A college student of intermediate to advanced English as a second language (ESL) is still constantly trying to identify the rules governing the language and making and correcting mistakes. Sociolinguistic theory can help to understand this type of active, advanced learner and the instructional strategies that complement this learning style. Four…

Papers given at an international conference applying the social sciences to the study of the relationships of languages include the following: "Reseaux sociaux et comportements langagiers en milieu de contact des langues" ("Social Networks and Language Behaviors in a Language Contact Setting") by M. Blanc and J. Hamers, with…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 15 dissertations abstracted deal with the following topics: (1) the intercultural composition classroom, (2) cross-cultural communication curriculum, (3) miscue analysis with bilingual children, (4) communication difficulties of…

Foreign language (FL) needs is a new interdisciplinary area of research developing between applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, and educational planning and evaluation. FL needs consist of the demands, wishes, and expectations of the whole society, its groups and individuals, reflecting the relationship of their contemporary and future existence…

The chapters in this collection were largely compiled from presentations at inservice teacher education mini-courses and workshops held at Boston University during 1977-1980. The following articles are included: (1) "Language Policies in American Education: A Historical Overview," by Maria Estela Brisk; (2) "Understanding the Role of Language in…

Papers are presented on the loss of language skills by those who have studied and then discontinued the use of a second language. The scope of the papers is summarized and dimensions of language attrition research is briefly discussed. Theoretical aspects of psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics with special relevance to language loss are…

This paper defines bilingual education and notes that because of bilingual education's broad definition, a number of vastly different types of programs and program goals are being pursued. Four broad categories of bilingual education programs based on four different kinds of community and school objectives are discussed in this paper. Each of…

The purpose of this paper is to provide classroom teachers with background information about code switching and its role and function within a bilingual community. The many facets of code switching and its varying characteristics are described in some detail, as well as code switching in the classroom and the importance of the teacher's attitude…

Sociolinguistically oriented studies of the Chicano speech community cluster around two subject areas: (1) conversational code-switching, and (2) language loyalty and maintenance. Research representative of each of these areas is reviewed. It is felt that the large body of findings regarding the language use of the Chicanos have failed to take the…

Symbolic meaning expressed by Chinese language characters is helpful to non-Chinese persons in understanding Chinese culture. The implicit metaphors in Chinese characters present pictographic descriptions of the meaning in the form of a story, situation, or symbol which places the otherwise abstract concept in a cultural context. All languages…

This study of code switching among Puerto Rican children attending a New York City public school focuses primarily upon the correlation between interaction rules, as perceived by the participants, and code switching. Code switching strategies of a seven-year-old boy, an eight-year-old girl, and a 10-year-old girl in the bilingual third grade class…

A detailed study is reported of the linguistic adaptation of a white girl in a predominantly black school in Camden, New Jersey. The girl is a cultural heroine in the area, having earned the admiration of both blacks, and Puerto Ricans by her ability in fighting, dancing, talking, and dealing with the opposite sex. Subjective reaction tests show…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 20 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: children's sociolinguistics skills, ability to sequence verbal expressions, analogical abilities, and learning and application of the principle for nouns; Basil…

Limon Creole, spoken on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, Central America, descends from Jamaican Creole and is similar to it in many respects. While Jamaican Creole is undergoing a process of decreolization (i.e. the speech community has reached a post-creole status, in De Camp's terminology), Limon Creole exists in the context of a prestige…

A report is presented of research on the attitudes of French-speaking adolescents toward the English language and culture. For the purposes of this study, Shaw and Wright's definition of attitude was accepted, that is, an evaluative reaction of the affective order. The four parts of the study describe the following: (1) the preparation of the…