Provides information on planning an English as a Second Language curriculum, compatible with existing language policy in various countries. Four categories are discussed: (1) English as a Second Language, (2) English as a Foreign Language, (3) English as an Additional Language, and (4) English as a Language of Wider Communication. (Author/PJM)

Historical, political, and sociolinguistic aspects of the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) in Puerto Rico are examined. It is suggested that the apparent failure of ESL instruction is in reality a motivated failure: a society's successful resolution of a conflict between government planning for bilingualism and social pressure for…

Suggests the use of jokes in the English as a second language class to promote oral fluency, awareness of sociolinguistic rules, and understanding of certain values in American culture. (CFM)

The role of cultural context in the communicative interaction of young Inuit children, their caregivers, and their non-Inuit teachers was examined in a longitudinal ethnographic study conducted in two small communities of arctic Quebec. Focus was on discourse features of primary language socialization of Inuit families. (32 references) (Author/LB)