For linguistically diverse communities, researchers have long questioned assessment approaches that disregard learners' multilingualism. Our study offers potential approaches that center contextualized, multilingual knowledges and skills within classroom-based language assessments with one teacher and his English foreign language courses for…

An Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) may be evaluated either during the interview procedure (direct-method) or from a tape-made oral interaction (semi-direct method). Such variety in methods of assessment can influence test takers' scores extensively. However, it is not conclusive whether such differences are due to test format or something else.…

Many ELT examinations have gone online in the last few years and a large number of educational institutions have also started considering the possibility of implementing their own tests. This paper deals with the training of a group of 24 ELT teachers in the Region of Valencia (Spain). In 2007, the Ministry of Education provided funds to determine…

Reports on a conference of foreign language teachers held in Dortmund in 1978, including reports on the situation in various states of West Germany, vis-a-vis effectiveness in teaching, its relationship to elementary school pedagogy, materials, and teacher training. (IFS/WGA)

The criteria and procedures followed by this association in awarding its Charles J. Goodwin Award of Merit to a professional member for work in the classics are described. The history and objectives of the association are also summarized. (PMJ)

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) National Professional Development Program helped language teachers familiarize themselves with the Languages Profile and collect and annotate work samples using the Profile. Their experiences become the basis for disseminating information among ACT language teachers. The paper presents recurrent issues raised…

Examines and compares the responses given by 480 Minnesota Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (MCTFL) members on their perceptions of their preprofessional preparation in terms of its quality and usefulness. (GLR)

The importance of faculty development programs involving coordination between institutions of higher education and elementary and secondary schools is discussed. High school language teachers often express an interest in tailoring their courses to foreign language study at the college level. Such coordination requires mutual understanding about…

A discussion of the work of Lev Vygotsky in the field of cognitive development focuses on how the Vygotskian concepts of internalization and mediated knowledge are crucial to the development of both learner and teacher autonomy in second language instruction. Focus is on theory, with empirical studies used as illustration. First, the Vygotskian…

Salutes various pioneers in the field of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) education who have helped shape the field from its inception in this country. The group includes researchers, innovators, administrators, and teacher trainers who have worked in the field for 25 years or more. The article offers brief biographies and each person's advice…

Examines the challenges facing new assistant professors in general and language program directors (LPDs) in particular, offering the perspective of two individuals who made the leap from graduate student to LPD, outlining the most significant and universal issues facing new LPDs, and providing insight into balancing the demands of the position…

Foreign language teachers' organization leaders criticize the ideas and planning behind a privately-funded National Foreign Language Center, charging that: they were not adequately involved in its preparation, adult language education would be overemphasized, the funds could be used otherwise, and a tendency toward a single language education…

English has emerged as an important language in Vietnam, and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) education exists at all levels of schooling and in business. This paper explains Vietnam's post-embargo quest for English, the effect of economic hardships on education in Vietnam, incoming ESL instructors, and the past, present, and future of languages…

Discusses the nature of special education in Central America and the Caribbean, including policies, programs, definitions, and attitudes regarding disabilities. Also highlights factors in mainstream education that may be related to U.S. educators' perceptions of disabilities and offers recommendations for U.S. educators, especially…

Excerpts from the first "Bulletin" of the President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies and an outline of the coordinator's presentation to the Chicago hearing are presented. The objectives of the commission include recommending means for directing public attention to the importance of foreign language and…