A study is reported whose purpose was to investigate if a relationship existed between Spanish and English language development in young Spanish speaking Mexican-Americans. One half of the children involved in the study were in maintenance bilingual-bicultural programs. The other half were in pull-out ESL programs. Using the descriptive survey…

Schools in the United States that have always conducted classes in an ethnic language were studied in an attempt to correct a long-standing oversight in the development of bilingual education theory. Chapters are devoted to the critical examination of five of the assumptions that have guided ethnic communities in institutionalizing ethnic-language…

This report, based on the materials used by the Committee on Irish Language Attitudes Research, describes the relations between language policy and socioeconomic development in the Republic of Ireland. Their contribution to central state planning in the maintenance and extension of Irish since attainment of political independence in 1922 is…

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…

Academic acceptance of American Sign Language (ASL) and its speakers can be achieved if higher education institutions make affirmative action training and employment commitments to deaf individuals. (CB)

Project planners and coordinators should consider twelve tips to ensure that English language training projects in developing countries will continue after external funding and high-cost aid personnel are removed. Involving local participants at all stages of the project, assuring future maintenance, and providing adequate incentives are some…

The results of an evaluation of a New Brunswick elementary school immersion program show that native speakers of English do not achieve the same proficiency in French language skills as they do in English. This is due to their limited exposure to native French speaking models outside the classroom. (MSE)

An overview of some basic issues underlying the national debate on bilingual education: its history, goals, and political implications. Contrasts the maintenance and transitional approaches. Argues that bilingual education is a civil rights and an equity issue, an essential part of multicultural education. (LHW)

A study examined the relationship of young Alsatians' language attitudes to both their language behavior at school and their linguistic norm and attitudes toward maintenance of their dialect. Results suggest that maintenance of minority languages can be helped by teaching linguistic minority youth to value their language and combat stereotypes.…

This paper examines the belief that as English rapidly infiltrates Native American cultures, school programs for teaching and maintaining native languages are not working. It suggests that Native American children who learn English first and their heritage languages second have difficulty learning the structures of their ancestral languages…

This collection of papers examines, from an international perspective, opportunities and challenges of societal bilingualism in the new millennium. The 18 papers include the following: "Introduction: Opportunities and Challenges of Bilingualism" (Li Wei, Jean-Marc Dewaele, and Alex Housen); "'Holy Languages' in the Context of…

Experiences with indigenous people in Mexico and New Mexico illustrate that there are cultural and situational constraints on women's literacy. A participatory demonstration in linguistics in which the demonstrator is largely silent highlights the group dynamics of learning communities that develop in successful literacy and stabilization…

It took 25 years to develop and arrive at a consensus for a standard orthography for the language of the Innu, or Montagnais, who live in Quebec and Labrador. The principal obstacle to standardization came from dialect diversity. An effort at standardizing the spelling system in the 1970s failed because speakers were not ready to let go of the…

Dr. Joshua Fishman, a world renowned sociolinguist and expert on endangered languages, postulates a continuum of eight stages of language loss for indigenous languages. The most-endangered languages are in stage 8 and only have a few elderly speakers. In stage 7 only adults beyond child-bearing age still speak the tribal language. In stage 6 there…

This study compared Australian teachers' attitudes toward multicultural education in 2000 with their attitudes in 1979, focusing on: fostering community language maintenance, fostering cultural identity and prestige maintenance, and fostering the benefits of multiculturalism within the community. Participating schools included: those which had…