Assesses how discrimination and biculturalism have affected the Chicanos' ability to communicate bilingually in a monolingual society. Using a historical perspective, the sociocultural significance of Chicano bilingualism is discussed in terms of code switching, language dominance, and cultural values. (JAC)

Discusses measures language teachers can use to maintain and develop their communicative language ability. Introduces strategies teachers can adopt and mentions ways in which educational systems and universities can assist teachers. The model presented is relevant to teachers of any language. (13 references) (Author/CK)

Argues that universities in Australia have done little to assist in the preservation of Aboriginal languages. The article maintains that provision by the government of adequate financial support to universities would enable them to make a significant contribution to the cause of saving endangered languages from extinction. (Author/CK) (17…

Discusses strategies of social mobility involving education, occupational or residential change, and migration as well as the implications for language behavior of these strategies. The article assesses current theories of language maintenance and shift, drawing on network concepts and referring to change in an Irish-speaking community in…

Considers the pedagogical validity of English immersion education in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, Melanesian countries of the South Pacific. Questions the appropriateness of implementing a policy of English language immersion education in a postcolonial, multilingual Third World context where support for first language maintenance and second…

Discusses "Te Whariki," the New Zealand Draft Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education, in relation to historical and cultural contexts. Addresses aspirations of the Maori people for their language and culture to be protected and sustained. Asserts a bicultural imperative for early childhood education curriculum. (BGC)

Dr. Robert W. Young discusses what led him to work in the Navajo Nation and to begin studying Navajo, the method he used for developing a Navajo orthography, his professional relationship with Dr. William Morgan, the system they used to develop an English-Navajo dictionary, his views on language loss, and his greatest accomplishment--a reservation…

Reviews the literature about preschool immersion education for Indigenous languages. Describes the two oldest and best known of such programs: Kohanga Reo ("language nests") in Aotearoa/New Zealand and Punana Leo in Hawaii. Looks at existing U.S. programs, particularly Arapaho preschools in Wyoming. Outlines major themes and issues in developing…

Describes establishment of language renewal program, Te Kohanga Reo, for Maori preschool children. The plan reinforces a sense of community through local collaboration and promotion of Maori cultural values. Examines the influence of Maori social and cultural values in the program's organization, content, and style. Contains 36 references.…

Maintains that linguistics has great potential value for historians. Contends that the pidgin and creole languages of the former colonies of European nations provide avenues for examining the histories of "people without history." (CFR)

A group of 20 British-born Chinese children aged 12 to 14 were examined in terms of ability to use their mother tongue and of social network structures. One finding is that, to make community language education more effective, parents and children should be brought closer together socially. (Contains 46 references.) (Author/LB)

Focuses on how parents and teachers can help bring nonnative English-speaking children become literate in both their native language and in English. The activities most likely to ensure success in achieving these goals are those which can be done with the materials at hand in the context of normal daily living and in which everyone is happy to…

The information gained from analysis of bilingual students' writing can be used to inform instruction that helps students improve their writing in Spanish and English. The writing of one native Spanish-speaking third grader is analyzed, and instructional strategies are given for helping the writer improve content and mechanics. (Author/TD)

The literature on language diversity, linguistic human rights, and language renewal is reviewed, and Web sites dedicated to Aboriginal languages are examined. The Internet provides a resource center where grammars, lexicons, fonts, and other resources can be developed; a means of learning languages; and a medium for communicating in Aboriginal…

Less than 200 years ago, nearly every Cherokee could read and write the Cherokee language because of the syllabary form of writing invented by Sequoyah. Language use declined due to government boarding school policies that forbade use of the Cherokee language. Isolated communities and medicine people kept the language alive. Current efforts to…