A number of reports in the US have highlighted the country's need for improved second language skills for both national security and economic competitiveness. The Language Flagship program, launched in 2002, aims to raise expectations regarding language proficiency levels at the post-secondary level and to address structural gaps in the curricula…

As the U.S. population grows more varied, public schools are faced with the challenge of meeting the needs of an increasing population of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Schools in the United States are often the first point of contact for new immigrant students as they work to facilitate their integration and socialization into…

An interaction of processes (e.g., design, implementation) and elements (e.g., curriculum) form a matrix for language teaching programs. The concept of stakeholders within this program matrix is elaborated: learners, teachers, administrators, and controlling authorities. A worksheet is appended. (Contains 56 references.) (Author)

Engineering curricula are increasingly focused on developing student competencies. Many new competencies needed by engineers today are professional skills (sometimes called the "soft skills"). Among the new competencies for engineering graduates is global competence, the ability to work knowledgeably and live comfortably in a…

Emphasizes that developing a coherent sequence of instruction prekindergarten-16+ is crucial to improving education and to the future success of extended-sequence foreign language course offerings. The Collaborative Articulation and Assessment Project represents a successful model that affords opportunities for application and replication in local…

This article describes the evolution of distance learning in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction from the 1970s to the present, focusing on the "guided didactic conversation" model of Holmberg (1983, 1986), examples of distance learning ESL programs, and a new model of distance learning based on computers and electronic communication.…

Foreign Language Exploratory or Foreign Language Experience (FLEX) programs offer one approach to initiating foreign language instruction for children. One survey reported that 41 percent of United States elementary schools offering language instruction had FLEX programs. Statistics on FLEX programs in middle schools are unavailable. Most FLEX…

Analyzes 15 ongoing foreign language program articulation projects that demonstrate what can be accomplished toward establishing coherent sequences, goals, and assessments. (51 references) (CK)

Describes a curriculum development research project that took place in the French section of the Department of Modern Languages of the University of Salford in the United Kingdom over a 10-year period. The curriculum is motivated by three interacting theoretical perspectives on how languages are learned at an advanced level.(Author/VWL)

This paper describes a peer-mentoring program in a large language department. Experienced Teaching Associates (TAs) served as peer mentors to novice TAs, providing the type of individualized guidance that new TAs need. The peer mentoring model has several advantages over the supervision-only model, including one-on-one help, multiple classroom…

This resource book addresses many of the factors involved in establishing and maintaining an elementary school foreign language program. Chapter 1 provides information on various program models. Chapter 2 addresses program issues, such as establishing a program rationale and choosing the language or languages to be taught, in order to provide…

A model for evaluating a college second language writing instruction program is presented, based on experiences at the De La Salle University (Philippines) writing laboratory. The laboratory, a support unit of the university's language program, provides remedial instruction in composition and academic writing for referred students. The proposed…

The Colorado State University Foreign Language Weekend Camps (also called the "Poor Man's Study Abroad") are described in this report. Developed to provide an international component and a mini foreign experience for the university's students, the camps are designed to accomplish several purposes including: to offer both foreign and…

Between 1982 and 1985, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro held five summer institutes designed to improve French and Spanish foreign language instruction in elementary and secondary schools. The institutes were intended to: (1) revitalize teachers' language capabilities; (2) increase their cultural knowledge; (3) expose them to new…

The Supplemental Language Study Group (SLSG) program at Colorado State University (Fort Collins, Colorado) is described. The program was developed following a student's expression of interest in learning "exotic" languages unavailable in the standard foreign language curriculum at the university. This student-run club offers several…