This study reports on the development of a professional spoken register among learners of German as they participate in four synchronous Web conferences with German-speaking professionals. The researchers investigated the effect of interaction with expert German speakers combined with an instructional intervention focusing on pragmatic competence…

Describes a French course for English-speaking students of journalism and mass communications based on a global approach to language teaching. The course aims to develop communicative competence as well as a critical attitude toward the media product. This approach stresses the functioning of language in a given context. (Author/MES)

Argues that, in second-language instruction, reading and writing assignments must be linked to introduce learners to the kind of writing they will be expected to do in literature and culture courses. Examines the content of second-language composition classes in this light, particularly as they concern English-as-a-Second-Language writing…

Describes a research project based on a questionnaire designed to determine the language needs in French of English-speaking Canadian diplomats assigned overseas. (AM)

Describes the development of instructional materials for an advanced French course for English-speaking Canadian diplomats. (AM)

Presents some pointers for designing a course in reading technical or scientific Russian. (AM)

The status and future of commercial French, widely used in Canada but not widely taught, are discussed and the relevance of Canadian commercial French textbooks for instruction is examined. (MSE)

The American phenomenon of pervasive monolingualism is considered, and potential implications of the North American Free Trade Agreement are described. Five second-language learning/teaching areas are projected: language for specific purposes; obligatory language study; exchange programs; technological advances; and information resources.…

Strategies for facilitating the reading of scientific textual materials are described, including establishing the reading level of the text, decoding figures and illustrations, recognizing the text's organization, inferring and remembering word meanings, sampling the text and inferring meaning, reading attentively to verify predictions, and…

When laboratory facilities are insufficient, techniques can be used to help mature students develop aural/oral competency. Techniques include simultaneous large and small group repetition of specially designed readings, note-taking from recorded and live conversations for further activities, random partnering pre- and post-class, telephone…

A study of classroom interaction in French foreign language reading classes in Brazil is reported. Based on analysis of 40 hours of classroom discourse, it is concluded that student responses represent internalization of teacher and student roles, mutual relations, previous foreign language background, and conceptions of reading in the foreign…

Examines changes in language department structure and program content at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Clemson University (South Carolina) as a result of new programs in Business French. The programs were developed in cooperation with the business schools to stem declining language enrollments. (MSE)