This paper provides a comparative perspective on a language minority group in the United States, offering insights into the development of language policies for a new, developing multicultural Europe. It begins with background information that frames the current policies and cultural debates about Spanish, and to a lesser degree other non-English…

This document presents four research-based papers that were the catalyst for discussions at the first Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning diversity roundtable in 1998. The goals established for this roundtable included: building participants' capacity for working with diverse populations; providing a catalyst for participants to…

The purpose of this handbook is to encourage citizenship teachers and tutors to teach in ways that will increase the likelihood that their students will pass citizenship tests and interviews. It provides an overview of the citizenship process and includes activity ideas and a discussion of the elements of good teaching on this subject. This…

The chapters in this collection provide the reader with a unified and systemic framework in which issues of excellence and equity are presented and discussed. The publication is structured to address critical issues and promising practices for linguistically and culturally diverse students in the areas of instruction, assessment, and parent…

This document establishes highly detailed benchmarks for literacy and numeracy (initial, developing, and adequate) in three phases. The guide is a series of tables detailing language competencies, literacy competencies, and conditions as well as sample tasks and examples for each of the three levels in each of the three phases. It details reading,…

Papers from a colloquium on the relationship between Canada's official languages and its economy include: "Economic Dimensions of Minority and Foreign Language Use: An International Overview" (Karim H. Karim); "European Research on the economics of Language: Recent Results and Relevance to Canada" (Francois Grin);…

The aim of this paper is to study the Finnish spoken in the Swedish Torne Valley, its use and development during the 1960s and the 1990s, and how it differs now from the Finnish spoken in the same area in the early 1960s. The study also examines which people speak Finnish in this valley today and in what contexts, as well as how the Finnish…

This article explores some problems and recent solutions to the use of norm-referenced testing of children who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD). It describes two promising procedures to provide unbiased assessment of CLD children's language and literacy: the use of processing-dependent measures and of dynamic assessment measures.…

In the United States today, other languages and bilingualism receive no more respect than in 1954 when Mexican American children had to spend years in "pre-primer" classes before entering first grade. The rush to dismantle bilingual education programs has proceeded without any evidence of program failure. Without true equity and respect…

Various interpretations of the historical forces affecting U.S. language policy and attitudes toward bilingual education are examined. Changing political, social, and economic forces, rather than any consistent ideology, have shaped the nation's responses to language diversity. U.S. language ideology has shifted with changing historical events,…

This article discusses barriers to the identification of gifted students, including linguistic function, learning style attributes, self-concept perceptions, and locus of control issues. Methods of detecting hidden giftedness are provided for each of these barriers, along with approaches to intervention. (Contains 8 references.) (CR)

Reviews American educational policy and indigenous language loss, the importance of language revitalization, and various models of language-immersion studies. A case study reports on Papahana Kaiapuni, the Hawaiian language immersion program established in 1987. This program is an example of a native community's efforts to revitalize its language.…

A response to an article on multiculturalism and the status of community languages in Australia makes a distinction between multilingualism and multiculturalism, and in public policy, between respecting and embracing diverse cultures. Multiculturalism and public attitudes about freedom of speech are also examined. (MSE)

Response to an article on multiculturalism and status of community languages in Australia finds three areas in which the author's optimism appears not to be justified: argument that placing economic value on languages automatically works in favor of linguistic minorities; assumption that minority languages all have similar economic value; and…

A response to an article on multiculturalism and the status of community languages in Australia focuses on the issue of "backlash" against public policy for immigrants, and discusses the link between language planning and social planning. The role of elites and "counterelites," interest and pressure groups, in the successful…