Recent proposals concerning integration of foreign language study with social science study in New South Wales are described, and the background of debate in linguistics against which these proposals may be viewed is outlined. (RM)

Focuses on the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Japan and describes Charles Fries' influence in the field, the teaching methods used, and the preservice and continuing education of EFL teachers there. The article expresses the hope that this experience will improve cross-cultural understanding between Australian educators and…

Imposition of English in Torres Strait and Cape York Peninsula (Australia) schools led to the development of Torres Strait Creole (TSC), now widely spoken. Common formal errors that TSC-speaking students make in written English are described and related to linguistic transfer. Cultural vocabulary, core cultural values reflected in TSC, and the…

A discussion of language policy formation and planning in Australia covers the following: the development of the national policy on languages, and the Australian Language and Literacy Policy and its four goals related to English language and literacy, languages other than English, aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, and…

Speech material gathered from Dutch-English bilinguals in Australia questioned in 1971 and 1987 was analyzed, showing no evidence of attrition in Dutch. It is concluded that first-language attrition does not necessarily occur in an immigrant setting and that immigrants who maintain their language in the first years of their stay will likely remain…

Two competing theories of "both ways" (dominant culture access and minority culture maintenance) education are examined: Harris' culture domain separation theory and Kemmis'"negotiated meaning" approach. Analysis along three dimensions (view of culture, language, and epistomology/ontology) suggests Harris' theory is based on a…

This paper deals with the author's recent work on political, sociolinguistic and educational aspects of bilingual and immersion education in Australia. Among the cases considered are: the development of a professional position statement on bilingual and immersion education, to be disseminated to policy makers; advising on an Auslan (Australian…

Language ecology, a term developed by Haugen (2001), describes the relationship between languages and the environment in which they exist; that is, how they grow, change, interact and adapt in a Darwinian-like quest for survival. Of the 6000 or so languages in existence today, some are spoken by vast numbers of people, but others are used by very…

Following an introduction by Anthony Liddicoat on the general nature of bilingualism, three papers on the characteristics, development, and advantages of bilingualism are presented. "Psycholinguistic Aspects of Bilingualism" by Susanne Dopke, Tim Macnamara, and Terry Quinn considers the linguistic, cognitive, emotional, and educational…

Offering a comprehensive review of Australian research directed toward the study of the language use of children from different social backgrounds, this book assesses the validity of Basil Bernstein's thesis that many lower working class children are confined to a restricted code of language use. This evaluation is set in two wider contexts: what…

This paper provides a review of "English Transported: Essays on Australasian English," edited by W. S. Ramson. The book is a collection of articles on the various types of English spoken mainly in Australia and New Zealand. Articles discuss such varieties as nineteenth and twentieth century Australian English, New Zealand English, Pidgin…

Suggests the use of principal components analysis as an alternative solution to the problem of grouping speakers by sociological characteristics prior to quantitative analysis. An example is presented of its application to vowel variation data collected as part of a sociolinguistic survey of English in Sydney, Australia. (Author/CB)

Presents a tongue-in-cheek monologue on the value of languages to the culture and economic life of Australia and its students. Touches on the number of languages spoken in Australia, the schools' role, languages other than English, student motivation, educational objectives, immigrants, and multiculturalism. (Author/CK)

After an examination of five major questions about incorporating non-Western and ethnic music into music education programs, a comparison of the British and Austrian periodical literature is discussed. The resulting conclusions place the music and multicultural education issues in a broader context. (27 references) (Author/LB)

A study of the relationship between the deaf, their native sign languages, and the encompassing hearing societies and their cultures, within the context of schooling, demonstrates how the discourse on sign language within education is a vital ingredient in the assertion of symbolic power by the hearing establishment over the deaf community. The…