Speech presented at the Sixth Annual Whitewater Language Conference, Whitewater, Wisconsin, March 1970. Many of the ideas presented have more relevance for the United States than Canada. (DS)

An alternative, multidimensional curriculum design for second languages is suggested and expressed in terms of four syllabi: language, communicative activities, culture, and general language education. They have the objectives of proficiency, knowledge, affect, and transfer. Syllabus characteristics are described, relationship of content and…

Describes the deterioration of literacy and of linguistic and academic standards. Discusses the importance of language to civilization and suggests content and methods for liberal education that will develop literate, intelligent human beings. (SK)

Discusses why most colleges have dropped a foreign language requirement and what should be done to reestablish and solidify the place of second language programs in a required curriculum. (EKN)

Puerto Rican students took the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), the Prueba de Aptitud Academica (PAA), and the Pruebas de Aprovechamiento Academico. The strength of the relationship between scores on the SAT given in English and the PAA given in Spanish increased as proficiency in English as a second language increased (Author/BW)

Reports on a survey of ACTFL members' opinions on proficiency goals and tests for foreign language learning. The survey, sponsored by ACTFL and conducted by Policy Studies for Education, polled 400 elementary and secondary school teachers and local/state coordinators, receiving responses from 35 percent of them. (Author/MES)

Ten 1975-80 surveys and studies of FLES programs reported: Americans approve of FLES programs; children profit from FLES programs which stress interpersonal communication skills; and children develop increased interest in academic programs. Positive correlation exists between practice and proficiency in second language acquisition. Different…

A requirement for all college professors to learn to speak a second language is advocated. Educators at a Wingspread Conference on International Education encouraged institutions to provide more travel and rewards for faculty to encourage them to become more competent in foreign languages. (MLW)

Children and adults were asked to place something "in front of" or "behind" a featured or nonfeatured object. Most subjects responded to the object's inherent features. A significant number of adults used the observer orientation cue. Children had more difficulty with the nonfeatured object but also used the observer…

Presents study conducted using high school Spanish students to demonstrate that either a cloze test or a redundancy test could be used in place of either the MLA total score or an interview test. (Author/BK)

Discusses and compares the relative effects of a French immersion program in two different settings: a French-speaking setting in Quebec and an English setting in British Columbia. No clear-cut differences in favor of either setting were found, although students in the French setting reacted more favorably to their program. (PJM)

Elaborates on cognitive/academic language proficiency and basic interpersonal communicative skills. Discusses assumptions regarding bilingual program exit and entry fallacies and implications for U.S. bilingual education. Argues that failure to adequately conceptualize the construes of language proficiency and its cross-language dimensions causes…

On tests of English proficiency, 55 Iranian students studying in the United States scored between levels achieved by Fourth- through seventh-grade native speakers. The subjects indicated that association with Americans and time spent in the United States rather than studying English in Iran contributed to their success in English. (PMJ)