This report describes the seven-week program of the first-, second-, and third-year German language courses taught at Middlebury College during the summer of 1977. This was an intensive program with at least four hours of formal classroom instruction per day. The high scores achieved on the MLA-Cooperative Foreign Language Tests, Forms LA and MA,…

Some of the possibilities for taking language learning and instruction into the larger classroom of the school, the community, and the world are considered. Programs conducted within the school or college campus but outside of the usual classroom include intensive language courses and interdisciplinary courses. A step farther from the traditional…

A STUDY WAS MADE OF THE LEVELS OF PROFICIENCY ATTAINED BY FOREIGN LANGUAGE MAJORS IN U.S. COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, AND OF THE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ATTAINMENTS OF THESE LEVELS. THE MLA FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TESTS FOR TEACHERS AND ADVANCED STUDENTS WERE ADMINISTERED IN 1965 TO 2,775 SENIORS MAJORING IN FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN,…

Results of a survey of 234 schools, placing special emphasis on the role of linguistics and the recommendations of linguists in their language programs, are presented. A questionnaire gathered information on the number of class meetings per week, the length of class time, the number of students per section, and whether class materials were…

In addition to improving teacher education programs, Illinois colleges and universities are in the process of adjusting foreign language programs to meet the legitimate needs of high school graduates. So that teachers and counselors may have a better understanding of foreign language education programs in Illinois, this report describes sample…

This study, based on interviews with North American students and Peace Corps trainees in Bogota, and their host families, professors, and other Colombians in contact with the students, attempts to define the non-linguistic barriers to cross-cultural communication between North Americans and Colombians. The purpose of the study is to gather data…

This brief review of research in foreign language instruction during 1961-63 summarizes, compares, and interprets related studies dealing withsuch topics as (1) the effects and value of foreign language instruction at different educational levels, (2) methods and materials, (3) testing, and (4) electromechanical aids, such as the language…

This is a report in outline form of the status of teaching English literature in Austria. The schools syllabus prescribes that English literature should be taught after students have studied English for four years, that is, in the 5th form. The short story is the usual prose form selected. In the 5th and 6th forms, one literary work is studied in…

This paper reports on a pilot study conducted to determine the possible use of the cloze procedure as a substitute measure of achievement in a second-year Spanish culture and civilization class. Twenty students enrolled in a third-semester Spanish class at the University of Colorado were simultaneously given multiple choice tests and cloze tests…

This volume contains achievement tests designed for American students who have completed second-year Persian. They are constructed on the basis of materials related to course syllabi. The tests are tailored to the needs of the conventional second-year Persian program on the college level, where emphasis is usually placed more on reading,…

An experimental first-year German program at the University of Texas is described. The course builds on and extends psychologist James Asher's Total Physical Response strategy and is based on five principles: (1) presenting language as communication in context; (2) teaching recognition before production; (3) postponing demands for error-free…

A norm-referenced evaluation system, which evaluates the student in comparison to his peers, is rejected in favor of a criterion-referenced system. The latter, which rates the performance of a student on an absolute standard, makes for an individualized approach. Two kinds of tests are distinguished, the formative, administered during the course…

The foreign language teaching situation in community colleges is discussed. Foreign language teaching in community colleges tends to be demanding due to the limited curriculum of such institutions, limited enrollment in foreign language courses, and the heterogeneity of the student population in terms of career goals, educational preparation, and…

THE REPORTS OF THE WORKING COMMITTEES OF THE 1964 NORTHEAST CONFERENCE ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES RELATE TO THE PRACTICES INVOLVED IN IDEAL ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, AND HIGHER EDUCATION LANGUAGE PROGRAMS. INCLUDED IN THE REPORT ON FLES PROGRAMS, DEVELOPED BY CONRAD J. SCHMITT AND HIS COMMITTEE, ARE DISCUSSIONS OF FLES MATERIALS AND…

This study conducted at the University of Kentucky in 1967-68 tests the theory of interaction between discrimination and pronunciation through a field test. After a brief review of previous research in phonemic discrimination as related to foreign language learning, the procedures and results of the test are presented. The text used was "Basic…