Describes the language development of two children, now aged 5 and 8, who acquired two languages--Spanish and German--simultaneously from birth and a third--English--when very young. Focuses on the following factors: patterns of interference, code switching, language dominance, the role of parents, the social environment, and the child's…

Provisions for multicultural education in Australia include expanded ESL and foreign language offerings, various bilingual and bicultural curriculum projects for ethnic schools, and revamping of social studies programs to educate all students and teachers about Australia's ethnic minorities. While such programs should enhance mutual respect and…

Presents results of research on the second-language proficiency of children participating in an experimental bilingual school, where children used mother tongue 75 percent the first year, 40 percent the second. Children attended neighborhood schools from the third year on. Supports the claim that mother tongue teaching does not harm…

Analyzes the official (Kuomintang) language policy in Taiwan, which had exalted Mandarin and suppressed other local languages, and the efforts during the last decade to revive Tai-yu, a major language in the post-war period. The dynamics of the Tai-yu language movement reveal a pressing problem facing Taiwan: how to balance national cohesion with…

Considers various factors relating to the failure of recent Canadian graduates of French immersion programs to make substantial use of French immediately following their schooling. The article presents some case studies of adult Canadians engaged in maintaining or improving their French skills. (29 references) (Author/CK)

Argues, with a theoretical focus, that evidence of cross-linguistic influences on language use can and ought to be enlisted in second language (L2) attrition research to clean up "spontaneous speech data." Notes that since L2 attrition researchers have little control over the content of the spontaneous speech data they use, they need the…

Describes the differences between majority- and minority-language learners learning a second language in a publicly funded schooling environment in England, highlighting the difficulties faced by minority language speakers and the need for the development of a more rigorous and informed pedagogical practice in a multilingual classroom. (24…

The hypothesis that access to two languages in the preschool period might promote metalinguistic development was subjected to empirical verification. The method of parallel groups with paired equalization procedure was used to test the hypothesis. (25 references) (JL)

Queensland, Australia, is embarking on a massive limited bilingual second-language learning program for all students in the first eight years of school. Potential implementation problems and implications for the wider society are discussed, including the effect of the emphasis on studying Asian languages. (Contains 40 references.) (Author/LB)

Two sociocultural value clusters that predict an English-as-a-Second-language and an English-as-a-Foreign-Language approach are juxtaposed, respectively, to English language acquisition management. The two approaches are described in educational terms and related to the changing functions of English in the world and to national language…

Using the Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching (COLT) observation theme, this study compares the second-language-learning environments of elementary-level students of French in four submersion and four immersion classrooms in Montreal, Canada. Results indicate clear differences between the two environments. (Author/VWL)

Assessed and compared the development of receptive and productive Dutch and Turkish vocabulary of 31 Turkish immigrant preschool children. Using multivariate analysis of variance for repeated measurements, main and interaction effects of group (Turkish, Dutch working class, and Dutch middle class) and time were tested. Results are interpreted…

Reports on a research project conducted in Mauritius that aimed to investigate patterns of language use, language choice, and language attitudes of Mauritian adolescents in full-time education. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire and interviews from a sample of the secondary school population. (Author/VWL)

This paper examines the process of self-translation undertaken by German exile writers who translated their own works, written in English, the language of their host country, back into their mother tongue, German. It postulates that the necessary precondition for self-translation is not just bilinguality but also biculturality and that it is this…

This paper examines the role that cultural identity and grassroots activism and community development have played in the creation, maintenance and expansion of Louisiana French immersion education. Although linguists tend to portray the extinction of endangered minority languages as inevitable, research on the effects of minority language…