This book on mother tongue (native language) teaching in Europe contains three parts. The first explores definitions and teaching implications of mother tongues, including issues of language identity, language standards, mother tongue roles, and language policies in the European Union. The second part consists of nine case studies: "Teaching…

Early childhood educators and school personnel increasingly will be working with children and families from diverse economic, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. While the student population is rapidly becoming diverse, the teaching force remains predominantly White and from middle-class backgrounds (Whitebook, 2003). This growing…

Mauritius is a multilingual country with English, French and Creole as the main languages, and several ancestral languages which are mainly used for religious ceremonies. Most children speak Creole at home and learn English, French and one ancestral language in the first year of primary school. The educational dropout rate is 40-50% after primary…

Five questions and answers are presented in this document. They are as follows: (1) Are family literacy and intergenerational literacy the same? The first term, it is explained, focuses on the parent and child, while the second term, used in the broader sense, involves other adults such as grandparents and neighbors, etc. (2) What are the goals of…

Presented in the belief that it is time for parents and teachers of primary school children to add a primary perspective to the national conversation about education, this booklet provides an up-to-date introduction to the work of primary schools across Australia. It also offers parents ideas they can use to support their children's learning at…

Two public hearings on the implementation of the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant in California are summarized. Over 200 testimonies were either received by the state's Child Development Programs Advisory Committee or presented during the hearings. In spite of the diverse demographic representation, the variety of viewpoints and…

This paper presents a discussion of multicultural policies in Canada, implications for teachers and schools, multicultural resources, and heritage language education. A case study of an elementary school in North York, a borough of metropolitan Toronto (Ontario, Canada), illustrates the positive effects that can accrue when a multicultural…

Intended for elementary school teachers and supervisors, this collection of articles focuses on creating meaningful learning through an integrated language arts approach. Divided into three sections, the articles discuss the theoretical and practical frameworks that support program integration; examine real programs, tested procedures, and actual…

A survey of the status of language usage in Ghana begins with an overview of the distribution and usage of English, as the sole official language, and of the local languages Akan, Ewe, Adangme, Dagbani, Nzema, Ga, Dagaari, and Hausa. A matrix follows that rates these languages on: (1) their usage rating using State Department classifications; (2)…

A survey of the status of language usage in Ethiopia begins with an overview of the distribution of Amharic, the sole official language and medium of elementary instruction, and Tigrinya, Oromo, Wolayto, Somali, Sidamo, Hadiyya, and English, the medium of secondary and higher education instruction. The relationship of language usage patterns to…

A survey of the status of language usage in Malawi begins with an overview of the distribution and usage of English (the official language) and the native Bantu languages: Chichewa or Nyanja (Chinyanja), the language used by half the population; and three other Bantu languages also used there--Lomwe, Yao, and Tumbuka. The social situation favoring…

A survey of the status of language usage in Angola begins with an overview of the usage and distribution of Portuguese as the official language, and the four most significant native languages and dialects spoken there: Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo, and Lunda-Chokwe. The introduction of Spanish through Cuban trainers, teachers, and military advisors…

A survey is presented of the status and usage patterns of the lingua francas--common languages used as a medium of communication between ethnically and linguistically diverse peoples--of the African continent. The survey gives an overview of the general language situation and briefly describes the major languages: Swahili, Hausa, Fufulde,…

A survey of the status of language usage in Yugoslavia begins with an overview of the distribution of Serbo-Croatian, Croato-Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Albanian, and Hungarian, noting the status of all languages spoken there as nationality languages and as official languages in their speakers' republics. The equality of languages and cultures,…

A survey of the status of language usage in the Ivory Coast begins with an overview of the usage patterns of French, the official language, and the five most commonly used native languages: Jula, Anyi-Baoule, Senoufo, Bete, and Dan. Recent Ivorian efforts at language planning, development, and research are also highlighted. A matrix follows that…