The validity and reliability of a scale measuring attitudes toward foreign language were studied with 536 high school seniors. Results of principal components analysis identified five interpretable dimensions and suggested the need to improve the internal structure of the measure. (SLD)

Five domains of a comprehensive view of educational equity are examined: the classroom, teacher-teacher relations, school-community relations, institutional operations, and the professional organization. Each component affects the other parts and the whole. (25 references) (LB)

A case is made against the educational application with nonproficient writers of "canned" feedback provided by text analysis computer programs marketed as grammar checkers and style analyzers. The feedback does not teach students. Alternative approaches for giving students feedback in the electronic medium are offered. (46 references) (Author/LB)

A dramatic, eye-opening way for language teachers to improve their teaching skills is by studying another language. Useful and beneficial outcomes of further language study are that teachers can relieve frustrations of beginning language students, reconsider their own teaching principles, and experience another instructor's methods first hand.…

To study the adequacy of the brief oral examination format as a basis for assessing oral skills, the study compared samples of 15-minute oral exams with 3-hour written exam results by the same students. The resultant average size of oral samples was about 77% of that of written samples, with good comparability, leading to useful conclusions about…

Critiques the Ramirez et al. study of bilingual programs for its serious research flaws. Calls into question the findings of no consistent difference in the achievement of language-minority children regardless of how much Spanish or English is used in instruction. Proposes a reanalysis of the Ramirez data. (KS)

The renovation of the Language Lab at the University of Notre Dame and the creation of the Language Resource Center are described. Challenges related to poor facility design and limited equipment are recounted, along with the role played by the university's director of foundation and corporate relations. (LB)

Questions regarding reasons students select or decline to study German are examined, based on the results of a survey conducted among students of German in 127 U.S. high schools. Student responses are discussed in the light of academic, demographic, social, and familial considerations, and a profile of the 1990s student of German is constructed.…

A rationale is presented for improving the curricular design of intermediate- or advanced-level writing classes for foreign language majors. Seven practical guidelines include the following: the writing course should have its own place in the curriculum but should not stand alone as the sole undergraduate writing experience in the second language.…

France's cultural policy since the 1950s is criticized as having more of a leisure and recreational focus than being truly encouraging of French culture and intellect. Politics and economics are seen as inappropriate policy motivators. (MSE)

Describes a summer school English-as-a-Second-Language classroom that uses a content-rich whole language curriculum. Highlights experiences that were successful in facilitating literacy development, including reading experiences, writing experiences, talking and reading, and talking and writing. Discusses the effectiveness of the instructional…

Compared the reactions of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers and nonteachers to nonnative communication. The study focused on two questions: Are ESL teacher and nonteacher perceptions of advanced ESL students' communication skills multidimensional? and Are there differences in ESL teacher and nonteacher perceptions of this communication?…

This paper summarizes and comments on recommendations of the Modern Foreign Languages Working Group concerning attainment targets, programs of study, and statements of attainment in Great Britain's National Curriculum. Strategies used in modern language instruction in Berkshire's special schools are described. (JDD)

Analysis of "tutor talk" occurring between native or proficient nonnative speakers of English and limited- or non-English-speaking elementary students found that, although tutors used little sentence-level simplification, they made extensive use of conversational and tutorial strategies similar to those used by native and nonnative adults. (59…

Observation of a maintenance bilingual (Spanish-English) program to determine its effects on majority language students found that fully English-proficient students enrolled in the program did achieve competency in Spanish and that their attitudes toward Spanish, second-language learning, and Mexican-American culture and community were strongly…