This paper discusses the effect of the Mexican American's bilingualism on his English language development. It cites recent research reports which state that bilingualism does not have a negative effect upon language development when socio-environmental factors are controlled or considered. Investigations of the syntactic development of Chicano…

This content analysis schedule for the Bilingual Schools Program of the Los Angeles Unified School District 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 provided on…

Educational program designs for teachers and parents of urban American Indian youth (especially in Minneapolis and St. Paul) are discussed in this paper. In terms of the suggested program for teachers, the question of what should be included in the curriculum for teacher training is reviewed in 12 areas of concern (e.g., the knowledge base of the…

The experimental program described in this report provided English-speaking Canadian children with elementary schooling exclusively in French for kindergarten and grade 1, and then from grade 2 through grade 5 mainly in French except for two half-hour periods of English language arts. The guiding principle for this form of bilingual education…

The notion of language dependency presupposes that there is a hierarchy of languages in a multilingual society, and that each language is assigned a functional role in a multilingual individual's restricted or extended spheres of linguistic interaction. In South Asia, language dependency has resulted in linguistic convergence of two types: (1)…

Research on language attitudes and performances of prospective teachers shows the need for special training to prepare teachers to work with "linguistically different" students. An attempt was made to develop, and test the effectiveness of, such training. Twenty-six prospective teachers conducted an Informal Reading Inventory on the reading of a…

The national re-emergence of Scotland is accompanied by the desire for cultural and linguistic autonomy and identity. Issues at hand include language standardization, bilingual education, the language problems of immigrants, the role of Gaelic as compared to the continuum of linguistic varieties that go from Standard English to Scots, the adoption…

Although some educators have advocated eradication of Black American English and other non-standard American English dialects in formal school training, it is recognized that many dialects are effectively used to a great degree by many Americans. Black American English, like other dialects, is a legitimate linguistic system that has logic,…

The purpose of this booklet is to describe the major differences between the Levantine (Palestinian and Lebanese) and Egyptian (Cairene) dialects of Arabic, with some references to other geographical varieties of these dialects. It is designed to provide help to persons who have learned either one dialect or the other and need to transfer to the…

Examples of conversational interactions between a native speaker of English and a Japanese person learning English illustrate the need for more culturally sensitive English as a second language teaching, pointing out that language instruction requires attention and sensitivity to not just linguistic factors but also sociolinguistic aspects. (CB)

Considers two aspects of knowing language, besides grammar and vocabulary, that are often understressed: 1) perspective taking (through rhythm and intonation) and 2) manipulation of language variation. This observation is discussed in relation to the contrast between incidental and intentional learning, and an argument is made for an intimate…

Examines the interactional sociolinguists' treatment of context and its contribution to understanding how sociocultural information enters into the interpretation of intent and evaluation of motives and abilities. Negative perceptions of Zulus by White "gatekeepers" are explained in terms of interactional asynchrony stemming from…

A form is presented for language teacher self-evaluation concerning attitudes and knowledge about learning theories, general linguistics, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, teaching methodology, the communicative approach, class activities, class management, instructional support, and evaluation. (MSE)

This book contains papers from the 2001 Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics, "Linguistics, Language, and the Real World: Discourse and Beyond." Papers include: "Introduction" (Deborah Tannen); "A Brief History of the Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics" (James E.…

This workbook and videotape kit invites teachers to explore the fundamental concepts of language and culture in universal terms and in relation to their teaching of languages and cultures in their classrooms. Comparing and contrasting cultural phenomena and their associated linguistic meanings across cultures offers teachers the opportunity to…