This article explores the possibilities and impossibilities of establishing queer discursive spaces within a minority-language high school. Data examined here are from a three-year study of language and identity in a Francophone high school in Ontario, Canada. As two members of the larger research team, we draw on our close observations of teenage…

While advocacy of minority language rights (MLR) has become well established in sociolinguistics, language policy and planning and the wider human rights literature, it has also come under increased criticism in recent times for a number of key limitations. In this paper, I address directly three current key criticisms of the MLR movement. The…

Language-minority students are the fastest-growing population in U.S. public schools. During the 1990s, their numbers rose from 8 million to 15 million. These include new immigrant students as well as students from Native American and indigenous backgrounds. Research shows that the distribution of "extremely bright," "average" and "cognitively…

The need to address adolescent literacy, with a focus on English Language Learners, has created a growing realization that instructional practices need to change. Two recent studies conducted by the National Literacy Panel for Language Minority Children and Youth and the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Panel on Adolescent English Language…

The present research was undertaken to identify sociocultural variables that influence whether Russian-speaking parents living in Estonia choose Russian, Estonian, or bilingual (Russian and Estonian) instruction for their children. To examine which sociocultural variables are related to parents' choice of language of instruction, 346…

The first year college experience is anxiety producing, and for college students who represent traditionally underserved populations, particularly ethnic and linguistic minorities, the anxiety can be even more pronounced. Add to the mix a requirement for students to complete at least one course in mathematics during the first semester and the…

The role of the home and family/caregivers is commonly acknowledged as being central to securing the intergenerational socialisation of minority languages. Research evidence demonstrates that the survival or demise of minority languages crucially depends upon the extent to which the language is passed on from one generation to the next within the…

This study explored the perspectives of 27 Latino teacher candidates regarding the impact of a teacher-education program that promoted bilingualism, dialogue, cultural relevance, and cultural integrity. Data were collected through a questionnaire and a focus group interview. Findings reveal that a bilingual-bicultural learning community supported…

The voices of 21 immigrant parents, 12 teachers, and 10 principals are heard in this discussion of assumptions regarding minority-language parents' linguistic, social, and cultural capital in supporting their children's literacy development. Interview data show that parents and educators recognize the contributions of children's first language…

In "The English Only Restaurant," Martinez Palau presents a number of Latino characters who, seduced by the economic promises of assimilation, attempt to suppress their linguistic and cultural identities in order to run a business the "American way." As befits a sociopolitical satire, the play on the one hand consciously…

This study explores factors influencing the degree to which language minority (LM) children from Spanish-dominant homes understand how connectives, such as "in contrast" and "because", signal relationships between text propositions. Standardized tasks of vocabulary, listening comprehension, word reading, and a researcher-designed text cohesion…

For this report, CEEP staff collected information on testing timelines, subjects, grade configurations, names, and SEA testing contacts. As with the 2003 report, discussion in this report is limited to the testing components of state assessment programs, such as Indiana's ISTEP+ program, used for compliance purposes with state and federal…

This issue, the second in a series on how public education will evolve in the new century, focuses on the suburbs, highlighting two suburban communities in the Atlanta, Georgia, region. The first part, "Remodeling Suburbia," explains that in newer suburbs, enrollment is booming, and schools struggle to keep up with growth and changes in…

This report presents information developed from a workshop on the Inclusion of Language Minority Populations in National Studies (Bethesda, MD, July 17-28, 2000). To help find ways for survey research to capture the increasing linguistic diversity of the United States and thus be truly representative, this report focuses on current barriers to…

This study examined the impact of linguistic and cultural diversity in two urban, British secondary schools on "how English looked" (the content and interactions of urban, multiethnic classrooms). Data were collected from two classrooms with diverse students using interviews and videotapes. In both classrooms, the teachers were working…