It often comes as a surprise to people that many deaf people refer to themselves as being members of Deaf culture. The American Deaf culture is a unique linguistic minority that uses American Sign Language (ASL) as its primary mode of communication. This tipsheet provides a description of Deaf culture and suggestions for effective communication.

Paulo Freire's framework pursues social justice, or liberation. Students and teachers critically think about the conditions of their realities, for the purpose of constructing and attempting solutions, referred to as "action" by Freire. Reflection-action is possible through collaboration, or dialogue--interdependent and concurrent…

Using a language-centered perspective about culture, this book aims to provide culture-based interpretations for language-in-use and for broader discourse issues. The first three chapters present an overview of language and culture in the United States and introduce the concepts and vocabulary for understanding language and cultural complexity.…

The Basque Country in Spain has seen a resurgence in the Basque language (Euskara) and support for bilingualism and bilingual education. Two-thirds of students choose to learn in Euskara and fewer than one-third in Spanish. Schools using Euskara as the language of instruction are achieving better results. (SK)

Two ways of looking at literacy are as technical skills or as social practices. Effective teaching of bilingual learners must build on students' experiences and knowledge and involve linguistic-minority parents. (SK)

Responds to an article by Strubell on "Language, Democracy, and Devolution in Catalonia," by suggesting that the Catalonian situation is a civic and inclusive nationalism that has an ethnic dimension (defined in linguistic terms). The paper discusses the general theory of nationalism and ethnicity, examines the case of Catalan, and…

Responds to an article by Strubell, "Language, Democracy, and Devolution in Catalonia," focusing on nationalism. After describing nationalism; nations and other communities; languages; and language, ethnic and national identity, and nationalism; the paper concludes that many factors give language a crucial place in nationalism in many…

Responds to an article by Strubell, "Language, Democracy, and Devolution in Catalonia," focusing on the position of Castilian-speaking individuals resident and working in Catalonia. The paper notes that the policy of assimilating migrants is no longer accepted without question, and it suggests diglossia as the only way to provide…

Responds to an article by Strubell, "Language, Democracy, and Devolution in Catalonia," arguing that, in a globalizing world, Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia must resolve their differences and unite against the Anglo-Saxon language and culture which threaten to enter the equation and overtake them all. The paper suggests that Catalonia…

Outlines an agenda for a dialogue that focuses on the relation between acquired language proficiencies (verbal abilities) and non-verbal abilities. Shows the relevance of this to language testing, framing the problem within a general theory of signs and deriving certain testable hypotheses concerning it. (Author/VWL)

Highlights the recognition of Meankieli, a former Finnish dialect, in the Torne Valley region of Sweden. The recognition of Meankieli as a language rather than a dialect in Swedish minority language legislation is an important language-planning decision with the potential to affect the whole linguistic ecology of the Torne Valley. (Author/VWL)

Suggests that language planning and policies that seek to protect the interests of linguistic minorities must be based on a realistic analysis of power relations that exist between the groups concerned. Argues that such an assessment is complex and exemplifies some of the difficulties involved through reference to the situation in Catalonia,…

Language attitudes are long-term phenomena that tend to become more specific over generations. The stigmatization of Khoekhoegowap in Namibia shows how negative images of minority languages are generated by external forces, but also how these forces may be reinforced by corresponding internal forces. This article discusses the case of…

Describes the lessons learned in the creation of a special assessment instrument, a large-scale survey of the language and literacy skills of linguistic minorities in England and Wales, findings of which were reported elsewhere. The test construction process was found to be highly empirical and inductive, based on trial and error rather than…

Argues for the need to move beyond the paradigm of parental involvement in children's early literacy through story-reading practice, which presently informs home-school reading programs, to consider a wider framework for family and community involvement. Illustrates the experiences of two children reading with their mother and sister. (Author/VWL)