A statement of valid, acceptable goals and optimum characteristics of foreign language in the elementary school (FLES) is embodied in a section on guidelines for the subjective evaluation of FLES programs and in a field survey evaluation form. Description of ways and means of achieving the stated goals and specifications for measurement and…

The reports from the 1971 Annual Meeting of the Washington Association of Foreign Language Teachers are presented in this compilation of nine abridged speeches given at the meeting. The papers include: (1) "The Three Dimensions of Successful Teaching," (2) "State of the Profession," (3) "Individualizing Instruction in Some Puget Sound Schools,"…

Presents some of the factors responsible for increased foreign language enrollments at one university. (AM)

Describes a French diction and oral communication course conducted at Franklin and Marshall College. Originally envisioned as a "necessary evil" to train students to write and deliver seminar papers, the course unexpectedly appealed to students as a practical experience while developing increased student interest in French language and literature.…

Describes organization of a one-semester oral/aural skills course which was oriented around the commercially available tape of 25-episode serialized suspense story. The appendix lists examples of support materials that were coordinated with the stories episodes to provide aural, oral, visual, and written reinforcement. (EJS)

A speech addressed to British foreign language teachers concerning the state of foreign language instruction in Great Britain stressed the importance of maintaining high quality second language instruction at all educational levels for the purpose of securing the future of the United Kingdom in commercial, social, cultural, and political domains.…

Proposes a National Foreign Language Center which would develop a comprehensive national policy on foreign language teaching and would provide guidance in research and instruction. Its primary goal would be to promote the improvement of foreign language competency of Americans. (LMO)

Review of neurolinguistic and psycholinguistic research regarding older (over 40 years of age) second language learners suggests classroom implications for dealing with this population's pronunciation problems and ways to capitalize on their superiority to younger students in terms of higher order linguistic processing. (CB)

An innovative foreign language methodology, " Read-and-Speak," was tried in a year-long pilot section of beginning French. The method involves: (1) massive easy readings assigned from the outset; (2) speaking the foreign language from the start; (3) delaying formal grammar instruction until April, when an entire introductory text is…

A review of eight program proposals for improving and strengthening foreign language and international education programs indicates a need for a strong federal role in terms of programs and grants for elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels of study. (CB)

Describes a fifth-semester university course in German in which students analyze the stylistic features of the language and its function in specific cultural contexts, such as films, speeches, songs, and newspapers. The course is conducted entirely in German and focuses on a single stylistic theme each week. (SED)

Presents results of a survey of about 65 percent of Ottawa's graduates of bilingual education programs in 1978-79 and 1979-80 concerning their education and employment since high school, their plans, self-assessed level of French proficiency, actual or expected use of French, and opinions of the program and its effects. (MSE)

Discusses whether the goal of language proficiency is reasonable or even possible given the language textbooks available. Examines the description of the French language in college-level French language textbooks (all of which take a structural approach) to see if they lend themselves to the acquisition of a functional speaking ability. (SED)

The goal of this report is to identify factors that led to success for L2 (second language learning or acquisition) students at Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) (Massachusetts). The author intends to use the results of the study to write proposals to secure funding for the success of more L2 students. He originally intended to read a total of…

This interview with Glenn H. Nordin, Assistant Director of Intelligence Policy (Language and Training), Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, explores in depth the officially perceived language needs of the U.S. military in the foreseeable future. Questions and answers include the following: How has the end of the Cold War affected…