Presents the findings from research studies regarding the effectiveness and validity of various assessment accommodations for English Language Learners (ELLs) including: modifying English exams, providing glossaries and dictionaries, and allowing extra time. Based on the research findings, provides eight recommendations to policy makers and…

Provides a reference base for teachers concerned with problems and issues of teaching foreign languages to Afro-American students in the United States. Cites 51 journal articles, unpublished documents, and doctoral dissertations that discuss rationales for foreign language study by Black students and describe teaching strategies and curriculum…

Interviewed 24 students in 2 Ontario secondary schools about their decision to enrol or not to enroll in a French-as-a-Second-Language (FSL) program when it became optional for them at the end of ninth grade. Participants indicated that achieving a satisfactory level of communicative competence in French was important as a motivator to continue…

Discusses the evaluation of second and foreign language programs, focusing on whether such evaluations should be summative or formative; use outside experts or program staff; emphasize qualitative or quantitative data; and concentrate on the process or the product. An annotated bibliography discusses six important works in the field. (78…

Describes the Multidimension Curriculum Model for developing a language curriculum and suggests a generic approach to selecting and sequencing learning objectives. Alberta Education used this model to design a new French-as-a-Second-Language program. The experience/communication, culture, language, and general language components at the beginning,…

Discusses how computers have fundamentally changed the nature of the college language laboratory, examining specific computer programs and computer-based tools and systems. Computer-based language instruction will allow more individualized instruction, give students more control over what and how they learn, and expand the study of foreign…

Examined student attitudes toward a 10-week "taster" course in Hindi offered in a language awareness program at a Coventry, England, secondary school. It was found that the course stimulated enthusiasm for language learning and provided students with a greater understanding of Indian culture. (one references) (MDM)

The 1987-89 survey represents the Modern Language Association's first effort to collect information from the stratified random sample of foreign language programs established in 1988. Topics include requirements, faculty characteristics, language coordinator functions, faculty role in governance, curricula, course offerings, enrollment, numbers of…

Argues for increased participation by college language departments in teaching intercultural communication to international business students, discussing the insufficiency of language training alone, the lack of intercultural communication training among language faculty, the low priority given to such programs, and specific case examples and…

The University of Idaho and Moscow School District (Idaho) cooperated to create a Spanish enrichment program designed to stimulate academic interest among elementary school children and to provide preservice teachers with additional foreign-language teaching experience. The model offers content-based courses and addresses concerns of junior high…

Examines whether and to what extent differences exist between learners of French, German, and Spanish with respect to range of motivational or motivation-related factors and whether the factor time has any significant effect in this. Concentrates on general or institution-wide language programs in universities. (Author/VWL)

Reviews research addressing the relationship between native language skills and success in learning a foreign language. Describes four components of a language-based model for diagnosing foreign language learning problems. Highlights three major intervention strategies for at-risk foreign language learners. (53 citations) (MAB)

This paper shows how the opportunity to encounter the other culture "in my backyard" (IMBY) can be used in landeskunde. This approach moves away from landeskunde as piecemeal factual background information toward developing own-culture and foreign/target culture awareness in mixed groups of native language students. (Contains 15…

Outlines the nature of the current threat to English-as-a-Second-Language education in Australia that is posed by the Commonwealth "Literacy for All" policy. Provides a brief discussion of the social and educational context in which the policy was released and of the policy itself.(Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on ESL Literacy Education)…

The cognitive aspect of second language learning, specifically by immersion method, is discussed from a biological perspective. The approach taken is that of "connectionism," a recently-developed theoretical and experimental approach to human cognition. It is argued that while general cognitive functioning is unaffected by language immersion,…