Argues that the focus of foreign-language instruction needs to be on students learning to become more efficient in using another language. This focus means charting each student's progress along the continuum of proficiency from novice to intermediate to advanced levels, not just checking off a list of what has been taught from the curriculum. (CK)

To avoid teaching only the sociocultural views and values of the dominant social class of a language group, second language teachers should include dialectal variation in the curriculum from the outset, exposing students to authentic language use and the views and values of non-dominant, ethnic minority, and other speakers. (MSE)

Argues that a gap exists in university-level foreign-language curriculum that requires a "bridge," that is, a course designed to take students from where they are to where they should be to study for a foreign-language major and describes the bridge course in Hispanic culture at the University of New Mexico. (four references) (CK)