This working paper will explore the usefulness of Cummins' framework relating language proficiency to academic performance (1983) as a reflection and planning tool for continuous improvement of second language learning (SLL) instruction. SLL activities designed for a Language Experience intervention class for seventh and eighth grade English…

In immersion programs, language is not directly taught, but rather embedded into the content of a lesson. The target language is the medium of the lesson, not the object of the instruction. A story provides a language experience and encourages students to participate actively in the lesson. Children are also more apt to learn and retain ideas and…

Describes the University of Maryland at Baltimore County's one-week foreign language exploratory program for fourth through sixth grade students, and details methods and strategies used to conduct "Spanish Day," where students learned about Spanish language and culture through songs, games, and stories. (CB)

Suggestions for incorporating correspondence with German-speaking people as part of high school German instruction include tips for testing, follow-up activities, writing activities, and pen-pal activities. (Author/CB)

Discusses the advantages of using video materials in teaching Spanish at an intermediate level, where there are typically several levels of language knowledge and ability. Such materials improve students' ability to understand language context, listening comprehension, discussion skills, and awareness of different uses of language. (CB)

Presents authentic Spanish rhymes and jingles that elementary school foreign language teachers can incorporate in classroom activities. The rhymes not only introduce children to the oral and cultural traditions of the language but also serve as language drills for increasing Spanish vocabulary. (CB)

Describes a "Vichian" approach (involving linguistic imagination and creativity) to the exploration of basic pedagogical matters in classroom language teaching. The approach is based on principles involving: (1) concrete language knowledge; (2) development from the concrete to the abstract; (3) the role of metaphor in verbal creativity;…

Briefly describes learning activities for teaching French to elementary and secondary school students. The activities teach number concepts, simple structures, vocabulary development, word games, and language accents. (CB)

Discusses the effectiveness of student-created oral presentations and visual displays in helping second-language students personalize and internalize the second language, and proposes structural guidelines that provide students flexibility in developing Spanish-language drama, writing, and art activities. (CB)

The foreign language camps, operated by Virginia Tech since 1981, offer high school students a one-week foreign language experience in French, German, or Spanish. The camps bring together native speakers, high school students and teachers, and university students and faculty to experience learning situations similar to those encountered in a…

Describes the history of use of language laboratories in foreign language instruction and argues that both the quality and quantity of such activities fell short of the laboratories' potential. (CB)

Describes class activities for incorporating and teaching about opera into the Italian language instruction classroom, focusing on the enhancement of cultural knowledge and understanding that opera offers. (CB)

A review of the language laboratory-related relationships between context and background knowledge, individualization and learner characteristics, feedback and continuing assessment, and focus and sequence supports foreign language teachers' use of eclectic, integrative, and alternative approaches that make full use of language laboratory…

Explores how the incorporation of literature study can be easily achieved in foreign language study and enrich foreign language learning, describing one particular method that quickly and actively involved students in reflecting on a German short story through brief readings and exploratory questions. (CB)

Presents two-role scenarios involving persons with conflicting needs or interests to enhance foreign language students' strategic intervention language skills in realistic situations. The scenarios not only encourage students to think through strategies to resolve a problem or conflict but also use their language skills to communicate effectively…