Discusses a case of language program revitalization at a major metropolitan university. Results of a pilot study aimed at assessing students' needs and redefining the goals and objectives of a traditional French program are presented. (Author/VWL)

Traces the development of innovations and renovations in the graduate and undergraduate German-studies program at Stanford University. Examines the conceptual framework within which the faculty was operating, discusses the practicalities and specifics of three experimental approaches within the German-studies undergraduate curriculum, and…

Argues that, although it is worthwhile to teach literature in its original language, there is merit to teaching foreign language literature in translation. Most college-level language teachers have the language competence to teach literature in English, and if it's not taught in the language department, it may be taught in the English department,…

Demonstrates the dangers of an Americanized world expanding through the importation of American English. Suggests that linguistic sameness creates a loss of identity and deprives people of specific cultures and languages to call their own. (Author/VWL)

Language departments have a natural niche in undergraduate and graduate programs. The process of cross-cultural travel and conscious explorations of responses to difference constitute a unique contribution that foreign languages and literature departments can make to higher education. The article discusses implications of this contribution in…

A self-paced introductory French course sequence offered at Francis Marion College (South Carolina) was begun in response to nontraditional students' difficult study schedules and varied language backgrounds and knowledge levels. This program of individualized instruction has objectives identical to that of standard French instruction at the same…

A study of large group language instruction in Nigeria draws on experiences of 33 teachers providing remedial English second language instruction in Nigerian universities. The report presents: teacher experiences and perceptions of class size (often over 100); a questionnaire used to investigate practices in and attitudes toward large classes;…

English language assessment of non-native speakers of English (NNS) who apply for undergraduate study in the United States is examined. The analysis focuses on: the assessment of reading in light of its importance across the undergraduate curriculum, and the establishment of a base-line level of reading proficiency to which the proficiency of NNS…

At Concordia College's Institute of German Studies (Minnesota), an immersion program, a 1-month course entitled "German in the Business World" concentrates on development of written and oral communication skills needed in firms dealing with German-speakers. As part of its emphasis on banking, insurance, and business, the course includes…

The University of Rhode Island, through the cooperation of its College of Business Administration and Department of Languages, has undertaken efforts to market its business language program. The target group consists of the incoming freshman class, all of whom must have completed 2 years of high school language study and do some college work in a…

The purpose of this report is to present work done in the language module projects of the English and German degrees at Roskilde University Center (Denmark). Project work is the essential structuring ingredient of foreign language degrees at the Center. The collection of papers included in this issue attempts to provide information on what has…

A discussion of computer use for teaching English as a second language (ESL) at the college level examines what computers can do in and outside the classroom and why ESL teachers should become acquainted with them. It begins by defining the various tools and tasks of the computer, including word processors, instructional courseware, database…

It is no longer possible to approach the teaching of foreign cultures with an ethnographic and objectivist perspective that allows students to believe in the absolute value of a given definition of culture. The first goal of foreign language and culture teaching is the acquisition of communicative competence in the broadest sense of this…

A number of Arab countries, particularly those in which English is a foreign language, have gone to considerable lengths to stress and ensure the use of Arabic as a medium of instruction and expression for all branches of higher education. Progress in Arabicization has been accompanied by a diminishing role for the teaching of English to Arab…

Failures and successes in teaching commercial foreign languages will speak for themselves. However, the profession must not foster exaggerated expectations of mastery in such a broad field, but must state honestly and realistically, with clear limits, what the commercial language course's goals are. In a college course enrolling somewhat…