For initial certification in French, German, and Spanish, teacher candidates in most states are required to pass one of the Praxis II subject matter tests. As of October 2010, a new test was added to the "Praxis Series." This Praxis II: World Language Test represents a significant change from previous versions and relies heavily upon the…

On 19 May 2010 data on second majors, beginning in 2001, were added to the online database for the degree completions component of the US Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), available on the National Science Foundation's WebCASPAR Web site (https://webcaspar.nsf.gov/). This paper offers selected…

Those in America are confronting a stark alternative: either open themselves to an appreciation of human plurality and the diversity of cultures around the globe or limit themselves to a narrowly normative culture. Will American schools and colleges provide students with opportunities to learn to understand other voices, or will the educational…

Teaching content through a foreign language presents students with the double challenge of having to understand new concepts and of doing so through a foreign language. To be successful in meeting this challenge teachers have to adapt their teaching style and the tasks they work on with their students. Often, however, they do not know how to do…

Portal: Your Door to World Languages and Cultures was a series of public cultural events, in a variety of formats, created through a new partnership between the credit and continuing education (noncredit) foreign language programs at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC). Portal was designed to cultivate interest in foreign languages…

Presents a brief history of the status of foreign language instruction from 1953 to 1984. Summarizes research on effects of foreign language study. Describes the foreign language education program at the University of Tennessee--Knoxville, providing an overview of the organization, curricular content, and methodology. Evaluates Knoxville's unique…

Describes the planning for and the presentation of the first language career workshop at a college in California. The workshop was publicized in the college and in the community. The four panelists spoke for 45 minutes then answered questions for one hour on career opportunities for persons proficient in foreign languages. (AMH)

Discusses a four-year project now in the second year at Earlham College to increase the use both by faculty and students of foreign languages. Provides the background to the project, the detailed objectives, and abbreviated comments on accomplishments to date. (EKN)

Describes a new educational program for multilingual information officers at the Institut Universitaire de Technologie of the Toulouse University of Sciences (France). General and technical courses are given in French and foreign languages so that graduates can take positions and quickly become effective in organizations with international…

This article presents an analysis of the results of a survey conducted with foreign language program directors and coordinators in American university foreign language departments. The goal of the survey was twofold. First, it aimed to compile a profile of these individuals: their backgrounds, research, and teaching and coordinating…

The report summarizes a British research project, part of a larger initiative on educational quality, concerning the extent of secondary students' knowledge about the nature of language, native and foreign, alongside development of practical language skills. The main study was an empirical investigation of the teaching of English and foreign…

Explores the second-language learning process from the point of view of what early childhood educators need to know to understand and help young second-language-learners. Discusses types of programs for preschoolers whose home language is not English and the developmental sequence of second-language acquisition. Considers issues of supporting…

A model for undergraduate programs designed to integrate foreign language instruction with training for an international public service occupation is outlined. The language component and professional training, taught separately at first, are brought together at the end of the program in an internship in an international public service…

An objective of the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in its agenda for change is diplomacy for global competitiveness (DGC). For the language school, this means training to enable students to actively and skillfully represent the United States abroad, take leadership roles furthering U.S. competitiveness, understand the target…

A discussion of the current direction of second language instruction looks at the decline in college language enrollments, possible reasons for the decline, and efforts to adapt course offerings and curriculum format to current educational goals. Three factors in re-directing second language teaching are highlighted: establishment of standards for…