Knowledge of a language requires more than mastery of grammar; effective communication includes social and cultural aspects of language use, such as speaking volume and intonation, conventions of politeness, and set social formulas. The language teacher must be aware of these rules to convey them to students. (CHK)

Evidence from this and other research indicates that improvement in economic status in those societies in which the ideal is the large and complex family, and without other changes in the culture, is likely to result in families approaching the ideal. (Author)

An examination of the language of the disadvantaged, particularly black dialect, exploring the conflicting views of the deficit and difference model theorists. The necessity of distinguishing between meaning and structure is emphasized as a potential avenue of reconciliation for the two divergent perspectives. (EH)

The psychological consequences of limited marital opportunity have recently received attention. It has been argued that American women were facing a shortage of potential partners and that this situation was associated with a range of social phenomena, including changes in the value of marriage and family. This study examined the relationship…

This concept paper is intended to assist educators to understand why American culture has become so diverse, to review certain guiding principles and related research in effective educational practices for language instruction, and to present a number of instructional implications derived from the research. The recommendations for teachers which…

American education will be challenged over the next decades by a flow of increasingly diverse immigrants from all over the world and a workplace that will require a technologically sophisticated labor force. The response of the educational system to the new immigrants will have important consequences for society. Current immigrants do not have the…

Designed to be of interest to anyone concerned with the study of American literature in China or anyone contemplating teaching there, this paper is an edited version of the taped transcript of a panel discussion among five Fulbright professors of American literature and American studies i China. The paper begins with brief, focused introductory…

Proposing that world view is a dimension of culture which lies below the surface of human behavior at the level of the subconscious, this paper argues that this often ignored dimension of culture profoundly influences human communication. The paper is divided into two sections. First, world view is defined and its importance in explaining how…

Curricular experiences in a bilingual/multicultural teacher education program should be designed around the experiential and conceptual backgrounds of multiethnic children and youth. The concepts, generalizations, content, language patterns, values, attitudes, habits, and cultural heritage familiar to all racial and cultural groups should…

This study examines preadolescents' choice of admired individuals and the reasons given in support of that admiration in two different cultures. Students in the fourth and fifth grades of a public school in East Brunswick, New Jersey and in a Jewish parochial school in the same community comprised the American sample of 100 boys and 115 girls. A…

The paper describes the present state of education in Nigeria with emphasis on the cultural, socio-economic, and political influences affecting special education. After a brief summary of education in Nigeria since independence (1960), the paper looks at problems identified in special education and at Section 8, that portion of the National Policy…

This study examined attitudes among Puerto Rican-American parents toward the processes of assessment, placement and instruction of students with disabilities. Twelve such families in a low-income, mostly Hispanic urban community were interviewed and observed and ethnographic methods used to assess the role of their culture in parents'…

Environmental assessment, which involves examining the perceptions of people in a given environment or social climate (socially agreed upon norms for acceptable behaviors) is one method of placing behavior in context. The University of Maryland, College Park, conducted a student survey in order to examine the social climate through a study of…