The Houston Independent School District (HISD) currently offers two bilingual programs and two English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for English language learners (ELs). These programs facilitate ELs' integration into the regular school curriculum and ensure access to equal educational opportunities. Bilingual programs are offered in…

This article highlights the Orbital Experience (OE), a unique experience that explores the affective domains of second language acquisition, including communication in the target language, making interdisciplinary connections, and fostering a community of learners. Through Orbitals, students serve as experts by researching a topic of interest,…

This article reports on the implementation of diagnostic assessment in an advanced Spanish language program at the university level. Particular attention is given to the use of dynamic assessment practices as a way to assess language abilities, intervene in learning, and document learners' growth. Dynamic assessment is conceptually based on…

The Ainsworth School Spanish Partial Immersion Program (Portland, Oregon) was established in 1987 to provide an elementary foreign language magnet program to children in the district. The program's major goals are bilingual proficiency and increased understanding of the second language culture. During 1989-1990, the program enrolled 205 students…

THE UTAH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HAS PREPARED THIS CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS (FLES) FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE DISTRICTS WISHING TO INITIATE SUCH A PROGRAM. THE MAIN BODY OF THIS BULLETIN IS DIVIDED INTO TWO SECTIONS, THE FIRST DISCUSSING FLES MERITS, DRAWBACKS, AND OBJECTIVES, AND CURRICULUM PLANNING,…

The Austin Independent School District developed a proposal for Chapter 2-Discretionary funds to be used to offer enrichment and supplemental instruction at 12 schools experiencing significant losses of students resulting in low enrollment, racial balances with lower than expected Anglo percentages, and under-utilized building space. Eight schools…

The three-year Spanish program curriculum guide for Alberta public high schools outlines: (1) program objectives reflecting the basic education goals as well as a rationale for including Spanish in a school program; (2) specific minumum expectations for each language skill (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and for cultural understanding…

Examines the impact on the second language skills of advanced high school Spanish students of Indiana University's 20-year-old intensive program abroad. Evidence indicates that resulting language skills exceeded those which might be expected in one full year of high school language instruction. (EKN)

A comparative study examined the influence of overseas experience on how learners put their second-language knowledge to use during communication, and how they compensate for gaps in their knowledge. Results do not suggest a strong dichotomy between language learning in the classroom and abroad or between grammar and oral proficiency. (20…

This evaluation of the modern and classical languages programs, K-12, in the Albuquerque (New Mexico) public school system provides general information on the program's history, philosophy, recognition, curriculum development, teachers, and activities. Specific information is offered on the different program components, namely, the elementary…

The foreign language program in the Edison, New Jersey public schools is described. The exemplary features of this program are: (1) It is not limited to college-bound students, (2) a significant provision is made for program advocacy, and (3) there are full four- and six-year sequences in French, Spanish, and German. (PMJ)

A 3-YEAR EXPERIMENT, BEGUN IN 1959 IN THE CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NONSPECIALISTS IN FLES PROGRAMS. THE TWO CONTROL CLASSES IN THE EXPERIMENT WERE TAUGHT BY A SPECIALIST WHO MODELED, APPRAISED, AND REPRESENTED THE CULTURE OF THE LANGUAGE IN AN AUDIOLINGUALLY ORIENTED CLASSROOM SITUATION,…

Affirms the advantages to the child of early immersion second language learning programs. The second language proficiency of English-speaking Canadian students who received all instruction in French and English-speaking American children who received all instruction in Spanish surpassed that of students in more traditional language programs. (PMJ)

The potential use of interactive videodiscs for teaching foreign languages, and factors to be considered in evaluating such programs, are discussed. Two types of existing programs, developed and used at Brigham Young University, are described: adaptations of existing video material, such as the classic Mexican film "Macario," and free branching…