In this article we present an integrated curricular model for addressing the transition from the intermediate to the advanced language level through peer-assisted learning activities in the post-secondary German classroom. In a series of group projects between students in second- and third-year conversation courses, we employed a learner-centered…

Topics for conversation courses include conversational rules and structure, conversational strategies, functions and meaning in conversation, and social and cultural contexts. The direct teaching of conversational skills involves adding specific language input, increasing the role of consciousness raising, and sequencing communicative tasks…

A one-week orientation program designed to increase the effectiveness of foreign teaching assistants (FTA) is described. As the program developed, a decision was made to include non-FTAs with the result that the English language proficiency of the participants covered a wide range and the objectives of the program were mixed. Because of the…

A preliminary analysis of the language syllabuses and language students at Southampton University (England) is used to determine needed improvements in language teaching methodology and to establish clear aims and objectives that will build on students' previous experiences, plug gaps that remain, and relate this language learning to the…

The federally funded Piedmont International Business Program of Lynchburg College has begun offering conversational Mandarin Chinese for people whose business activities bring them into contact with Chinese speakers. The course has three phases: an 8-week fall session with an enrollment of 11 students; two 8-week sessions offered in winter and…

Examines problems with improving oral language skills of limited-English-speaking adults and describes a university English as a second language course that is organized around issues in the women's movement. Topics are selected by the students, and a variety of approaches are used. A lesson plan and evaluative remarks are included. (AMH)

Describes a one-semester conversational language course based on specific proficiency goals. The oral proficiency pre- and posttests, goal contracts outlining performance objectives for each chapter of the text, specific instructional and grading techniques, and class activities are detailed. (MSE)

Describes a one-semester conversational course taught at Harvard University designed to teach basic oral communication skills in French with the main emphasis on teaching students to pause while speaking. (AM)

A course designed to teach survival Japanese language and culture to businessmen and professionals with little time for language study is described. The goals were to teach survival vocabulary and a few basic sentence structures and to develop the learners' pragmatic competence in using them. Portions of a commercial textbook were used for…

The papers in this volume concerning intensive language teaching are grouped into three sections: "Sections bilingues,""Intensive courses within schools," and "Intensive courses at external centres." A preliminary chapter by Eric Hawkins introduces the historical context of intensive language teaching and a concluding…

The development and instruction of a course in survival Spanish at Sauk Valley Community College (Illinois) are described. The course, taught for over 15 years and targeted at groups such as teachers, nurses, social workers, counselors, and secretaries, is offered as a model for courses in real-life communication for a variety of professions.…

An alternative approach used in a third semester French course at the University of Colorado at Denver is described. The approach was adopted to improve student motivation. The course focuses on the learning of practical French for everyday situations, while traveling abroad for business or pleasure. Emphasis is on conversational, communicative…

Communicative competence is now at the point where theory must be translated into practice, that is, where the functional approach must be developed into pedagogical content and strategies. An analysis is presented of the three main pedagogical approaches: the structural, situational, and functional approaches. Principles underlying the…

Four types of exploratory foreign language programs are described: (1) the language overview course, (2) the trial-study course, (3) the Level I offering, and (4) the course for the non-college bound. It is largely in the middle schools (grades 6-8) and junior high schools (grades 7-9) that exploratory programs are being used. The language…

Teaching functional French is discussed with instructors of groups of foreign workers in mind. It takes as its starting point two "modules" for teaching French ("the highway code at driving school" and "starting and keeping small talk going") and uses them to exemplify some of the difficulties involved in the development and classroom use of…