Examination of the relationship between students' use of French and English in five classes at a bilingual university and their access to subject-matter knowledge and social networks found language brokerage to be an important process in two classes. The process of language brokerage, related research, and policy implications are discussed.…

This description of the author's research (an ethnographic case study of an adult education center) is used to illustrate the difficulties and divisions between work-based practitioners and university researchers. Other issues include the influence of equal opportunity considerations, ethics and collaborative research, and participant observation…

Two different approaches to the use of French television as an instructional medium in French language (for teaching grammar and vocabulary and for examining its presentation of the French culture) are examined, and their use for teaching two different populations is discussed. An ethnographic approach is taken. (68 references) (Author/MSE)

Illustrates how a Malian adult literacy project linked to economic development activities was shaped by village realities: prior emergence of a literate ideology in the village, villagers' entrepreneurial aspirations and beliefs about literacy's consequences, and class organization paralleling traditional male age-associations. Contains 12…

Examines cultural assimilation in a Mexican and Chicano community in Santa Paula, California. Argues that the assumption of Anglo-Saxon superiority ascribed inferior social positions to Mexican-origin groups and generated conflict among these groups at times, but promoted intergroup unity when social conditions became intolerable. Contains 39…

Reports a two-phase ethnographic investigation documenting peer conference activity among fourth graders in a writing workshop. Investigates, in phase one, what happens in peer conferences and how that relates to instructional context. Investigates, in phase two, comments about revision, participant expectations, and use of peer comments during…

Investigates the ways in which social actors in Hungary--cultural producers as well as the lay public--conceptualize and articulate their experiences as subjects in that nation's transition to a culture of consumption. Discusses three recurrent themes: the lure of the capitalist West, the alien nature of materialism, and the legacy of Communism…

Discusses the major language shift in Singapore from the familial use of varieties of Chinese other than Mandarin towards the languages of education, English and Mandarin. An ethnographic study is presented of a Singaporean Chinese family that has moved from Cantonese to English, and the underlying pressures leading to this shift are examined. (19…

Examined the classroom discourse of an African American urban community college teacher as she interacted with her class of predominantly African American students. The teacher employed African American English forms and allowed them to coexist alongside standard English. (24 references) (MDM)

New research on teaching involves qualitative, or ethnographic, methods. It is highly descriptive and often relies on narrative inquiry, which is embedded with messages about power, justice, and inequality. The new research relies on language and dialogue, using metaphors, stories, biographies, autobiographies, conversations, exemplars,…

This study used ethnographic methods to determine the underlying motivations for the role of two speech-language pathologists in public elementary schools. The study found that much of the behavior observed and the artifacts used by the speech-language pathologists were directed to establish or maintain prescriptionistic forms of language…

Describes the organization and operation of an immigration social service agency in Garden City, Kansas, with attention to relations among the staff and between the staff and the Asian-American and Hispanic-American clientele. (DM)

Examines contexts for writing and response in a graduate education seminar including native and nonnative English speakers. Considers how the instructor communicated expectations for writing assignments, how students performed, and how students' writing was evaluated. Argues that student writing occurs in a multidimensional context where…

Reports an ethnographic study of two multicultural seventh grade classes to explore the role and value of graphic representation of knowledge structures in English-as-a-Second-Language student learning, based on a specific definition and categorization of knowledge structures. (28 references) (GLR)

A five-month ethnographic study of friendship development identified major issues in first graders' disputes with friends. Examined consequences of the disputes for children's relationships. Stressed the importance of detailed, historical investigations of specific interactive events for an accurate understanding of human development and…