This paper presents the results of a case study based on an integrated skills approach using feature movies (DVDs) in EFL syllabi at the tertiary level. 100 students took part in the study and the data was collected through a three - section survey questionnaire: demographic items, 18 likert scale questions and an open-ended question. The data…

Describes the development of a flexible curriculum for Venezuelan students, designed to handle varying levels of proficiency in English as a second language and varying functional goals (including science and technology). (AM)

Emphasizes the importance of pronunciation in the teaching of Italian as a second language and discusses a course in phonetics and phonology taught at the University for Foreigners in Perugia, Italy. Common difficulties are highlighted, and lab exercises to overcome these difficulties are provided. (27 references) (CFM)

Introduces a project in syllabus design for English as a second language at the elementary level undertaken by the British Institute of Madrid. Discusses the principles on which the framework for the experimental syllabus was constructed and explains the rationale for attempting to make it both "notional" and "structural."…

Describes the development and evaluation of a pilot course in Spanish, which was designed specifically for social workers and which emphasized communicative activity. In general, students rated the program favorably, although several suggestions for improvement were made. Potential applicability of this kind of course to other professions is…

An instructional model for developing skills in job-related interaction among students of English as a second language (ESL) is proposed and discussed. The rhetorical communication process model, adapted for ESL students, gives detailed attention to the encoding and decoding processes of mainstream English-speakers and allows the ESL speaker to…

Describes two core syllabi, a communicative one and a grammatical one, and a modular syllabus for elementary ESL courses, with hints for introducing out-of-sequence items. Explains how the syllabi have been designed, what they offer to teachers, and how they have affected first-year teaching as a whole. (Author/MES)

This report describes one teacher's experience in designing and teaching an English course of 15 hours to nursing students specializing in anesthesia. The discussion focuses on how an English teacher can equip students with effective reading skills in such a specific area, and to what extent the teacher can involve the subject content. An…

During the last decade, the study of American Sign Language (ASL) as a second language has become enormously popular. More and more schools and universities recognize the important role that ASL can play in foreign language education. This monograph provides a comprehensive introduction to the history and structure of ASL, to the Deaf community…

A classroom activity for developing oral communication in English as a Second Language is described as it was used in a Czechoslovakian postsecondary technical institute. The four intermediate level courses in which the technique was used were based on a communicative model. During the first half of each course, students learned to adapt to more…

A course designed to teach survival Japanese language and culture to businessmen and professionals with little time for language study is described. The goals were to teach survival vocabulary and a few basic sentence structures and to develop the learners' pragmatic competence in using them. Portions of a commercial textbook were used for…

The development and instruction of a course in survival Spanish at Sauk Valley Community College (Illinois) are described. The course, taught for over 15 years and targeted at groups such as teachers, nurses, social workers, counselors, and secretaries, is offered as a model for courses in real-life communication for a variety of professions.…

A study assessed the effectiveness of the standard report writing segment of two postsecondary courses in English as a Second Language one in accounting and one in secretarial communication, at a Hong Kong polytechnic. The 69 subjects were in 4 groups, one in each subject receiving instruction with a problem-solving approach and one in each…

The rationalisation of class sizes and subject offerings in majors, and the implementation of workloads models establishing parity in teaching hours and in student load per staff member across Faculty have created considerable challenges for tertiary foreign-language teaching over the past decade. This paper presents one way of responding to the…

This auto-mechanics course, one of a series of bilingual English-Spanish vocational education courses, is designed to introduce the basic skills that an automotive mechanics student should know. It is geared to teach the student basic manipulative skills, safety judgments, proper work habits, desirable attitudes, and proper behavior for initial…