Attitudes to language

In classifying bilingual education following William F. Mackey's typology, single or dual media or instruction may be used for gradual or abrupt conversion to a wider or narrower culture. Bilingual education in the United States is usually dual medium, either for maintenance or conversion to a wider culture, aiming to produce a bilingual individual or to help assimilate an alien into American culture. The Bilingual Education Act has improved the situation for immigrants and American Indians, who previously were forced into monolingual education. In the Pacific islands, education had focussed on conversion from the native language to the colonial world language. Currently, however bilingual programs exist, and native dictionaries and grammars are being written and orthography reformed. Writing and teaching materials must be developed in the vernacular languages and competent teachers found and trained i