Reports on comprehensive study undertaken by the MLA to review foreign language programs in two-year colleges and formulate objectives and recommendations. Three stages of project were informal survey, one-day workshops to discuss ways in which language teaching profession could strengthen two-year college enterprise, and meeting of leaders in…

Summarizes preliminary results from a survey started during the 1979 fall semester for the purpose of identifying textbooks used in beginning German courses at college/university level and analyzing curricular factors relating to the programs surveyed. Describes data as based on 189 responses to a questionnaire sent to 222 departments. (MES)

Suggests that support from the institution receiving a foreign language program grant is essential to the program's life and longevity and that institutions should be encouraged by the funding agencies to meet their expressed, supportive commitments. Suggestions are given on how to make a grant-funded curricular project work. (GLR)

A one-semester course in Schwyzertutsch is described. The Swiss German dialect is taught as the twenty-sixth language in the noncredit extension service of the University of Queensland. (LB)

Integration of Francophone culture into the language curriculum rests on a suggested three-step approach, involving extensive student research. Goals are (1) recognition of the geography of French-speaking regions; (2) sensitivity to cultural components (e.g., music, art); and (3) familiarity with at least one significant political, historical,…

Argues for the inclusion of courses in phonetics and phonology in college Italian programs, claiming that the myth of Italian as a phonetic language blurs the clear need for such training and that students actually require advanced coursework in phonetics and phonology to improve their articulation and pronunciation. (43 references) (Author/CB)

Discusses the United States' significant need for communicative competence in other languages and relevant problems with the higher education system. Addresses the lack of student interest, structural problems, the foreign language mission, institutional challenges and strategies, inter-institutional collaboration, and technology. (EV)

Describes a survey of staffing patterns in modern languages at the college level for the 1996-97 academic year. Questionnaires were sent to 154 foreign language departments in a stratified sample chosen from among departments participating in at least one Association of Department of Foreign Languages (ADFL) summer seminar during the 1992-96…

This digest provides a detailed description of the Program in Interpreting and Translating at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Specific sections address the following: (1) the degree emphasis; (2) formal training and professional relevance; (3) departmental provision for interpreting and translating; (4) the expertise and experience…

Several aspects of living and teaching in Czechoslovakia are presented from the point of view of a 1983 Fulbright lecturer at Comenius University in Bratislava. Included are a brief history of Czechoslovakia, details of the University degree program, time commitment expected of instructors, observations on Czechoslovakian students and Vietnamese…

Surveys of language program directors and recommendations and trends noted by several large universities indicate that a professional model of language program direction is emerging, in which the language program director (the supervisor for graduate teaching assistants) is seen as a viable faculty member contributing to a legitimate scholarly…

The Language Immersion Program at the State University College of New York at New Paltz provides a highly effective and exciting learning environment for intensive study of a foreign language. Participants progress rapidly and gain greater confidence and enthusiasm as they develop fluency. (CB)

Describes an experience using the Silent Way in an elementary and intermediate sequence of college-level Spanish courses, outside of the laboratory setting. Information is drawn from student commentary, instructor and research assistant observation, and student test results. (MSE)

Describes the program and discusses the success of intensive second language instruction, based on the Dartmouth Method, at a public, urban, nonresidential college. (EKN)

Describes the 16-week intensive French and Spanish program at Cabrillo College. (EKN)