Global competency is defined as a continuum of behavior that begins with personal awareness of cultural differences and culminates in a person successfully functioning in another culture or country. The importance of increasing the numbers of community college students who will live, study, or work abroad is stressed. The workforce in the United…

A study of the decline in second language enrollments in Scotland's upper secondary schools is summarized. A survey conducted in 1998, sent to a random sample representing 25 percent of all secondary schools in the country, elicited administrator and language teacher opinions concerning factors influencing language enrollments. Some students were…

Analysis of error patterns in a test taken by 698 Finnish university students shows errors are made in this declining order of frequency: grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and use. More talkative students were proportionately more proficient per utterance, and higher proficiency also correlated with sex (female) and high matriculation test…

An exploration of the effectivenes of college overseas study programs on improvement of foreign language skills addresses student motivation, academic expectations, curricular changes, language pledge requirements, communication with native speakers, and the purpose and image of study abroad programs. Suggestions are made for improving…

Proposes an approach to teaching British Studies in an English Language program for foreign students at the University of Lancaster in England. Teachers use ethnographic methods to get students to become "outsiders" in their own culture as a means of teaching them how to assimilate the target culture. Course material is appended.…

Over the past decade there has been increased pressure in the public discourse for accountability in educational outcomes. There has been a growing sense that ESL students are not being well served by the delivery of supports meant to facilitate their development of English language acquisition and enable them to participate with their classmates…

A collection of papers concerning cultural studies within college and university second language programs, particularly for foreign students, includes program descriptions from a variety of countries and discussions of cultural education and cultural conflict. Themes include the nature of cultural teaching, cultural education as a discipline,…

In recognition of a need in the Buffalo area, the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY-Buffalo) established the Japanese Language and Culture Program for Business People and Students (JLCP) within the university's Center for Critical Languages. JLCP is a 3-year, 6-semester certificate program open to anyone with at least a high school…

A graduate level course offered to foreign medical graduates (FMGs) at Wayne State University in Michigan was developed after a needs assessment indicated the desirability of improving the speaking fluency, pronunciation, and cultural understanding of FMGs. It was found that weaknesses in those areas, which are not assessed in the Test of English…

This guide is intended to clarify for teachers and other instructional leaders the purpose and content of the foreign language curriculum of Georgia's public schools and to assist in more uniform preparation in foreign languages. The guide is organized according to the foreign language goals and objectives of the state's mandated core curriculum.…

The third implementation year of foreign language magnet programs in two elementary schools in the school district of Kansas City, Missouri, is evaluated. The schools, New West and Melcher, each had site task forces to develop planning outlines, which emphasized the teaching of foreign language to students and the exposure of students to foreign…

Johnson County Community College, in Kansas, recently implemented a unique laboratory combining interactive video, computers, and peer tutors to support its speech communication, foreign language, and interpreter training departments. The facility is equipped with 15 interactive, video-based work stations, costing $3,930 each; four computer…

A study was undertaken to identify useful methods for measuring progress in English language proficiency among students at the Yemen-America Language Institute (YALI) in Sana'a, Yemen. The study examined factors critical to such progress as well as the profiles of student attitudes and demographic characteristics. A questionnaire was administered…

The manual designed as a guide for trainers in a seminar for teachers concerning some of the central issues in contemporary foreign language teaching and learning presents notes on each of the five seminar sessions, including overall goals and goals for the prescribed session activity, time and procedural notes, and reading lists. (MSE)

The final report of a study on the impact of English language training on adult Southeast Asian refugees in the United States summarizes the findings of the study's three phases, which include (1) a mail survey of local, regional, and state program administrators; (2) 22 program site visits and four community surveys; and (3) a six-month…