South Africa," which provides for the use of 11 official languages. The article argues that this policy poses challenges and that the development process is complicated by attitudes that indigenous languages are inferior to English and other Western languages. The study explores the…

Examines English teacher training in Central America where a high percentage of students are in private schools. The article highlights teacher training and practice, curriculum design and development, students and communities, and research directions and funding. (Five references) (CK)

Discusses the effects of new national economic priorities in Australia and of that country's desire for closer trade and cultural ties in the area on European minority languages and Asian "priority" languages. The article argues that equity and mobility for those with a less preferred language background are best achieved via English…

Examines the question of language revitalization against the background of the use of Hebrew as the language of public life in Israel and of Irish as an official language of Ireland. Notes that the organizing principles of nationalism are complex and disputed. The different linguistic outcomes in these two countries point up the complexity and…

Examines the intellectual arguments and thinking that might have accorded primacy to English in Trinidad and Tobago in the colonial period, and the ways in which formal schooling inculcated and imposed English. Draws on school records and evaluations of the curriculum and student performance to analyze how managers policed the English-language…

Examines the demand for German in the East, the ways in which Germany is trying to meet it and the resulting controversy. Also examines the work of major language and cultural organizations in furthering the study of German in Eastern Europe and notes ramifications for German study in the United States. (37 references) (Author/CK)

Analyzes a language plan proposed by the Hong Kong government to promote Chinese as the medium of instruction in the education system. A brief history of the past language situation is provided, and an outline of the evolution of the proposed plan is highlighted. (31 references) (Author/VWL)