Several types of hybrid Spanish programs have been developed in US colleges and universities for more than ten years, but the most common structure consists of a course in which the instruction combines face-to-face time with an instructor and the use of an online platform. Studies have demonstrated that a well-developed hybrid Spanish program can…

An experimental program to individualize intermediate French instruction through specific, personalized work emphasizes oral language in the classroom, and reading, listening, and writing in its individualized portion. (MSE)

The University of Pennsylvania's Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies introduced a cultural segment into its second language program in 1986 to enable students to use language purposefully within the foreign culture. During the program's 2 years, students are exposed to eight different cultural segments taught by language…

The development of specific university-level programs to prepare students for international employment or to enhance job opportunities in the United States can be achieved only through cooperation between foreign language departments and other departments. Foreign language educators and students must learn to relate to other fields, communicate…

A two-year study of how writing teachers teach writing uncovered two significant facts: (1) there is a high rate of frustration and burnout among composition teachers because they are teaching by a system that conflicts with their own experience as writers, and (2) a small but vocal minority of teachers who teach from their own writing experience,…

An analysis of the lexical content of four recently published textbooks for college-level introductory German is presented. The study investigated the extent to which the materials prepare students for the intermediate level, as cited in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' (ACTFL's) proficiency guidelines. The lexical items…

The demand for an improved international dimension in American education is a move in the right direction, and American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and Educational Testing Service efforts in defining foreign language proficiency guidelines and developing a reliable mechanism for testing oral proficiency have resulted in…

The restructuring of the Romance language program at Howard University to improve oral proficiency involved modification of goals, syllabi, classroom activities, and testing. Goals were adapted to American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)/Educational Testing Service (ETS) guidelines for oral proficiency. Assessment of French…

The time to make positive changes in foreign language education programs and instruction has come. The first step in effecting change is to find out about the students' language backgrounds, interests, and intentions for their language skills. Language instruction can take many different emphases: foreign language and international studies,…

Describes a team-taught immersion-style, content-based program in English as a foreign language (EFL) in a Japanese college liberal arts curriculum. The collaborative model of content-based instruction differs from the typical theme-based, sheltered, and adjunct models in its educational goals and instructional format. Suggestions are made for…

Issues 1 and 2 (combined) of the 1995 journal contain these articles: "Accelerated Learning in a Beginning College-Level French Class at the University of Houston" (Patrice Caux); "The Psychobiology of Learning and Memory" (Don Schuster); "Do the Seeds of Accelerated Language Learning and Teaching Lie in a Behavioral…

Oral/aural skills (1) are a major vocational requirement for a student graduating in the language field, (2) are an essential, academically valid element in the language learning process, and (3) enhance the student's overall intellectual development. If a communicative language curriculum is designed carefully, it will integrate all of these…

Interpreting, or oral translation, can be used in undergraduate second language study as a technique for developing oral skills. The technique can produce both sound linguistic judgment and confident oral and written performance that last beyond testing. It integrates four essential elements of oral/aural skills: comprehension, phonology/fluency,…

Practical difficulties in placing economics students and designing instructional materials in English as a Second Language at the University of Antwerp (Belgium), and techniques used for resolving these difficulties, are described. First-year students arrive with heterogeneous backgrounds because, unlike in other European countries, there is no…

Languages have lost status in the educational system, and oral skills are less effectively and rigorously taught. However, a University of Leeds program providing short, intensive courses in administrative and legal French for British civil servants has been found to be very effective in developing the participants' oral and aural skills. The…