This paper documents the new trend towards a first-language-first multilingual model in formal education in three former French colonies of West Africa, namely Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. It compares the sociolinguistic situations, the conditions of the development of multilingual education and the achievements of mother-tongue-medium education…

This article discusses the problems related to the teaching of the state language, Rumanian, in the context of the Hungarian minority population in Szekler Land, Rumania, and the language ideologies connected to Rumanian on the basis of empirical research. On the one hand, it is argued that at present the methodology of state language teaching in…

This study examines the Spanish use of students and teachers at a US two-way immersion school. Students and teachers from Grades 1, 3, and 8 (5-6-year-olds, 7-8-years-olds, and 12-13-year-olds, respectively) were observed and interviewed, and students completed questionnaires to determine what factors influenced their language of choice and their…

This research aims to explain why international students choose to pursue their education in a university in a small island state (North Cyprus--which is suffering under international embargoes, yet has been successful in establishing a global higher education sector. One hundred and eighty-four international students studying at the Eastern…

The study examined the use of code-switching by English and science teachers in secondary schools in Malaysia. It focuses on the functions of code-switching in multilingual classrooms where English is the language of instruction, examining in particular the reiterative function of code-switching and its association with translation. Thirty six…

After passing their university entry exam, students who wish to study a subject at one of the Turkish universities offering English-medium courses attend a one-year preparatory class. At the end of this, they need to pass an English language proficiency exam in order to be admitted to their chosen course of study. The existing curriculum for such…

Students who have difficulty reading, understanding, and solving word problems because of cultural and linguistic differences present challenges to teachers who are working to help every student achieve mathematical proficiency. In many middle school classrooms, teachers emphasize traditional textbook word problems, which are meant to engage…

In a multilingual context, this study investigates the role on mathematics achievement of the provision of instruction in the home language. It compares characteristics of 5048 Grade 6 learners in 275 Namibian schools. The outcome variable is the standardized SACMEQ mathematics score collected in year 2000. Hierarchical linear modeling is used to…

For over a decade, the Department of Education in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has adopted vernacular education as a way of ensuring that the educational experiences of children in schools draw on the cultural and linguistic knowledge they bring to the classroom. In PNG, there are many potential vernaculars--apart from the local languages, there are Tok…

This paper explores how the concept of linguistic citizenship can be applied to the Tanzanian situation in terms of the delivery of bilingual education as well as addressing issues of equity and quality in education. It starts by a brief overview of how the concepts "linguistic human rights" and "linguistic citizenship" are…

In major texts on bilingualism and bilingual education, one often finds such notions as biculturalism, multiculturalism, pluralism or interculturalism that are used interchangeably as concepts--as opposed to monoculturalism or cultural assimilation--to address political and sociocultural dimensions in language learning and teaching. Recently, some…

In July 1997, the Language-in-Education Policy (LiEP) was introduced in South Africa. While the intention of this policy was to promote all 11 official languages and give individuals the right to choose the language of learning and teaching, the practical implementation has generally been fraught with challenges. However, language policy…

In this dissertation, the participation of 5-year-old Spanish speaking children in a kindergarten classroom community was explored. The school was located in a working and middle-class community in Southern Arizona, where pursuant to state law; the language of instruction was English. Student participants spent four hours every day in an English…

The role of African languages in formal and nonformal learning is the subject of increasing local, national and international interests. Cognitive and pedagogical reasons abound for using the language best understood by the learner. However, many nonpedagogical factors related to politics, economics, language attitudes and colonial history are…

In the wake of conversations about integrating macro- and micro-levels of linguistic analysis over the last 50 years, and following theoretical and methodological debates in the 1990s about investigating the dynamics of entire social systems, complexity theory is coming of age in educational linguistics. Central to the application of complexity…