Presents four brief essays discussing how diversity will affect literacy in the next millennium. Notes competing goals and practices in education that will shape what happens in the next 25 years; discusses tensions in teaching and learning that accompany diversity and literacy; discusses the role of literacy researchers; and offers anecdotes…

Examines learner attitudes toward classroom learning of English, with particular focus on collectivism versus individualism, attitudes towards authority, and types of achievement motivation. Data are collected from eight Asian and three European countries. Although many attitudinal differences occur between individual countries, striking…

Discusses ways in which researchers have examined the role of social and emotional factors in cognitive functioning and development to uncover additional sources of variation to explain interindividual and intraindividual differences in cognitive development from within a Piagetian framework. Considers the implications of recent Francophone…

Suggests that immigrant Latino parents have an ethnotheory of child development that emphasizes being part of a group, and that this ethnotheory conflicts with teachers' views focusing on the development of individual potential. Analyzes three dialogues from parent-teacher conferences to illustrate parent-teacher cooperation or discord in the…

Investigated seventh graders' gender discrimination from a cross-cultural perspective. Israeli Arabs and Jews rated two hypothetical male candidates for class representative (who were generally masculine or outstandingly feminine) on their beliefs about their ability to be elected and their willingness to interact with them. Both groups…

Focuses on some of the ways in which literacy program participants from immigrant cultures take up the literacy information and procedures offered to them by their host culture. Demonstrates ways in which institutional responses to nontraditional forms of literacy can be accurately identified and program implementation effectively modified to…

Describes a shock language activity exercise that gives mainstream students a realistic taste of the challenges faced by their English language learning peers and a greater respect for linguistic and cultural differences. The activity transforms the typical U.S. classroom into a typical Japanese classroom. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on the role that cases can play in preparing English-as-a-foreign-language teachers for the linguistic, cultural, and pedagogical realities of teaching English in an unfamiliar sociocultural setting. Describes some of the benefits of a case-based approach in TEFL teacher development programs. Offers a definition of decision-forcing cases…

This article discusses the increasing population of children from diverse backgrounds and suggests commonsense methods for team development of cultural competence for the provision of appropriate early intervention services to linguistically and culturally diverse families. Recommendations for using interpreters and developing models for family…

Identifies a barrier hindering the learning and interaction of East Asian students studying in Australia, identified during teacher research: the fear of intimidation, embarrassment, or "loss of face." Addresses methods and issues involved in overcoming this barrier. (EV)

Teachers who instruct English learners must be skilled at lowering four significant barriers to meaningful instruction: cognitive load; culture load; language load; and learning load. This paper describes the four loads, provides classroom examples, shares teachers strategies that lighten the load, and discusses the role of creative, passionate…

Study seeks to identify trajectories of grade changes in a sample of adolescents following their entrance into junior high and to examine differences in these trajectories by gender and ethnicity. Three patterns were observed: "sliders," (characteristic of Anglos), "steadies," (characteristic of Blacks), and "rebounders," (characteristic of…

Examines the plight of urban students within general and special education programs, discussing traditional identification, assessment, and intervention issues that consistently magnify their plight and suggesting ways to ameliorate these problems. Describes the role of general and special educators in helping urban students succeed. (Contains…

Investigates the cultural context and the silent language of health care delivery from the perspective of foreign-born, Vietnamese immigrants. Suggests that business communication instructors need to incorporate cultural health beliefs, time orientation, and the expected role of family members in the practice of health care as they prepare…

Failure to recognize the uniqueness of specific Asian American ethnic groups may lead to ineffective counseling. Investigates similarities and differences between college students (N=570) from four Asian American ethnic groups on their adherence to six value dimensions identified in previous research. Findings confirm the need to understand…