Argues that the focus of foreign-language instruction needs to be on students learning to become more efficient in using another language. This focus means charting each student's progress along the continuum of proficiency from novice to intermediate to advanced levels, not just checking off a list of what has been taught from the curriculum. (CK)

Presents an approach for developing oral proficiency in the advanced conversation course that proposes, as an organizing principle, the use of Swales's concept of genre as a class of communicative events that share a communicative purpose. It is concluded that focus on genre can improve proficiency performance and articulation. (eight references)…