In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, universities have increasingly begun to embrace a new model: rather than requiring scholars and students to travel to the home city of the university, they have instead begun to establish new campuses, centers, and programs of their own in other. This profound change in the nature of universities requires…

Potential students hoping to gauge the quality of courses at Portland State University might be forgiven for feeling confused. On the one hand, the University Studies program, which uses interdisciplinary seminars during the first two years to develop students' core skills, has been widely praised and emulated. The Council for Higher Education…

Chinese characters have been an obstacle preventing the development of Chinese proficiency for learners of Chinese whose native language does not have characters. A substantial literature review identified linguistic, pedagogical, and political factors as causes such difficulties. Tone changes represent different meanings of a word. Compound…

The standardization of second language proficiency levels for university students in Germany is discussed. Problems with the current system, in which each university has developed its own program of study and proficiency certification, are examined and a framework for development of a unified language certificate for all universities is outlined.…

The selection and use of authentic reading materials for Spanish instruction of graduate-level international management students is described. Focus is on materials used in the second and third semesters of a 3-semester language course designed to foster communication skills. In the early part of the second semester, students present oral reports…

A university teacher of English as a Second Language describes the use of CNN Newsroom materials to teach listening skills. The basic news broadcast materials, including video and audio tapes, are provided by CNN, and have been developed by the teacher into instructional units. A classroom guide is available on the Internet. The instruction is…

A Salisbury State University (Maryland) program integrating intensive French language and business administration instruction is described. In its pilot, the program had 11 students, all but 1 drawn from French language classes; one was a native speaker. The French portion was taught in the morning by two French professors, and the business…