An innovative high school curriculum in Finland is designed so that the year is divided into six 6-week periods. In an experiment begun in fall 1989, English second language instruction was provided to second-year students in the form of content-area instruction in computer science, chemistry, and physics at one of two levels. Each course lasted…

A study conducted in the intensive English language program at Indiana University investigated: (1) the effects of students' language learning background (formal learning of English, exposure to and use of English in class, and extracurricular exposure to and use of English) on their performance on the Test of English as a Foreign Language…

Characteristics of a communicative program are offered from the perspective of a college level program in Montreal. Discussion of syllabus design, materials, and methodology resulted in the realization that truly authentic communication in the classroom requires the careful design of the learning environment. Within the learning environment a…

Although she is now teaching Spanish in a new school full time, Linda Smrokowski, spent 9 years teaching in a once-per-week second language program. Because many once- or twice-per-week programs still exist, she shares strategies for writing and implementing detailed lesson plans that worked for her while she was teaching in a once-per-week…

Knowledge of foreign languages is one of the factors facilitating cultural, economic, technical, and scientific cooperation among the Member States of the European Community. For this reason it is important that there be an awareness of the situation about the teaching and learning of modern languages in schools of the Member States. The…

This report profiles the utilization of funding by sites implementing Chapter 1/ Pupils with Compensatory Education Needs (PCEN) programs in English as a Second Language (ESL) in New York City schools, based on funding data and a district survey. Data for 83 high schools show that 23% of total allocations for ESL teachers were Chapter 1, 32% were…

Bilingualism as an individual and societal phenomenon can be examined from linguistic, psychological, and sociocultural perspectives. Bilingual education often links language and ethnicity, resulting in diversified curriculum goals. This book explores various dimensions of language and bilingual schooling which affect the education of…

Ohio University's Modern Languages Department designed two sequences of courses in French and Spanish for students in journalism and communication. The six-course programs provide curricula based on print and broadcast media, and stress listening, reading, and speech skills. The program was begun to encourage journalism students to pursue…

A two-year study of how writing teachers teach writing uncovered two significant facts: (1) there is a high rate of frustration and burnout among composition teachers because they are teaching by a system that conflicts with their own experience as writers, and (2) a small but vocal minority of teachers who teach from their own writing experience,…

Ten programs at California colleges and universities that focus on the Pacific Rim and Basin are discussed, along with the state's needs for additional activities regarding this area, and five statewide policy issues raised by three California Postsecondary Education Commission reports. The Pacific Rim includes those lands with actual coastline on…

This paper reports on foreign language instruction in the community colleges of Florida. A brief rationale for increasing the importance given to language instruction is followed by a review of the literature concerning the latest classroom and laboratory foreign language techniques such as computers, video taping and analysis, audio tape…

"Sounds of Language" is a background course to provide elementary and secondary school students with a greater understanding of how language works. The course is designed to (1) introduce students to the variations of sounds and structure of many foreign languages, (2) teach study habits that are vital to successful foreign language learning, and…

The Spanish commerce course at Douglass College and the development of the Certificate and Diploma from Madrid option are described. Spanish commerce is offered to students who have a good knowledge of written and spoken Spanish. Students select a business around which their course assignments will revolve. The course covers business practices in…

The oral translation courses at the University of Northern Iowa are described and suggestions are given for applying the approach to other university language courses and to secondary school language courses. After the initial organizational periods, each eighty-minute class period consists of translating an interview that was recorded in the…

Considers the degree to which scientifically acquired knowledge about language can be used in the design and execution of language teaching programs. Second language learners should become fluent speakers when they are exposed to copious linguistic data and have adequate opportunity for interaction in the language with other speakers. (CB)