The following interview was conducted with Catherine Elder in spring of 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic. Cathie has had a varied career in language testing, including work at universities in Australia and New Zealand and at the Language Testing Resource Center in Melbourne. In this interview, Cathie shares some highlights of her somewhat…

This commentary argues that the OET research raises inescapable contradictions in trying to separate "language" from "communication" within a weak performance test and advocates for reconceptualizing the legitimate domain of "language" more widely, reclaiming the full potential of the communicative competence…

Discusses the nature of legal discourse and demonstrates that an analysis of its intellectual structure reveals its distance from the voice of the people. (AM)

Examines the consistency in classifying dictionary entries by subject, both within a dictionary and among several dictionaries. (AM)

The development and use of French neologisms, or new words and idioms, is viewed as an important subject for the attention of translators, especially those dealing with specialized journals. A number of examples are given. (MSE)

This article discusses French business letter writing, which is characterized by its convoluted and somewhat antiquated figures of speech and suggests that French for business courses offer students the opportunity to discover in such discourse a rich cultural tradition. (six references) (JL)

Eighty percent of the schools in Iasi, Moldova's capital city, teach French as a second language. The city's French Cultural Center is a focus for educational and cultural information and organization. The center helped upgrade the professional level of teaching following the demise of communism in Eastern Europe. (CNP)

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)

Those who actually teach foreign languages and literature, "not those outside the field," should make decisions about language curricula, basing decisions and programs on sound pedagogy. Residual U.S. chauvinism and isolationism must not be allowed to trivialize and marginalize foreign languages and culture in the name of achieving a "competitive…

Discusses criteria used in assessing language for specific purposes tests. Examines the issue of separability of language and content and reinforces points made by Jacoby and McNamara (1999) that second language assessments based entirely on linguistic criteria may fail to satisfy the purpose of the test user, whereas the use of indigenous…

Examines the needs and objectives behind the expression "languages for special purposes," considering the problems faced by a language center that attempts to provide strictly specialized programs of instruction. Describes a method for the analysis of student needs as applied to the Department of Agriculture at the University of Newcastle. Societe…

Focuses on the international and engineering program at the University of Rhode Island. Set against the background of revision of German studies that has taken place over the last several years, the program provides an example of successful alliance of language with a scientific program. This alliance has combined richness, rigor,…

Discusses use of videotaped segments of French news programs, shown within one to two days of their initial broadcast in France, in a senior-level Business French course at Purdue University. Incorporation of authentic newscasts into classroom gives issues a more human dimension; students have some images of real people, places, and events to…

Many notions can be incorporated into the foreign language commercial course to explain and complement its intrinsic technical content. A course in commercial French was developed at the College of Charleston (South Carolina) in response to the foreign language instruction opportunities and potential graduate employment opportunities provided by…

Outlines five directions foreign language programs can take and makes the following recommendations for classroom teaching: (1) link foreign languages with international studies and (2) teach languages for career purposes, (3) for intercommunity understanding, (4) for insight into the process of communication, and (5) to serve as a key to…