The initial response to COVID-19 exposed widespread racism and Sinophobia across the world, which contributed to a rethinking of equality and diversity in Higher Education (HE) and beyond. Within Modern Languages, much attention has been placed on decolonising the curriculum. The death of George Floyd in 2020 further contributed to an increased…

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…

The collegiate foreign language profession has become increasingly aware of the unnecessarily detrimental effects of bifurcated curricula on student learning and departmental governance, yet there have been few instances to date of departments that have been able to achieve unified, articulated programs of study. This article presents one foreign…

This article documents a curriculum reform of the second-year German program at the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. This curricular reform had two goals: (1) compressing two semesters of intermediate-level language instruction into a single semester; (2) incorporating a strategy-based approach to literary…

This article documents a curriculum reform of the second-year German program at the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. This curricular reform had two goals: (1) compressing two semesters of intermediate-level language instruction into a single semester; (2) incorporating a strategy-based approach to literary…

One of the key recommendations of the Worton Review of Modern Foreign Languages provision in higher education in England (2009) is more effective collaboration between language centres and language departments. This paper presents a fully integrated model of such collaboration and develops recommendations for language centres and language…

In an effort to strengthen teacher training, advanced language learning, and general skill development, one university developed an upper division "internship" in German. German majors and nonmajors were attracted to the course for its emphasis on skills applicable in the job market. (MSE)

A University of Dublin (Ireland) curriculum restructuring project in the undergraduate second language program is chronicled, and ongoing curriculum development efforts are described. As a result of curriculum research, the university offered a series of freshman French and German courses in 1994-95 and a series of second-year courses to students…

Investigating students' needs in three foreign language departments in a liberal arts college setting, the study discussed in this article aims to find similarities and differences in language needs among students enrolled in French, German, and Spanish and the extent to which students' perceived needs match the mission the departments have…

Four papers presented at the conference on the applications of foreign languages and international studies to business focus on the use of German in international trade and the development of college German curricula for that purpose. The papers include the following: "Adding Business German to the German Curriculum: Obstacles, Strategies,…

Describes a thematic, communication-oriented approach developed by the foreign language department at the University of Maryland Baltimore County to the first-year and intermediate sequences in French, German, and Spanish. Design of the syllabus, instructional materials, and teaching techniques are discussed. (Author/CB)

This British collection of essays on intensive second language instruction is divided into four groups. A section on intensive courses outside Britain includes: "Intensive Courses in a German Youth Hostel"; "Intensive German from an Austrian Perspective: An LEA Initiative"; and "Integrating Intensive Sessions into the…

The foreign language program in the Edison, New Jersey public schools is described. The exemplary features of this program are: (1) It is not limited to college-bound students, (2) a significant provision is made for program advocacy, and (3) there are full four- and six-year sequences in French, Spanish, and German. (PMJ)

It is argued that a functional-notional syllabus is practical and useful for second language instruction at the college level. It constitutes a natural progression from secondary school curricula that emphasize communication in that it uses the same basic organization and similar categories. However, it differs from them in that it pays particular…

The Iowa guide to foreign language curriculum development, the result of a 1985 state mandate, is designed to help local teachers and administrators build on and improve current curriculum and instructional methods. An opening section outlines the rationale, philosophy, and goals of the guide, and subsequent sections focus on curriculum design and…