The shifting racial mix in U.S. society is having a profound effect on higher education in general and foreign languages in particular. Presupposing a campuswide administrative framework for diversity, this article presents considerations and steps for German departments, faculty, and teaching assistant trainers to adopt in the restructuring…

Some 147 teaching assistants responded to the Survey of First Year Graduate Teaching Assistants in French, part of which focused on handling typical student questions on grammar. Analysis suggests that TAs do not conceptualize language according to the model of communicative competence proposed by Canale and Swain. (36 references) (LB)

An instructional module designed to help prepare college-level teaching assistants (TAs) for their duties in second language instruction is presented. It consists of an overview of research on foreign language teaching, focusing on research conducted within a theoretical framework. Attention is directed to four issues: the language being taught;…

Evaluation of university teachers is generally left to students, but the first and most important evaluation must be made at the departmental level. (CFM)

The communication difficulties of foreign teaching assistants (TA) in U.S. colleges are addressed in 11 articles, with attention to the problems of the TA system as a whole in the spirit of international educational exchange. Titles and authors include the following: "'The Foreign TA Problem'" (Kathleen M. Bailey); 'Toward an Anthropology of the…

This case study of an international teaching assistant's experience with college teaching focuses on the process of becoming an effective instructor in the undergraduate classroom. A developmental model that emphasizes clarifying the student's individual linguistic, cultural, social, and professional goals is suggested, and implications for…

A selection of essays in learning styles in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction includes: "Cultural Differences in Learning Styles" (Gayle L. Nelson); "Difficulties with Cross-Cultural Learning-Styles Assessment" (Patricia A. Eliason); "Gender Differences in Language Learning Styles: What Do They Mean?" (Rebecca L. Oxford); "Cognitive…

The 12 volumes of the professional journal contain articles on a wide variety of topics on classroom techniques, curriculum design, class activities, and research in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teaching at all educational levels. General topics include: communicating with ESL students; current events in the classroom; cultural test bias;…