This study follows a group of modern foreign languages (MFL) teachers in the Netherlands during a nine-month professional development project around the theme of 'Content in MFL'. The project was initiated following proposals to refocus the MFL curriculum on the basis of integrated learning outcomes for both language proficiency and areas of…

At a time when language programs around the United States are in crisis--the University of Rhode Island's Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures is realigning its curriculum to emphasize proficiency and intercultural competence within a strong liberal arts context. The result of the department's recent initiatives? More than…

English language learners (ELs) face multiple challenges in receiving proper instruction that balances their need for English Language Development (ELD) and grade-level content instruction. Additionally, educators often minimize the importance of recognizing students' funds of knowledge as a valuable asset they bring to the classroom. Studies that…

An alternative, multidimensional curriculum design for second languages is suggested and expressed in terms of four syllabi: language, communicative activities, culture, and general language education. They have the objectives of proficiency, knowledge, affect, and transfer. Syllabus characteristics are described, relationship of content and…

Speech delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages (ADFL), December 26, 1969, in Denver, Colorado. (DS)

A STUDY WAS MADE OF SEVEN NDEA INSTITUTES, GIVEN IN THE SUMMERS OF 1965 AND 1966 FOR UNDERGRADUATES PREPARING TO BE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS, TO DETERMINE IF THESE INSTITUTES ARE AN EFFECTIVE SUPPLEMENT TO COLLEGE LANGUAGE PROGRAMS. INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THE STUDY WERE INSTITUTE DIRECTORS AND THEIR STAFF, VISITORS' OBSERVATIONS, AND…

The syllabus for New York State's elementary and secondary education second language programs is intended to inform local school district personnel about important characteristics of successful programming and provide a framework for development, management, and implementation. It specifies educational goals and components of the intended learning…

Major factors influencing goals and outcomes of foreign language education are reviewed in order to identify a common core of goals. Alternative approaches to specifying outcomes are discussed and sample lists of outcomes for three levels of study are presented. The review of the main influences on the educational scene during the past decade…

New York State's syllabus for second language education is designed to help local school district personnel fulfill state mandates and develop curricula consistent with state standards. It identifies the components of intended learning outcomes and implications for instruction, but does not specify instructional methods to be used. The guide…

The discussion sessions recorded in this volume cover various aspects of foreign language instruction including (1) the roles of both the state and the individual educator in the promotion of legislation, in the adoption of texts and other instructional materials, and in the development of curriculum, (2) problems of articulation, student…

A third volume of a highly articulated set of language materials defines achievement level 2 in the control of Spanish syntax while providing descriptions and interrelationships of vital syntactic structures and expected student performance. The noun phrase, predicate phrase, verbal aspects, adverbials, relativization, noun modification,…

Every individual's needs will differ, and a unit/credit system must be designed with sufficient flexibility to ensure that whatever the individual's interest in language learning, the system caters to it. The thesis of this paper is that, while a grammatical approach to language teaching cannot cater to it, a communicative approach can. A…

This book consists of ten papers presented at the 1976 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Three major trends in foreign language instruction were identified as themes for the conference: (1) the growing emphasis on developing communication skills in the language learning experience; (2) the concern for the individual…

Current educational research and possible directions for the improvement of second language education in schools are discussed in the light of current Canadian political and economic influences. The Ontario Ministry of Education has proposed three levels of proficiency in French as reasonable objectives to be achieved by secondary schools in their…

The Texas framework for modern and classical language programs in the elementary and secondary schools is intended to (1) establish a philosophy for a proficiency-based sequential language program; (2) outline the overall language program as specified in state rules and legislative mandates; and (3) describe expected student proficiency levels and…