A discussion of the crisis in preservation of North American Indian languages looks at a variety of general and specific issues. First, it examines briefly current efforts by international organizations for maintenance of endangered languages worldwide. The discussion then turns to North American Indian languages, and particularly to three issues:…

This paper presents an ethnographic study of the Oyster Bilingual School in Washington, D.C., a successful two-way Spanish-English bilingual elementary school designed to produce biliterate and bicultural students. The study was based on classroom observations, interviews of students, teachers, and administrators, and an examination of school…

A selection of essays on foreign language planning at the national level contains articles on the language planning process, language choice, teacher education, testing and assessment, and transnational planning. Essays include the following: "Foreign Language Teaching Policy: Some Planning Issues" (Theo J. M. van Els); "Foreign…

There are approximately 170 indigenous languages spoken in Brazil, by a population of about 200,000. Language policy regarding these communities has not been well defined or explicit. Through several changes of constitution, only Portuguese has been considered the national and official language. Only recently has the government begun to develop a…

Although the development of Kiswahili in Tanzania has had a number of stumbling blocks, it is slowly developing into a language of modern technology. Individual institutions have contributed greatly to its spread and promotion. More books are now published in Kiswahili than ever before, and scientific and technical terminology has been developed.…

A study of North Australia's Kriol language situation identifies the language, its speakers, its functions, and the sociopolitical factors in its emergence as an autonomous language. The first chapter reviews the development of the linguistic field concerning pidgins and creoles, looking especially at the concepts developed to explain the rise and…

This report describes bilingual education programs in England that promote the Welsh and Gaelic languages. The section on Welsh includes discussions of: the history of the Welsh language, the Welsh books scheme to promote the availability of published materials in Welsh, the activities of the national language unit of Wales, external examinations,…

The difference between "foreign language learning" and "second language learning" is not clear because writers do not agree on the criteria to be used in making the distinction. Moreover, there is a lack of empirical evidence to justify the use of the two terms. The purpose of this study is: (1) to review the various criteria…

The government of Quebec looks to the province's French-language universities for several contributions in strengthening the position of the French Canadian language and culture in Quebec. The enrollments in these universities have increased in the past fifteen years, and French-language universities are expected to educate and train increasing…

The extent to which the language planning that has been pursued in many localities and in many periods has been guided by nationalism, that is, by "...the social movements, attitudes, and ideologies which characterize the behavior of nationalities engaged in the struggle to achieve, maintain or enhance their position in the world" (Wirth 1936) is…

This is a summary in outline form of the English literature teaching situation in Sri Lanka. Pupils may begin literature in English in grade 10 when they are about 15. All undergraduates study some English to gain English reading ability. Most of them value the ability to speak and write English, though present facilities make it difficult to…

This book focuses on the minority languages of Europe, those other than the national languages of European Union member states, by looking at the demographic, sociolinguistic, and educational aspects of both regional and immigrant languages. Empirical evidence for the status of these other languages of multicultural Europe is brought together in a…

The five papers included in this volume approach the study of American Indian languages from a diverse array of methodological and theoretical approaches to linguistics. Two papers focus on approaches that come from the applied linguistics tradition, emphasizing ethnolinguistics and discourse analysis: Sonya Bird's paper "A Cross Cultural…

This guide, provided by a partisan education policy public interest group, seeks to answer the most frequently asked questions about teaching, designing, and evaluating an English immersion classroom and the research underpinnings in favor of English immersion. This guide aims to help teachers and policymakers better understand what English…

Focuses on the changing role and status of English within new language-in-education policies in South Africa. The article presents a model providing a descriptive framework for analyzing and evaluating decisions made relating to language-in-education planning. The article concludes by identifying issues related to the process of…