The guidelines presented here consider important questions of English language proficiency for foreign students entering colleges and universities in the United States. Several problems are discussed: admissions, measurement of proficiency, responsibility of the institution, administration of the English-as-a-second-language (ESL) program, ESL and…

Discusses the merits of a practice examination modeled after the final examination administered in German classes at the University of Nebraska. (RL)

Describes the Indiana University French Communicative Ability Test, developed to test communicative ability at a relatively low level (beginning university French), and in a large, multi-section program. (AM)

Describes an intensive program in elementary German at the University of Texas (Arlington) in 1971, in which undergraduates with no previous experience in German could complete the university's four semester foreign language requirement in a single semester. (DS)

The self-instructional language program (SILP) allows students to learn, through a guided individualized study program, a foreign language not offered in the regular university curriculum. A director for the program offers the facilities and materials necessary for administering such a program. A tutor, who is a native speaker of the target…

In order to test the validity of self-pacing, teacher-directed and self-paced programed German courses were set up for two years at Colorado State University. The Carroll-Sapon language aptitude test, attitude tests, and the Educational Testing Service standardized German tests were administered to conventional German classes as well as to both…

Excerpts from a recent report prepared by the Committee on Teacher Preparation Programs organized by an active state Foreign Language Teachers Association. All names of persons and places have been changed. (DS)

New placement procedure at Humboldt University includes interviews and placement tests. Interviews reveal response ability, tempo, pronunciation, comprehension, etc. The 60-minute test that follows is described and results discussed, as well as difficulty level and grading. Results: better grouping of students, less shifting, better work. (Text is…

Factors responsible for the inadequate preparation for college Russian courses of many high school trained students of Russian are identified, and remedies are suggested. Attention is given to common deficiencies in high school training, minimum requirements for advanced placement, placement tests, the need to establish a standard program, and…