Discusses the terms "native speaker" and "near native speaker" in the foreign language teaching profession, and asks whether a heritage speaker is considered a native speaker of the language. Highlights results of a survey advertising a literature position for a near-native speaker of Spanish. The survey is appended.…

Focuses on the career opportunities available at community colleges for graduate students. The article describes the focus, curriculum, and ambience of the typical two-year college. It is concluded that an overriding requirement for teaching in these institutions involves not lesson plans or learning strategies but individual motivation. (two…

Examines the poor professional preparation of college students for postgraduate employment. The article maintains that students are unprepared to teach upper-division courses in second-language instruction. A lecture series to address problems in teaching these courses was developed and offered as a minicourse. (CK)

Provides an overview of Japanese second-language instruction in the United States. Suggests that, despite the quality and amount of resources, many Japanese programs are in an unstable situation. Discusses a project in Colorado that is working toward the common goals of Japanese instruction at the secondary and postsecondary levels. (Author/VWL)

Examines the relative importance of teaching and scholarship in academia. The article scrutinizes the reasons for requiring academics to combine research and teaching and argues that scholarship and teaching are inextricable parts of the larger process of learning. The article concludes that good teaching must accompany the constant quest for the…

Examines the practice of scholarship in American universities and lists three episodes in a scholar's career in which scholarship is paramount: (l) the dissertation process; (2) the candidacy for tenure; and (3) the yearly recommendations for salary increases. Recommendations include encouraging scholarship in all its forms, and reconsidering the…

Suggests that the notion of near-native language ability, as currently used in the language teaching profession, should be re-examined. The concept of native speech is complex and often idealized, involving not only a teacher's language skills but also sociocultural norms, peer perceptions, and attitudes about ethnic or regional usage. The concept…

This article considers how graduate, diploma, and certificate programs in second-language acquisition and didactics, as well as intercultural communication, can help professionalize language instruction and benefit all levels of instruction. (36 references) (Author/CK)