A transcript is provided of a radio program broadcast February 24, 1978, on the state of foreign language education. The participants in the discussion were leaders in the field, teachers and students from many parts of the United States and from all educational levels. The subjects covered are: some problems facing foreign language programs; the…

This paper describes the Foreign Language Alternative Program (FLAP) of Bellevue Community College, in Washington state. The program is designed to provide students with alternative choices best fitted to their individual needs, and is thus individualized and equipped to deal with both academic and vocational programs. The first year of a given…

A selective review is presented of the most recent theoretical pronouncements and practical applications of the interdisciplinary approach that are of significance to foreign language teachers and learners. The central focus is on problems and solutions within the two broad areas of institutional structures and curricula. Fifteen conclusions and…

An argument for counseling college-bound students in the senior year of high school rather than in the freshman year in college concentrates on: (1) adequate description of the languages taught in colleges, (2) importance of various languages in career planning, (3) identification of student linguistic potential, (4) study of a third language in…

This report summarizes a study published in 1967 by Harvard University which assessed foreign language proficiency of U.S. college seniors majoring in French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Russian. The measures used were the following: the MLA Foreign Language Proficiency Tests (Form A): Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing; the Modern…

A self-paced introductory French course sequence offered at Francis Marion College (South Carolina) was begun in response to nontraditional students' difficult study schedules and varied language backgrounds and knowledge levels. This program of individualized instruction has objectives identical to that of standard French instruction at the same…

A study of large group language instruction in Nigeria draws on experiences of 33 teachers providing remedial English second language instruction in Nigerian universities. The report presents: teacher experiences and perceptions of class size (often over 100); a questionnaire used to investigate practices in and attitudes toward large classes;…

English language assessment of non-native speakers of English (NNS) who apply for undergraduate study in the United States is examined. The analysis focuses on: the assessment of reading in light of its importance across the undergraduate curriculum, and the establishment of a base-line level of reading proficiency to which the proficiency of NNS…

At Concordia College's Institute of German Studies (Minnesota), an immersion program, a 1-month course entitled "German in the Business World" concentrates on development of written and oral communication skills needed in firms dealing with German-speakers. As part of its emphasis on banking, insurance, and business, the course includes…

The University of Rhode Island, through the cooperation of its College of Business Administration and Department of Languages, has undertaken efforts to market its business language program. The target group consists of the incoming freshman class, all of whom must have completed 2 years of high school language study and do some college work in a…

The purpose of this report is to present work done in the language module projects of the English and German degrees at Roskilde University Center (Denmark). Project work is the essential structuring ingredient of foreign language degrees at the Center. The collection of papers included in this issue attempts to provide information on what has…

A discussion of computer use for teaching English as a second language (ESL) at the college level examines what computers can do in and outside the classroom and why ESL teachers should become acquainted with them. It begins by defining the various tools and tasks of the computer, including word processors, instructional courseware, database…

It is no longer possible to approach the teaching of foreign cultures with an ethnographic and objectivist perspective that allows students to believe in the absolute value of a given definition of culture. The first goal of foreign language and culture teaching is the acquisition of communicative competence in the broadest sense of this…

A number of Arab countries, particularly those in which English is a foreign language, have gone to considerable lengths to stress and ensure the use of Arabic as a medium of instruction and expression for all branches of higher education. Progress in Arabicization has been accompanied by a diminishing role for the teaching of English to Arab…

Failures and successes in teaching commercial foreign languages will speak for themselves. However, the profession must not foster exaggerated expectations of mastery in such a broad field, but must state honestly and realistically, with clear limits, what the commercial language course's goals are. In a college course enrolling somewhat…