Australian Aboriginal children, in general, lag behind their mainstream peers in measures of literacy. This article discusses some of the complex and interconnected factors that impact Aboriginal children's early language and literacy development. Poor health and historically negative socio-political factors are known influences on Aboriginal…

The authors of this article discuss the discriminatory practices through language in both multicultural and bilingual education. Bilingual education promotes academic instruction in the native language, to varying degrees, while multicultural education stresses the need to valorize and appreciate cultural differences as a process during which…

In this article, the author describes a three-month study he conducted in Ellen Hino's classroom during writing workshop. The major purpose of the study was to look at the ways this native-born teacher responds orally to students who share her own bidialectical background. Most of these students are Native Hawaiian and speak a nonprestigious…

The incorporation of "creole" vernacular languages into texts written in "standard" languages is an especially fraught crossroads of intercultural communication. This article considers the difference between a kind of literary tourism in which non-Caribbean readers "taste" the flavour of creole language within…

Describes the experiences of an itinerant ESL/D resource teacher from the Peel Board (Canada) who has covered, over several years, a large number of K-8 and K-13 schools. Discusses problems encountered and offers guidelines for helping minority group students and establishing good relationships with school staffs. (MES)

Controversy exists as to the specific approach to use in teaching language arts skills to culturally and linguistically different children who speak non-standard English. Three primary approaches involve eradicating, maintaining, or expanding the home language systems of such children. In the expansion approach, children are taught to use standard…