Ohio University's Modern Languages Department designed two sequences of courses in French and Spanish for students in journalism and communication. The six-course programs provide curricula based on print and broadcast media, and stress listening, reading, and speech skills. The program was begun to encourage journalism students to pursue…

A two-year study of how writing teachers teach writing uncovered two significant facts: (1) there is a high rate of frustration and burnout among composition teachers because they are teaching by a system that conflicts with their own experience as writers, and (2) a small but vocal minority of teachers who teach from their own writing experience,…

This paper reports on foreign language instruction in the community colleges of Florida. A brief rationale for increasing the importance given to language instruction is followed by a review of the literature concerning the latest classroom and laboratory foreign language techniques such as computers, video taping and analysis, audio tape…

The Spanish commerce course at Douglass College and the development of the Certificate and Diploma from Madrid option are described. Spanish commerce is offered to students who have a good knowledge of written and spoken Spanish. Students select a business around which their course assignments will revolve. The course covers business practices in…

Most U.S. institutions require international students to meet a minimum English proficiency test requirement for admission to the institution. The language requirements for admission appear to be the same for technical and for academic students. Standardized English proficiency tests purport to be non-specific; yet an analysis of the items on a…

This study presents a model for teaching a French conversation course on the college level. The research is based on French language classes in Quebec general education and professional colleges (CEGEP). The first part states the problem, examines several programs, describes the organization of the conversation classes, presents several language…

A study was conducted preliminary to establishing a linkage between the needs of business and government for personnel qualified in foreign languages on the one hand, and the need for career opportunities for college students studying foreign languages on the other. This volume reports on the accomplishments of each phase of the study. The initial…

The oral translation courses at the University of Northern Iowa are described and suggestions are given for applying the approach to other university language courses and to secondary school language courses. After the initial organizational periods, each eighty-minute class period consists of translating an interview that was recorded in the…

A survey of 173 Canadian modern language departments concerning the extent of computer use for teaching, the kinds of hardware and software used, and instructor and student satisfaction with computer-assisted language instruction is reported. Canadian-developed authoring systems are also discussed. A table of CALL CALL courseware and the…

Explores issues of competency and proficiency in the learning of foreign languages at the undergraduate level, involving competencies currently established for language learning and the establishment of "tracks" in literature, language, and culture. (CB)

A program model designed to provide intercultural training and foster a global approach to professional education is described. The steps and components necessary to construct a foreign language intercultural course according to this model are outlined. (MSE)

Proposes an agenda for organizing and incorporating a foreign language's cultural aspects into the language curriculum and explores how faculty development, undergraduate and graduate study, and research are affected by the addition of this important element. (CB)

Describes several successful learning activities implemented in a six-credit undergraduate commercial Spanish course at Marywood College (Pennsylvania), including descriptions of supplementary materials and an example of a file of original student correspondence.(Author/CB)

Describes applications of speech processing equipment that can communicate clearly with students about the patterns of sound and can teach students to monitor their own progress in second language acquisition. Discusses equipment being used at West Chester University (Pennsylvania) for learning pronunciation and stress in several different…

Considers common constraints placed upon large universities where teaching assistants (TAs) with no pedagogical instruction or experience often provide beginning level foreign language instruction. An approach for providing guidance to TAs includes suggestions for lesson plans, follow-up discussions, and classes oriented toward communicative…