A review of post-1986 discourse analysis research in professional contexts discusses work, issues, and opportunities in the law and order, health sciences, academy, and other professional areas, and includes a nine-citation annotated and larger unannotated bibliography of recent work. (CB)

The fifth year of the partial immersion program in grades 1-5 at Key Elementary School (Arlington, Virginia), where half the day is taught in English and half in Spanish, is reported. The annual review, which included classroom observations, student and teacher interviews, student assessment, and parent and staff interviews, revealed a highly…

Reviews recent research evidence for universal and orthography- or language-specific processes in the development of basic reading skills in school-age children. The review focuses on three different aspects of reading--phonological processing, rapid naming, and morphosyntactic complexity--targeted in recent research on development of word…

Reviews recent trends in generative research on second language acquisition, focusing on the role of universal grammar, parameter resetting, and anaphoric binding. An annotated bibliography discusses five important works in the field. (61 references) (MDM)

Reviews research that points toward the theoretical consideration of conventionalized written language, proposing that written discourse conventions can usefully be studied from a multifunctional perspective considering the interacting social, cognitive, and textual functions of language. A large unannotated bibliography is included. (CB)

Review research on foreign language aptitude and its measurement prior to 1990. Describes research areas in the 1990s, including affective variables, language learning strategies, learning styles as contributors to aptitude and aptitude as a cognitive construct affected by language variables. Reviews research on individual differences and the…

A review of Maghreb language and literacy covers the following: historical and cultural context; sociolinguistic situation; language policies and planning; language and literacy use; literacy education in three instructional contexts (Quranic, public primary, and adult literacy schooling); and future directions. (42 references) (LB)

A discussion of economic and social arguments that advance adult literacy is followed by a review of definitions of literacy, issues of literacy instruction, issues of language, and issues of assessment and evaluation. (91 references) (LB)

Reviews recent research on the use of language in the mass media, focusing on the work of Teun van Dijk, A. Bell, Roger Fowler, and Norman Fairclough, as well as research on broadcast interviews, talk shows, and advertising. An annotated bibliography discusses 16 important works in the field. (58 references) (MDM)

This review covers the status of languages and literacy in the countries of southern Africa, policies of literacy promotion, and the emerging symbioses among spoken languages and among literacies in mother tongues, national or official languages, and metropolitan languages. Five statistical tables are included. (66 references) (LB)

Reviews research in the field of language and gender from the 1970s through the 1990s, observing that language and gender research has moved away from variationist studies to broad-based ethnographic investigations and examinations of discourse and conversation where language is studied in communicative context. An annotated bibliography discusses…

Reviews recent research on crosslinguistic influence, focusing on the part played by knowledge of one's first language in the acquisition of a second language (L2). It is also argued that there can be transfer that is not licensed by similarity to the L2, and where the way the L2 works may largely go unheeded. (86 references) (MDM)

A review of the status of research on literacy concludes that vagueness and ambiguity of definition, measurement, methodology, and evaluation continue to grip the large body of literacy research, debates, and programs, with the underlying assumptions made about the concept of monolingual societies resulting in overly simplified and speculative…

A descriptive review of research on language-in-education policy and planning is offered. It covers national languages (North America, Southern Africa, Central Asia); minority languages (New Zealand, North America); European minority languages and language policies in the European Community; testing and evaluation; teacher education; and literacy.…

Reviews major issues in research on reading, including theories of word reading, cross-writing comparisons, comprehension, reading difficulties, learning how to read, and cognitive neuroscience studies of reading. (Author/VWL)