Given that societies across the globe are increasingly multicultural and multilingual, the notion of communicative competence grounded in constricting definitions of national cultures and languages reflects neither our instructional realities nor the sociolinguistic reality of the languages and cultures we teach. To foster students' development of…

Despite the centrality of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in language teaching and assessment, studies investigating its learning outcomes in language program evaluations are quite scarce. This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a modular English preparatory school program through the Foreign Language…

This quant-QUAL sequential explanatory mixed methods study describes a framework for evaluating the communicative competence (Canale & Swain, 1980; Canale, 1983) of non-beginner students of Chinese for placement purposes at U.S. four-year postsecondary institutions. A pragmatic lens was used to collect and analyze data that generated a…

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) was designed as a tool that "supports reflective learning and fosters the development of learner autonomy" (Little 2009, "The European Language Portfolio: Where pedagogy and assessment meet". Strasbourg: Council of Europe.…

During the last decade, researchers of foreign language pedagogy have become increasingly interested in the "language-literature divide" (Donato and Brooks 2004). The purpose of the current study is to contribute to this growing body of research by investigating the extent to which whole class discussions in three third-year…

This article deals with university language teaching in the perspective of its shift from linguistic competence towards communicative competence, and presents some aspects of the underlying process. It analyses the findings from a survey conducted within the Leonardo project "Transparency in the Acquired Language Competences" (TALC;…

In her paper, Burke questions whether top-down proficiency mandates will positively impact teacher practice. Her main argument is the following: The requirement that foreign language (FL) teachers demonstrate an advanced level of proficiency does not guarantee that they will be more effective K-12 FL teachers; on this point, the author agrees with…

A number of reports in the US have highlighted the country's need for improved second language skills for both national security and economic competitiveness. The Language Flagship program, launched in 2002, aims to raise expectations regarding language proficiency levels at the post-secondary level and to address structural gaps in the curricula…

This study examined the influence of language knowledge, metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive strategy use on speaking and listening proficiency. Ninety six freshman and sophomore Iranian university students (male = 6, female = 90) were participated in the study. Two kinds of questionnaire and one language knowledge test were administered.…

This paper examines the effectiveness of routinizing lexical phrases to a group of second language learners. A group of proficiency class students were drilled or routinized with semi-fixed and fixed phrases which are commonly used in problem-solving group discussion. Basic frequency counts and interview were carried out to see improvement in…

A committee was formed to examine the need for and the possible approach to foreign language instruction for International Business and International Relations students at St. Mary's University (San Antonio). Research literature of most interest to the committee described specific courses and programs in higher education, different formats ranging…

The commonly-occurring mismatch between second language student and course level, resulting in student boredom or intimidation, is due to overreliance on standardized language tests. These tests emphasize passive skills, such as recognition of grammatical structures and translation, and they ignore the element of communicative competence. As a…

Several surveys were made of Japanese teenagers who were exchange students in the United States between 1975 and 1977. Three of the questionnaires are analyzed to get an idea of the problems the students had with English and the state of English teaching in Japan. Thirty-one male and female high school students were involved in the study. The…

Describes the development and implementation of a TVEI French course in Wirral (England) for 16- to 18-year-olds. The course emphasizes practical use of language in everyday life and employment, linguistic awareness, and successful communication rather than linguistic perfection. (CB)

A review of research on foreign language proficiency, constraints of language learning, and constraints of the learner suggests that current oral language proficiency standards and tests are more helpful in evaluating the effectiveness of a foreign language program than in evaluating the achievement of individual students. (CB)