Discusses language planning in modern Spain in terms of policy formation and implementation. The article argues that the elevation of Castilian to a position of linguistic supremacy is closely connected with the history of the development of a Spanish centralized state. It is concluded that whereas linguistic pluralism exists in theory, social…

Truscott and Sharwood Smith (henceforth T&SS) propose a novel theory of language acquisition, "Acquisition by Processing Theory" (APT), designed to account for both first and second language acquisition, monolingual and bilingual speech perception and parsing, and speech production. This is a tall order. Like any theoretically ambitious…

Discusses and criticizes the monolingual view of bilingualism, which holds that the bilingual is two monolinguals in one person. Proposes, instead, a view which holds that a bilingual has a unique, specific linguistic configuration. Examines a number of areas in bilingual research that are affected by this different view. (SED)

Reviews the history of language legislation in Quebec, specifically regarding the relationship between French and English. It is suggested that English be taught as a "foreign" rather than a "second" language in Quebec. (AM)

Research on education in Canada, the United States, the Philippines, and Ireland suggests that bilingual education of a pluralist character neither depresses nor enhances performance in English or in non-language subjects. Decisions to promote bilingual education are often based on social demands. (f=fiche numbers). (CP)

This commentary addresses the use of nativelikeness and non-nativelikeness in research relating to the age factor in L2A. I suggest that, in the context of the Critical Period Hypothesis as it applies to L2A, the criteria of nativelikeness and non-nativelikeness may be subject to abuse. I also argue that the use of the monolingual native standard…

Vocabulary acquisition is a critical component of academic language. This aspect of the school curriculum seems to be more difficult for language learners to acquire. This study therefore examines the language arts conceptual framework and the instructional activities for vocabulary development in a second grade mixed classroom with a view to…

A framework for discussing the issues associated with language policy in the United States is offered, highlighting the history of the country's diverse language groups and language policies. It is proposed that language politics, and often the policies themselves, reflect the social relations between groups within a society. The history of…

Addresses the question of how constraints are established by which Hispanicity is determined vis-a-vis language. It argues that, if Spanish-English bilingualism comes to prevail among American Hispanics, they will lose the Spanish language as a mother tongue and their distinct culture, becoming an Anglophone subculture similar to Irish or Italian…

As a multicultural teacher educator, the author has committed her professional life to helping future teachers understand their roles and responsibilities in working with the populations that Delpit (1995) referred to as "other people's children." Since the author is a former bilingual instructional assistant and English as a second language…

Responds to an article on aspects of African language policy and discusses the following issues: multilingualism and monolingualism, proposed changes in language policy from the Organization for African Unity and South African initiatives, the language of literature, bilingual education, and whose interests English-language teaching is serving.…

Presents a political overview of the dual cultural identities and official language policy in Canada. Details of recent events are provided about issues of language and culture and their relationship to the Quebec separatist movement. (93 references) (CK)

Argues that the claims made in defense of IQ tests as measures of innate intelligence are unreasonable and false. Attempts to establish what the views of the vanguard of IQ testers are, their origin, how IQ tests have been applied and what they consist of. Aims to show the incorrectness of those views, uses, and interpretations. (200 references)…

This paper addresses the educational needs of children who speak English as a Second Language (ESL) and considers the issues that are critical to providing these children with beneficial classroom environments, focusing on the effective instruction of bilingual children who are placed in classrooms with monolingual teachers and monolingual…

Little data are available concerning the native languages of Scandinavian residents, other than the official languages, despite the linguistic diversity of the region. Foreign language teaching starts early in schooling, but there has been little study of actual language needs. Three basic program designs are available for teaching foreign…