This forum examines issues of intercultural competence and language education, discussing the extent to which language courses provide students with intercultural competence and the extent to which intercultural competence and language skills are, or should be, linked. With language education in the West in inarguable decline, the authors face the…

Direct Entry Programs (DEPs) at Australian universities are designed to enhance students' English language and academic skills, with the primary goals of preparing and assuring students' readiness for university studies. Given that university tasks often require the integration of language skills (e.g., writing assignments using information from…

The recent trend of the internationalization of higher education has increased the significance of English as a medium of instruction and communication on campus in non-English speaking countries. Within this context, this study explores emotional vulnerability of teachers of Korean as a second language (KSL) over their foreign language…

Internationalization at institutions of higher education in the United States results in greater linguistic diversity of the student body. Admission policies for international students include English proficiency standards which are meant to ensure that multilingual students for whom English is an additional language can function linguistically in…

The globalisation of higher education and the resultant increase in the cultural and linguistic diversity of the student body has cast the spotlight on English language proficiency as never before. How universities best assess applicants' linguistic suitability for their future degree studies, set appropriate proficiency thresholds, and put in…

In today's interconnected world, many career fields--such as diplomacy, national security, and business--need individuals with knowledge about world languages and cultures. To address these areas of needed expertise--both at the federal level as well as in the education, business, and nonprofit sectors--the Higher Education Act of 1965, as…

English is increasingly common as a medium of instruction in higher education internationally, and evidence of English language proficiency (ELP) forms a vital aspect of many post-secondary admission applications. Scores from different ELP measures (e.g. standardized assessments; institution-specific English programmes) are often used as…

The underlying methodological approach of the CEFR is defined as being "action-oriented" and task-based (Council of Europe. 2001. "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment." Cambridge University Press: 9), although it explicitly leaves room for a variety of approaches, since the CEFR…

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 purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of Iranian EFL learners' proficiency level on their self-related personality traits (self-esteem and self-efficacy). To this end, 141 English major students, male and female, studying at Imam Khomeini International University (IKIU) and Kar Non-profit University in Qazvin, Iran were…

Describes the planning for and the presentation of the first language career workshop at a college in California. The workshop was publicized in the college and in the community. The four panelists spoke for 45 minutes then answered questions for one hour on career opportunities for persons proficient in foreign languages. (AMH)

Outlines the foreign language requirements of the University of Michigan's Residential College, including the five-part proficiency exam, covering all four language skills. (EKN)

A change in language laboratory use at the University of North Alabama has given new meaning to the lab requirement and role. While developing a language program, the developer reviewed the language lab's traditional role and found a mixed history with many negative aspects. Personal experience also revealed problems, including: students and…

Recommends that foreign language courses in college be restructured to provide separate tracks for students pursuing language study for different purposes. The tracks are: (1) for language majors, (2) for students preparing for international professions, and (3) for students who need to fulfill foreign language requirements. (SED)

Discusses why most colleges have dropped a foreign language requirement and what should be done to reestablish and solidify the place of second language programs in a required curriculum. (EKN)