Given the exponential growth in the popularity of early foreign language programs, coupled with an emphasis of evidence-based instruction, assessing young learners' (YLs) foreign language abilities has moved to center stage. This article canvasses how the field of assessing young learners of foreign languages has evolved over the past two decades.…

This dissertation presents the findings from interviews conducted with language nest workers, teachers, language nest coordinators, administrators of language revitalization programs, principals and directors of language immersion schools that work in close proximity with language nests, and linguists involved in language revitalization efforts.…

While Chinese language learning in Australian schools is characterised by predominantly second language programs for learners who have had no prior exposure to the target language, there is increasing participation by Australian-born children who speak Putonghua (Mandarin) or another dialect at home. Curriculum and assessment frameworks and…

Any curriculum consists of several components: goals, disposition, duration, needs analysis, learners and teachers, exercises and activities, resources, ways of learning, skills to be acquired, lexis, language structure, and ability assessment. Before setting up a program or course of study, these components should be determined and described in…

This article presents selected findings from an ethnographic study of classroom-based assessment practices in languages classrooms (Indonesian) in the final year of primary (Year 6) and the first year of secondary (Year 7), respectively. In particular, the paper focuses on differences between the respective year levels in how learning was assessed…

Current literature in the field of foreign language describes the benefits and challenges of elementary foreign language programs that meet several days a week over the course of a year, however little is known about elementary school foreign language programs that provide daily instruction within limited time frames of several weeks during the…

During Phase 1 of the Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning in Practice (ILTLP) Project Nhu Trinh, a teacher of (Mandarin) Chinese, was one of a number of teachers who worked with project team members in a feedback process to develop intercultural units of work and longterm programs for their classes. The changes to Nhu's programming that…

This inventory of 75 English language training facilities in Canadian colleges and universities was compiled to assist the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in identifying suitable sources of English language support for trainees in its projects. No evaluation of programs is implied. Program entries are presented by province and…

This volume reports on innovative, useful evaluation work conducted within U.S. college foreign language programs. An introductory chapter scopes out the territory, reporting key findings from research into the concerns, impetuses, and uses for evaluation that FL educators identify. Seven chapters then highlight examples of evaluations conducted…

Engineering curricula are increasingly focused on developing student competencies. Many new competencies needed by engineers today are professional skills (sometimes called the "soft skills"). Among the new competencies for engineering graduates is global competence, the ability to work knowledgeably and live comfortably in a…

Reviews conditions and practices found in effective core French programs, which are potentially useful to teachers. The review includes elements related to provincial curricula, organization for instruction, instructional planning, instructional strategies, and student evaluation. (MSE)

This digest discusses some of the practical implications of using alternative methods of assessing students in foreign or second language classrooms. First, assessment and testing are contrasted, and assessment is defined as an ongoing strategy through which student learning is not only monitored, but by which students are involved in making…

The student learning profile consists of a cover sheet for including basic student information and checklists that focus on language and job-related skills. The cover sheet contains spaces for pre- and post-test scores, student expressed learning goals, and the proposed teaching and learning plan. The checklists, one for each of three…

This digest focuses on the articulation of foreign language programs between secondary and higher education. The following questions are addressed: (1) What are urgent reasons for better program articulation?; (2) What forms does articulation take?; (3) What aspects of the educational process does articulation address?; (4) Are there examples of…

Any employment-related English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program, whether conducted on the job or as pre-employment training, results from five steps: conducting a need analysis of the language and cultural awareness needed to perform successfully in the workplace; developing a curriculum, based on objectives, that identifies and prioritizes…