This paper reports on the rationale for the implementation of a pilot project using a scenario-based Virtual Reality (VR) resource, originally developed by Health Sciences at Coventry University and now being repurposed for Italian language learning as a collaborative project with Modern Languages and Linguistics at the University of Southampton.…

Second language instruction in the U.S. and Europe is in difficulties. The choice of a second language is artibrary and the motivation dubious. In Europe and now also in the U.S., attention has turned to the planned interlanguage Esperanto, which offers a maximally regularized structure, is considered "easy" by learners, and has the…

The papers in this volume resulted from a conference of British language educators convened to explore the common interests of those concerned with teaching English and foreign languages, particularly to the 11-15 age range. The students' social background and the special needs of immigrant children were also considered in relation to language in…

Explains that the speech compressor/expander is a piece of electronic equipment useful in second language learning laboratories. Considering the relationship between technology and its use as an aid in achieving fluency in comprehension, the theory of rate alteration in second language learning is supported as a viable tool to enhance any…

The concept of lifelong learning is discussed, stressing the need to view education not as a finite period, but as a process that continues beyond years of formal schooling. Part of this shift in focus involves recognizing a new meaning for "school," and realizing that education may take place in union halls, management retreats, museums,…

The term "syllabus" usually refers to an outline statement of what is to be taught and learned in a particular course. Among the several types of statements for language-teaching syllabuses are the grammatical, notional, and situational. These statements are not in themselves syllabuses but can be called pre-syllabuses. A grammatical…

The alternatives to the traditional intermediate or second-year courses in community colleges are three student-centered plans designed for colleges with low or high enrollment of second-year Spanish students. Plan A is a two-year program of Spanish instruction. It consists of Spanish 101 and 102 and eight four-week minicourses, including two…

This paper, a portion of a workshop presentation concerning language curriculum for the non-major, explores some of the reasons for the sad situation in which language programs find themselves today and makes some suggestions for some of the things which we need to do in order to make ourselves more attractive to the students, particularly to the…

This paper concerns the practice of adopting literature in translation courses and civilization courses taught in English as a way of increasing foreign language enrollments at the undergraduate level. The need for cooperation between English and foreign language departments in coordinating courses is stressed, and several course titles are…

Most textbooks for teaching foreign languages have as their basis a grammatical syllabus. The theory has been that it is easier for students to learn a language if they are exposed to one part of the grammatical system at a time. Recently critics have questioned this theory, arguing that the grammatical syllabus fails to provide the necessary…

This paper offers a current overview and a commentary on the current state and future directions of research in second language learning. It begins by outlining the ways perceptions of the world influence research and teaching. It then explores the contexts in which one individual has explored learning in second languages. Then an opinion is…

Motivating students to study foreign languages is a unique problem within American culture. Experience suggests that Americans are psychologically inhibited from identifying with other people because of sensitiveness to their immigrant past. Some foreign language educators have concluded that, because of this past, teaching of foreign languages…

As part of the Goals Clarification topic of the 1975 Northeast Conference, a workshop entitled "The Non-Major Foreign Language Student" was presented. This article contains the workshop's most salient ideas, presented at a time when foreign-language study is in considerable jeopardy at all levels. Offerings are being limited, and highly qualified…

This paper concerns languages for career training at the post-secondary level, with implications for FLES and secondary programs. The student desirous of utilizing a foreign language in a career other than literature and linguistics has very limited opportunity for adequate training in college. The job market for literature majors is, and will…

The Federal Government needs people who can actually communicate in a foreign language, and our academic language programs are not producing such people. To solve this problem, there has to be a change in our basic attitudes and philosophies about language teaching and learning. Language courses must be transformed from passive exercises into…