A number of studies on the acquisition of communicative competence (the ability to communicate effectively in natural social settings) in varying cultural and social settings are described. Languages covered are English, including urban Afro-American dialects; Samoan; Tzeltal, an Indian language of Southern Mexico; Luo of Kenya; and the Spanish of…

The investigation described in this paper was concerned with language alternation (code-switching) in the speech of Chicano migrant workers in Florida. In order to study Chicano bilingualsim, three principal sources were utilized: (1) a revised version of Wolck's sociolinguistic background questionnaire; (2) pictorial questionnaires such as…

Discusses research on the development of different models of schooling in Catalonia and on the linguistic abilities and qualifications of teachers of Catalan. Recent research has shown that the proficiency of pupils of Catalan and Castillian is determined by environmental and individual factors. (Author/SED)

Examines the evaluative component in bilingual discourse in order to show that for the purpose of evaluation, the bilingual often switches from one language to the other. The study examines spontaneous stories, unplanned short narratives and conversational exchanges occurring in the recorded speech of two Finnish-English bilingual children. (32…

Reports two-year sociolinguistic study of English use by five immigrant children. Observational findings compare "substantial" and "minimal" English contacts by experienced children. Illustrates benefits and hindrances to English learning, and how contacts depend principally on children's English abilities. Discusses English…

Following a brief review of the history of interest in foreign languages in America, facts to be considered when interpreting falling enrollment statistics, such as a drop in the birth rate, are discussed. It is stressed that foreign language teaching cannot be neglected in a world having improved and extensive communication between people…

The first part of these findings is a report on a study of the characteristics of 120 Spanish-English bilingual children's speech over a two-year period in the classroom, on the playground, and at home. Three types of language measures were used as well as audiotaped speech samples taken in the three communication settings. Preliminary findings…

Yugoslavia, a country with a population of about 20,000,000, has as official languages Macedonian, Slovenian, and Serbo-Croatian. The latter is the cause of much controversy, for while Croatian and Serbian indisputably have a common linguistic base, the political and economic tensions between the two "nationalities" augment disagreement…

This paper reports on a study done at the University of Texas at San Antonio to examine the extent of compoundness or coordinateness with respect to the language use of Spanish-English speaking bilinguals in the Southwest. The long-range purpose was to delve into the more theoretical issue of the kinds of bilingual functioning. The discussion is…

There is wide variability in the type and degree of bilingualism exhibited by persons from the various Spanish-speaking groups in the USA. Within particular subcultural groups, there is significant variability among individuals in the use of language patterns. An empirical study investigated the use of language pattern in specified social contexts…

The research resumes presented here comprise the responses received by the Stanford Child Language Project to a general request for reports on research in progress. These reports include all those distributed at the Child Language Research Forum in April 1973. The resumes cover a wide range of topics and present, in order, the following…

This content analysis schedule for the Santa Fe Bilingual-Bicultural Education Program of Santa Fe, New Mexico, presents information on the history, funding, and scope of the project in its second year. Included are sociolinguistic process variables such as the native and dominant languages of students and their interaction. Information is…

The articles included in this book are intended to demonstrate the diversity of academic interest in the phenomenon of bilingualism. Articles treat Mexican-Americans, American Indians, and Suggestions for Further Research. The first two parts contain the following subdivisions: (1) Assumptions and Methods, (2) Language Resources and Development,…

This bibliography is an outgrowth of a project undertaken in 1975 by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. The project was to update the bibliography of American doctoral dissertations in linguistics covering the years 1900-1964. Due to the large number of dissertations, the update was broken down into three parts, of which this…

This encyclopedia of language teaching and learning is an authoritative handbook dealing with all aspects of this field of study. It has been produced specifically for language teaching professionals, but can also be used as a general reference work for academic studies at a postgraduate level. A comprehensive range of articles on contemporary…