Problems encountered by one small liberal arts college foreign language department in gaining and maintaining academic acceptance and support for business/foreign language courses are discussed. The initial challenge was to persuade the administration of the suitability of specialized business courses in a subject field (languages) viewed largely…

The results of a revised French listening comprehension test for grade 6 students are reported. The original French comprehension test consisted of 150 items presented by cassette recording. Based upon the results of the 1980 experience, test items were changed to increase the test's objective goals. A further reason for modification was the…

In response to requests of adult students for foreign language instruction for their kindergarten and elementary school aged children, and after researching the availability of such instruction in the area, Tarrant County Junior College developed a series of nonsequential courses of 12 lessons each on common topics such as parts of the body, the…

A federally funded project was undertaken at the University of New Hampshire to: (1) determine the feasibility of incorporating specific techniques of oral proficiency evaluation in college-level foreign language courses, (2) create a network of foreign language professors in northern New England colleges and universities trained in the use of…

The commonly-occurring mismatch between second language student and course level, resulting in student boredom or intimidation, is due to overreliance on standardized language tests. These tests emphasize passive skills, such as recognition of grammatical structures and translation, and they ignore the element of communicative competence. As a…

Channel management, a concept developed in marketing to refer to the process by which a product is moved from production to consumption, uses a channel of distribution operating at several levels, each responsible for one or more of the activities of moving the product forward to the consumer. The function of channel management is to select the…

The third progress report is presented on the evaluation of a bilingual kindergarten program and a social studies follow-up program in grades 1 and 2. The focus is on the first cohort, presently in grade 2, on a second cohort in grade 1, and on a third cohort in kindergarten. The purpose of the program was to initiate French instruction in…

A counselling service to facilitate foreign language instruction for students desiring it was undertaken as an experiment at Cambridge University during the 1980-81 academic year. Its aims were twofold: (1) to provide a mechanism whereby students could be heard and their needs responded to, and (2) to insure that alternatives to the already…

A census of secondary schools in Illinois as well as in the nation has revealed that less than 25% of the students are enrolled in foreign language classes. While most secondary schools in Illinois offer some foreign language instruction, there are small rural schools that are unable to offer a solid program. The French Language Intensive Program…

A survey was conducted of businesses in Michigan and adjoining states to investigate employment opportunities in international trade for bilingual graduates of Eastern Michigan University's Language and International Trade Program. Eleven hypotheses were formulated regarding the need for entry-level bilingual employees, the types of positions…

The program, curriculum, and materials needed to provide business Spanish training are described, and the available instructional materials are reviewed and listed. In developing a business Spanish program, decisions must be made regarding goals, content, structure, instructional format, evaluation procedures, and target population. The content of…

Too little emphasis is placed on instructional supervision in special language programs for limited-English-proficient students. Such supervision can provide a mechanism to promote the growth of instructional staff, improve the instructional program, and lead to curriculum development. Many supervisors are undertrained and unable to provide…

Guidelines are provided for incorporating a new component into the San Francisco Community College District's English as a Second Language (ESL) Master Plan: "Beginning ESL for Non-Literate Students." Introductory sections give an overview of the curriculum; describe how to use the guide; discuss classroom techniques; describe objectives related…

A national experiment in foreign-language teaching carried out in selected primary schools in England and Wales is discussed. The experiment was begun in 1964 with the introduction of French. The results of the 1964-74 evaluation are discussed here. (RM)

Two approaches to college second language instruction are described. One, an on-campus option, gives students a classroom opportunity that is similar to the intensive/immersion program, which is a ten-week intensive language course followed by a ten-week program in Mexico, France, or Germany. The on-campus option, called "Super," is a…