Argues against bilingual education in the United States, asserting that the English language binds together a multicultural people. Claims that the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 is divisive, and that immigrants now have greater difficulty assimilating to American life because they can avoid learning English. (MM)

Reviews language attrition research as well as analyzes characteristics of acquisition and attrition of first- and second-language skills. The relationship between language and memory is also discussed. Research results are summarized in appendix. (Author/LMO)

Describes the role of social science research evidence in the development of federal and court policy on bilingual education through a review of important court decisions. Assesses the research evidence on policy alternatives for educational programs for non-English speaking students. Provides recommendations for improving educational achievement…

Presents findings from an empirical study comparing the status of the German minority in the Italian South Tyrol and the Croatian minority in the Austrian Burgenland. The article analyzes observations of actual language use in schools and compares school authorities, curricula, and employment opportunities of the two minorities. (SED)

Criticizes the concept of structured immersion presented by Gersten and Woodward in the previous article. Points out questionable areas in the methodology and in interpretation of results in the research relating to implementation of structured immersion in Canada. (MD)

This collection of papers presents a kaleidoscope of shifting identities and loyalties in Western Europe and beyond, explaining how change is manifest in a variety of linguistic and other ways. After "Introduction" (Mike Holt and Paul Gubbins), 11 papers focus on: (1) "Language, Nationalism and Globalism: Educational Consequences of…

Using oral survey methods, this study examined potential language maintenance or loss of Mayan languages among the Guatemalan-Maya communities of Southeast Florida. Among dislocated immigrants and their children, the language of the dominant socio-economic forces often displaces other languages (Fishman, 1967). A Guatemalan community in Los…

This paper reports on the progress of a group of adults who have been connecting by telephone to learn to speak Deg Xinag, the language of the Deg Hit'an (Ingalik Athabaskan). The Deg Hit'an are the westernmost of the Athabaskan peoples, living near the confluence of the Yukon and Innoko Rivers in Alaska. Since Deg Xinag speakers, all elders,…

Two experimental language-learning textbooks were developed in collaboration with Apache-speaking scholars from the San Carlos and White Mountain Reservations. One was written in the grammar-translation tradition and modeled after successful textbooks for Navajo and Papago. While the text's main purpose is to teach elementary conversational…

This paper describes a pilot project of Los Alamos National Laboratory (New Mexico) to translate a science education curriculum for junior and senior high school students into Navajo. The project consisted of translating a video, a teacher's guide, and an interactive multimedia product on the 1993 hantavirus outbreak in the Four Corners area…

The Echota trace their roots to the Chickamauga Cherokee of North Alabama. Today the Echota number 22,000 with a tribal council that administers tribal lands, supports a dance team, publishes a newsletter, and supervises an Indian education program. One of the tribe's objectives is to revitalize the Cherokee language. Working with Auburn…

The Icelandic language has a long and stable history, and Old Icelandic is still accessible to modern day Icelanders. This is despite being ruled from Denmark, with influence by the Danish language, for about 500 years. Icelandic may now be under a more serious threat from the onslaught of English. This paper evaluates the linguistic situation in…

This booklet presents a clear and succinct description of the educational needs of francophone students, families, and communities, and how this all fits into the constitutional requirements of Canada as directed by the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and all subsequent amendments and Canadian Supreme Court rulings. It identifies the…

Informal interviews with educators, administrators, employers, researchers, and civil rights attorneys indicated that three general areas of focus were apparent: conceptual variables (about what language learning and maintenance actually means); social variables (family, socioeconomic status, sex, age, region, politics); and attitudinal variables.…

Since Australia is experiencing major shifts in ethnic composition, this study sought to examine the extent of change in value orientation toward cultural/linguistic pluralism, using data from a parent survey in all Catholic secondary schools in South Australia. Responses of parents from different ethnic backgrounds are considered. (SJL)