In 1989, the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools received a grant to create an elementary arts magnet school and to enhance magnet programs at four other schools in Portland (Oregon). The Portland Magnet Program emphasized improvements in programing, marketing, and articulation between magnet programs, allowing the schools to purchase…

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…

This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. The report discusses the response of colleges and universities in the United States to the needs of graduate students to become equipped to make personal and and public policy decisions as citizens of an international society. It notes that curriculum changes in higher education…

This report discusses the response of colleges and universities in the United States to the need of graduate students to become equipped to make personal and public policy decisions as citizens of an international society. Curriculum changes are showing a tightening of foreign language standards in schools of higher education and, throughout the…

This paper reports on a study of the oral communication between international university students in an intensive English program (IEP) and office support staff at the IEP office. The study was based on audiotaped observations and interviews of students and office staff, along with questionnaires distributed to all 150 students enrolled in the…

The collaborative curriculum development process in a postsecondary language education program in Japan is described, looking specifically at the work of five curriculum development teams, or focus groups: needs assessment; curriculum aims, goals, and objectives; cognitive development and learner strategies; materials development; and learner…

Satellite television is proposed as a useful source of authentic materials for French language instruction at the college level. It is argued that this medium illustrates to students that the language is used in a wide variety of everyday situations and contexts. The discussion begins with a brief description of common satellite technology,…

The development and implementation of undergraduate second language programs at the University of Pennsylvania are analyzed in terms of several models of language planning. First, the stated foreign language proficiency goals of the four undergraduate colleges (arts and sciences, nursing, economics, and engineering and applied science), the Penn…

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 state grant to the Department of Romance Languages of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville has allowed development of a proficiency-based curriculum for first- and second-year French and Spanish. Most of the effort to date has been preparation of the syllabus based on specified goals and objectives, or student outcomes, focusing on allowing…

The Nanaimo (British Columbia) school district's French immersion program is evaluated. An introductory section gives background on the evaluation, outlines the evaluation process used, and offers brief comments on its outcome. The second section describes the immersion program's history and its current status in terms of enrollment, class size,…

A method of combining second language learning and cultural education at the advanced level is described. In a third-year college Spanish course, the subject of post-Franco Spain is used as the context for developing reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills and also serves as content area in itself. In addition to instructional texts,…

The Northeast Campus of Tarrant County Junior College (TX) experienced a foreign language enrollment increase of 196% between 1973 and 1983, compared to a collegewide enrollment increase of only 91%. The program's success is due largely to the number and variety of curricular offerings. In addition to a 6-course sequence of 3- and 4-hour courses…

Project MASTER completed its 3-year funding cycle in 1987-88. The project aimed at providing enhanced science instruction to 575 Spanish-speaking limited-English-proficient students in 5 elementary schools. Project MASTER offered classes in English as a Second Language (ESL), mathematics, science, and computer skills with a hands-on, integrated…

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…