In an effort to encourage the integration of writing as a communicative act in the second language classroom, information is presented about the purposes of writing in the second language classroom, types of writing tasks, proficiency levels in writing, writing activities, and writing evaluation. (Author/CB)

Development of oral foreign language proficiency in high school and college instruction is complemented by well-designed writing exercises integrating all skills and providing contact with various language forms. A series of short, text-adaptable, proficiency-based writing activities reinforcing aural, oral, and reading skills throughout the basic…

Research indicates that writing can be an important vehicle for integrating all the learning that occurs in a foreign language. However, a number of factors have conspired to displace foreign language writing as a critical skill: the push for oral proficiency, departmental fragmentation, larger class sizes, and heavier faculty loads. Second…

A technique for teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) that requires students to write relatively simple English in large volume has been successful in developing both language skills and self-confidence. Students rewrite stories to reflect situations and conditions different from those in the original telling; for example, by changing the…

Class activities for developing Spanish proficiency in third- and fourth-year high school students and first- and second-year college students are presented. Activities include a discussion of teaching for proficiency, drawing on recent research, and notes on the design and intent of the activities. Sample exercises for listening comprehension…

Selected papers from the 1986 Southern Conference on Language Teaching on instruction for language proficiency are presented: "The Foreign Language Teacher: Confronting an Ever-Changing Profession" (Robert Di Donato); "Restructuring a Traditional Foreign Language Program for Oral Proficiency" (Filisha Camara-Norman, James…