Akron's elementary language program is designed to prepare students for a systematic study of a foreign language. Akron emphasizes language as a necessity. Learning a foreign language on the elementary level seems to make children more aware of language in general and helps them to improve their skills in English. (JN)

Describes research on core, extended, and immersion French as a second language programs in Canada over the past decade. Results show older learners tend to be more efficient learners in some aspects of second language learning, but there may be some advantages to starting earlier in an intensive program. (BK)

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…

Briefly discusses the theoretical and empirical literature regarding the "negotiation of meaning" as a construct, presents and discusses selected findings from a longitudinal study of an intact Spanish conversation course at the college level relative to learner-to-learner conversation and the "negotiating of meaning," and…

Presents data obtained from a survey of 2,796 colleges and universities regarding foreign language enrollment, focusing on trends in foreign languages at 2-year colleges, language registrations between 1960 and 1990, and less and most commonly taught languages. (CB)

Foreign Language across the Curriculum (FLAC), a practice that modifies non-FL liberal arts courses to include an FL reading component, is described as implemented at two private colleges. It is concluded that FLAC offers only a token FL benefit to most students. (33 references) (LB)

In a study of learners' levels of comfort with language activity types allowing differing degrees of interaction, 110 first-year college students of French, Spanish, and Italian were surveyed at a university and community college. Results suggest the value of activities facilitative of negotiated interaction. The questionnaire is appended. (10…

Gives history and impact of magnet schools on second-language learning. Language magnets serve as an effective means for drawing parents and their children to new schools. These schools have contributed to the expansion of language learning opportunities and have affected the quality of language teaching and learning in the United States. (36…

Examines several key issues that parents must know about their children learning a second language, including the benefits of knowing a second language; the benefits of learning second languages in elementary school; how languages are taught to children; whether second languages will interfere with English ability; how parents can help; and how…

A study examined perspectives and learning experiences of 71 college students with learning disabilities who were granted course substitutions for foreign language requirements. Students rated grammar as the most difficult foreign language task and the majority said they would have enrolled in modified foreign language courses had they been…

Landeskunde, or cultural studies, in Germany is a discipline trapped in a circle because the only avenues of development open to it relegate it to a subsidiary role within language education. If it is to develop in the long term, it will be necessary for it to define its objectives independently of language learning. (Contains five references.)…

Provides insight into the teaching of modern languages to young learners in Hungary. Demonstrates how different the educational context is from the United States and how the Prussian educational tradition still influences today's processes. Also discussed are language teachers, resources of early language programs, young learners' attitudes and…

Describes a translation and interpretation program at the University of California, Long Beach. The program affords students in both English and Spanish an opportunity to develop and perfect their linguistic skills and cultural knowledge to pursue a career in the field of translation and interpretation. The program covers technical vocabulary,…

One common procedure for oral performance testing of Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) learners is one-on-one interviewing wherein the interviewer asks questions and the child candidate responds to them. While existing research has focused primarily on outcomes elicited by such procedures, this study examines the processes…

This is a research brief of a longer report, also published as "Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language Summary Report, 2009-2010". Twenty-nine percent of students enrolled in Austin Independent School District were English language learners in 2009-2010. The majority of them (62%) continued to make progress in English…