As part of an ongoing research collaboration with university-based researchers, Nancy and her teaching partner, Meredith, implemented a loosely defined system of portfolios to supplement the other forms of assessment in their classroom. School-based and university-based researchers interviewed children to assess children's perspectives of their…

A survey of the status of language usage in Tanzania begins with an overview of the three levels of language use: (1) Swahili, the national and official language, used in public life; (2) English, used in international affairs and in technical and intellectual matters; and (3) the over 120 vernacular languages used in family and religious life,…

A survey of the status of language usage in Liberia begins with an overview of the distribution of the 16 languages and dialects spoken natively there that are recognized by the government. These include, in order of number of native speakers: Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Mano, Lorma, Krahn, Gola, Mandingo, Kissi, Vai, English, Gbandi, Mende, Belle,…

This study develops specific facts about the nature of the Black English "lingua franca" which formed on the American eastern seaboard in the last half of the eighteenth century. Accepting an assumption that American English of this period was levelling into a "koine," this investigation attempts to characterize the consonant loss and substitution…

Wukari and Takum, two dialects of Jukun, are studied in this text, intended for both the trained linguist and the less trained student. The Jukun tribe is estimated to number 25,000 people living in the Benue River sections of Nigeria. Although the study is not intended to be comparative, some statements are included that indicate the patterned…

Insights are offered into how speech, melody, and rhythm dramatize the differences in the construction and interpretation of music for Africa and America. Intended for use in instructing American students about African music, the learning module relates music to traditional African culture and maintains that the music is at the same time…

The purpose of this document is to help South African educational institutions adjust to a post-apartheid era, in which linguistic diversity is promoted and celebrated, by clarifying the emerging processes of language policy formulation and implementation. The new government decided against issuing a grand blueprint for a new national language…

The Tanganyika Library Service (TLS) was the national public library service set up in Tanzania, East Africa, in the 1960s. By the end of the decade, it was generally regarded as a model of Western-style public library development in Africa. This is an account of its establishment and early years based on accessible documentary sources in Tanzania…

The study sought to find out the views of pupils, teachers and parents on the usefulness of the educational curriculum (i.e. organization, content and methodology) and co-curricular activities in the preparation of pupils for future employment. Questionnaires and focus group discussions were used in collecting data for the study across the length…

A 1996 South African law vested elementary/secondary school governing bodies with formation of school policy concerning both language(s) used for instruction and those selected for second-language study. The study reported here investigated the perceptions of language teachers, principals, and governing body members on language policy, policy…

Despite considerable linguistic diversity in Kenya, the country is increasingly trilingual, with individual Kenyans tending toward varying degrees of proficiency in the vernacular, Swahili, and English. The vernacular is acquired at home and in the neighborhood with co-ethnics in both rural and urban contexts. Swahili is typically learned…

The Peace Corps volunteer language training materials for the Moroccan language Tashelheet are designed for group, individual, or self-instruction. An introductory section gives the learner an overview of language characteristics, the materials, and their design. The main section of the materials is divided into two parts. The first contains 16…

A study investigated the nature and extent of African American interest in African languages. Data were gathered in (1) an informal telephone survey of selected universities having an African American studies department and/or a sizeable number of Black students, and African-centered public schools, and (2) a survey of 234 African Americans and…

This document consists of the four 1989 issues of the quarterly journal "Notes on Linguistics." These issues include the following significant articles: "The Production of a Linguistic Bibliography" (Pete Unseth); "How to Write a Grammatical Sketch (Without Putting Your Readers to Sleep)" (Thomas E. Payne); "The…

Representatives from major institutions teaching African languages convened to discuss the design of African language textbooks and to propose guidelines for the writing of new textbooks and evaluation of existing ones. Conference papers include: "Language Acquisition Theory and Materials Construction" (Stephen Krashen); "The Structures of Verbal…