Suggestions for improving conversation groups in the intermediate and advanced English as a second language classroom are considered with attention directed to design of the activities, preparation of the individuals involved, and selection of the subject matter. In addition, factors that cause conversation groups to fail are discussed. A…

Freshmen and seniors in four-year colleges and students in two-year institutions were surveyed nationally in 1980 to determine their understanding of the world and world issues. The survey, which was based on a sample of about 3,000 undergraduates at 185 institutions, included a test of global understanding and three questionnaires on students'…

Learning characteristics of students undertaking computer assisted instruction using the PLATO system were assessed for five Russian courses at the University of Illinois. Since the computer allows accurate measurement of the interaction of the student with the material being learned, four measures of student performance were assessed--error rate,…

Four issues of the "TESL Reporter" are presented. Contents are as follows: "The Utterance-Response Method to Pattern Drill" by Jason B. Alter; "Your Gestures and Mannerisms: A Help or Hindrance?" by Alice C. Pack; "Part II: A Structural Comparison of English and Tongan" by Ermel J. Morton; "Teaching…

Project LEAP (Learning English-for-Academic-Purposes) is a three-year faculty development and supplemental instruction partnership to improve the academic literacy skills of native-born, immigrant, and international language minority students. Course teams composed of discipline faculty, peer study group leaders, and professional language…

Demographic trends suggest colleges and universities will be enrolling record numbers of foreign-born students, and must prepare to introduce this population to the distinctive practices and standards of American higher education. Suggestions include redesigning the orientation program, establishing strong English language instruction, improving…

This paper describes a method in oral fluency evaluation for Tourism English according to a corpus-based lexical approach. Our main research focus is placed on measuring oral skill competence among Tourism English (TE) learners by contrasting their word use and linguistic fluency, achieved in two types of oral tasks, with corpus data frequencies.…

An intensive immersion program in English-as-a-Second-Language instruction developed at Pepperdine University (California), a small liberal arts college, is described. The program was designed for limited-English-speaking foreign students who are at risk for academic failure without additional English language skills. Focus of this discussion is…

The proceedings of this conference include 56 papers on program design, classroom techniques, and ideas for second language instruction for business and the professions. The papers are presented in eight groups: (1) "International Business: The Language and Culture Connection," which includes papers on multinational business, marketing,…

Georgia State University has developed undergraduate applied language programs in commercial French, German, and Spanish combining practical with theoretical studies. The curricula stress the communicative aspect of language, and are based on the content of certification examinations given in France, Germany, and Spain. Two upper-level courses in…

The MEXUS program, a transnational, undergraduate, dual-degree program in the United States and Mexico, addresses the problem of how universities can better prepare students to manage business in an interdependent global marketplace. The program was initiated as a consortium of four institutions (San Diego State University and Southwestern College…

Year after year, English-as-a-foreign-language (ESL) programs at Saudi universities are experiencing significant increases in student enrollment. The current staffing conditions do not accommodate the enrollment demands. ESL programs are having difficulties in retaining experienced native-speaking teachers and in hiring qualified substitute…

A study of the role of the modern language program at Michigan Technological University looks at perceptions of administrators, faculty, and students concerning the program and language learning needs, and student motivation in studying languages. Concludes that despite language enrollment and retention problems, modern language courses are both…

A study at Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), in response to administrator and employer concerns about the quality of English second language instruction, investigated aspects of language program design. Concerns had been expressed about the level of English language skills among science and engineering graduates. The survey consisted of…

The Michigan Technological University program in German area studies is described. The program is designed for science and engineering students at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Its components include: a 1-year scientific German sequence, stressing specialized vocabulary, reading skills, use of reference materials, translation into…