New trends in language teaching in Sweden away from the absolute direct method and the duty of the university to offer languages for special purposes are expressed. It is pointed out that language study integrated and combined with vocational subjects is beneficial. (SC)

Proposes a new type of oral test, based on Grice's Co-operative Principle and its dependent maxims, to measure communicative competence. Describes the design, administration, and scoring of this timed, multiple-choice test and gives sample test materials. Discusses applications to testing languages for special purposes and ways of presenting the…

When teaching languages to technologists the subject should be neither entirely technological nor entirely alien to the technical discipline. At the University of Bath a B.Sc. degree can be obtained in engineering with French or German. Both languages are used as a medium of instruction for some engineering courses. (SC)

Examines the dividing line between a general service vocabulary (GSV) and a special purposes vocabulary (SPV) in English-as-a-Second-Language education, using frequency, test coverage, and range as criteria. Results found that GSV is more efficient for learning up to the 2,000-word level, above which SPV provides a better return for learning…

Reports on a study investigating whether a field-specific oral proficiency test would be a better predictor of field-specific performance than a general purpose oral proficiency test. A theoretical discussion is presented on field-specific language testing and guidelines for the construction of oral proficiency tests in specific purpose contexts.…

Linguistic needs of non-linguist students of Belgian universities are assessed; skills that should be taught and approaches to use are discussed. The needs are twofold: scholastic and professional. Skills should be reading comprehension and oral and written knowledge. Approaches should be comprehensive. (SC)

The new roles and functions of university language departments are discussed. A decline in younger language students is countered by growing adult demand for language training. New institutions or sections cater to new learning groups; extramural, decentralized and distance courses have developed. Advantages for student and university are…

Uses an analogy of Fordist and post-Fordist production management processes as a way of shedding light on language learning, particularly at the tertiary level. The article argues that Fordist methods provide an analogy for the way language teaching has been organized in the past. Post-Fordism provides a new analogy for the development of language…