Pinyin is a sound-annotating system for Chinese characters using Roman letters. Teaching and learning Pinyin has been an important educational practice in Mainland China for native Chinese children, and it is also typically taught to beginning learners of Chinese as a foreign/second language in tertiary-level classrooms. However, whether it should…

Outlines strategies for teaching listening comprehension which can be adapted to foreign language programs. The initial stage is to make the students aware of the skill of listening for comprehension. Then follows strategies that demand purposeful reactions from the students, including instruction activities, command activities, personal-choice…

Describes the findings in foreign language research and the goals of global education that motivated the use of cities as a point of departure for activities and materials development. Suggests ideas for integrating city-based contextual information into activities for introductory classes and sources of information. Topics for study at…

Priorities developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in 1980 as the focus for activities in the near future are presented, including specific aspects of curriculum and materials development, foreign language proficiency, public awareness, research, and teacher education. (MSE)

Describes an experimental course for language teachers in global education. The course tested the hypothesis that teachers, given an in-depth understanding of culture and culture-learning theory, and given the experiences necessary to discern the process both affectively and cognitively, could successfully develop the meaningful, skill-building…

Presents areas of agreement among professionals on research and theory in language teaching as it is applicable to classroom methodology and contrasts these with assumptions held by many teachers and laypersons. Considers the practical implications of these points of accord and presents recommendations for teacher training and the development of…

Defines "listening comprehension" and discusses both its role in the process of first and second language acquisition and the modes of language processing presumed to operate in listening comprehension. Presents specific teaching strategies and material incorporating listening comprehension in the foreign language classroom at all levels. (SED)

Describes the implementation of a first-year comprehension-based Spanish language program at New Mexico State University. Includes a discussion of the history of the program and of the problems encountered in changing a traditional curriculum. Also describes the materials, classroom practice, and testing and evaluation techniques used in the…

The purposes, development, characteristics, target population needs, appropriate materials, and teacher qualifications of an Occupational English as a Second Language Program (OESL) are presented. OESL is a component of bilingual education that utilizes open entry and exit and a competency-based individualized instructional approach. (PMJ)