A discussion of computer software evaluation for second-language instruction concludes that it is important to match the purpose of the software with the teacher's goals, have good instructions, receive clear and appropriate feedback, and promote productive interaction with the student. (11 references) (MSE)

The rationale and process for creating a credit-bearing intensive English program (IEP) at Utah State University, a land-grant institution with about 1,000 foreign students, are described. The program evolved from an intensive English language institute whose proficiency-granting process became tedious for staff and administrators. As a result,…

Situational leadership can be used in the English-as-a-Second-Language classroom to help students accept and adapt to instructional innovation. Leadership style is determined by the leader's task (directive) and relationship (supportive) behavior and by the classroom environment. Follower readiness is both job-related and psychological. Case…

An entrance and exit interview procedure designed to evaluate student progress in an intensive English program (IEP) is discussed. The program offers six terms of 7 weeks each per year. Students are interviewed within the first 10 days after classes have started, always by the same individual. Both personal and placement information are gathered,…

A study investigated the importance of reading in developing writing competence in an intensive Business Spanish course at the University of Toledo (Ohio). In class projects, two groups of students wrote business reports in which they advised a company on whether or not to market a product in a Spanish-speaking country. The projects each included…

A discussion of innovation in college and university intensive English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs uses a systems approach to analyze program elements (constituencies, decision-makers, purpose, performance measures, environments, resources, subsystems, and boundaries) and describes new program initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania.…

Teachers of academic English cannot teach content directly, prepare students for all academic tasks, eradicate error, or teach the full range of academic vocabulary. However, they can teach task and genre awareness, encourage use of all skills and higher-order thinking, require exploitation of resources, and encourage self-evaluation. (11…

The relationship between intensive English programs (IEPs) for international students and the American colleges and universities that design, structure, staff, and administer the programs in diverse ways is adversely affected by an absence of policy and the inability of the faculty who teach these programs to participate in the policy-making…

A symposium of language learning specialists reviewing C.C. Fries' Oral Approach to English language instruction developed and used at the English Language Institute of the University of Michigan is summarized. The thesis of the symposium was that the basic Oral Approach concepts had and continue to have a profound and far-reaching, though largely…