In this paper, we explore how advanced college students use the past history and experiences of others to understand the present while learning a foreign language through a content-integrated curriculum. To assess student learning we operationalize Norris (2006. "The Why (and How) of Assessing Student Learning Outcomes in College Foreign…

This article explores levels of proficiency in Chinese with reference to the new HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi) Chinese Proficiency Test and the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" (CEFR). Special attention is given to learning and teaching the writing of Chinese characters and the use of Pinyin, a phonetic Romanization…

Content-Based Instruction (CBI) may result in improved proficiency in language skills due to the meaningful combination of subject matter and foreign language as a means of communication. This paper shows how university students improved their level of English by means of a content methodology as they attended a course called Topics in Molecular…

A college advanced speaking course designed with the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines is described. Students prepared and performed many communicative tasks, including narrating, describing, hypothesizing, supporting an opinion, debating, and interviewing for a job. Other components include pair and small-group work, audio and videotaping, and pre-…

The development and results of Career Spanish instruction at Mesa State College in Colorado from 1975 to 1991 are described. The class is an individualized, career-oriented class for students who have only 3 to 6 semester hours available for foreign language study and an interest in particular vocational applications of Spanish. With no…

The language program at the United State Air Force Academy is described with emphasis on its upper track courses that are designed to prepare area specialists to interact with their foreign counterparts. Air Force officers assigned to Latin America, for example, may serve as experts in political-military affairs, foreign military sales, or as…

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…

Discusses strategies designed to cope with problems encountered at the college level that are caused by students' diversity in background and levels of competency. Alternatives to the lock-step method of instruction, with applicability at both the college and high school level, are described. (EJS)

This paper considers the problems of the second-year intermediate college language course, the principles that are fundamental to any intermediate class and observations on the content of the course. The limitations imposed by time, the scope of the subject matter, and the varied capabilities and interests of the students constitute the Special…

Part VI of the proceedings includes 12 presentations. They are: "Teaching Students How to Read Economics and Commercial Texts in a Commercial French Course: Focus on Meaning" (Robert A. Kreiter); "The Teaching of French for Computers and Information Science" (John B. Romeiser); "A Program in French for Hotel and Restaurant Management Majors: The…