To help ESP college instructors improve the English curriculum taught at polytechnic institutes, colleges and universities, the current study proposes a model for designing English for Polytechnic Purposes (EPP) courses for undergraduate students majoring in mechanical engineering, chemistry, technology, economics, textile industry and other…

The demand for Spanish for specific purposes (SSP) university courses in the United States has prompted widespread curricular change in language departments over the last two decades (Klee, 2015; Sánchez-López, 2013). However, many instructors lack the tools and training needed to design SSP curricula that meet learners' communicative needs in…

Projects related to the European Language Portfolio (ELP) carried out at the Language Centre of the University of Trieste are concerned to examine whether and to what extent "can do" descriptors can be extended to courses in Languages for Specific Purposes. The project reported in this article had two aims. The first was to explore what…

Discusses the foreign language requirements at Hunter College. By the fourth semester, a student is expected to read and understand a fairly advanced literary text and to talk and write about it in the target language. Discusses possible changes in these requirements, such as oral proficiency testing, and problems that may be encountered. (SED)

The coordination, articulation, and implementation of informed teaching techniques and objectives will help to overcome the anarchy and confusion that characterize higher education advanced-level foreign language classes, and will begin to produce a pool of highly competent foreign language speakers and writers. (33 references) (CB)

Distinguishes between text authenticity and learner authenticity. A set of guiding principles for making textually authentic materials learner authentic is suggested. A 3-week supplementary English program, which was devised for a group of Hong Kong Polytechnic students based on these principles, is described. (12 references) (Author/CK)

Provides an overview of a content-based postsecondary German language course that uses youth literature to teach about the Holocaust. Philosophical as well as pedagogical problems of dealing with the Holocaust in DaF instruction are included in the curriculum. Curricular considerations are presented that deal with course objectives, learning…

Reports on survey of beginning German at colleges and universities in the U.S. Results show grammatical knowledge is most important objective followed by speaking, listening, and reading comprehension, cultural awareness, then writing. Results indicate growth within the profession. (BK)

Describes a French introductory course that prepares students to travel in France and relies entirely on materials and themes related to such travel. Use of realia and props helps the instructors to stage real-life situations. Emphasis is placed on comprehension and oral language communication. (MES)

This paper examines ways that Hispanic culture can be dealt with in Spanish as a foreign language for business. First, rationales for teaching culture are offered, ranging from the abstract observation that knowledge of culture is a required part of a humanistic education, to the more pragmatic need of businesses for representatives who are fluent…

Discusses design issues raised during an in-house review of undergraduate English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing courses at the University of Nebraska. Issues covered include the purpose of teaching ESL in a university environment, the autonomy of instructors, focus of the writing curriculum, and the value of student effort versus student…

The notion of a communicative approach has developed considerably since it first began to influence teaching practice and as teacher-researchers have refined their understanding of the concept of communicative competence. At present, adopting a communicative approach has two aspects: (1) it means formulating teaching/learning problems in terms of…

One approach to teaching business French is to familiarize students with true business situations and to help students realize that business interacts with a body of laws and within a political and socioeconomic environment. On the first day of class, students are divided into groups of two or three, and each group becomes an enterprise with a…

Describes the components, course objectives, texts and materials, and structure and assignment of The American University's translation course, which hones students' foreign language competence through its focus on the short-term goal of attention to subtleties of meaning in the foreign language and nuance of expression in English. (CB)

Discusses a graduate course that prepares language teachers by emphasizing ways to tailor instruction to learners' needs and demonstrates multiple forms of collaboration. Course participants discuss their collaborative learning experiences and their expectations for using such approaches in their own teaching. (14 references) (Author/CK)