The history and rationale for entry and exit tests devised to meet Pennsylvania's standards for certifying foreign language teachers are outlined and discussed. The involvement of the Educational Testing Service in developing and validating tests in a variety of subject areas is described, and the need for institutional rather than standardized…

A series of class exercises for Italian language instruction based on a song, "La Vita Mia" by Amedeo Minghi, is presented. The song was selected because of its rich literary content and appealing melody. Objectives, in-class activities, and homework assignments are outlined. In them, students listen to the song, discuss the relationship…

A discussion of bilingualism and second language learning distinguishes three types of bilingualism, namely, compound, coordinate, and sub-coordinate. A compound bilingual is an individual who learns two languages in the same environment so that he/she acquires one notion with two verbal expressions. A coordinate bilingual acquires the two…

This paper describes the first phase of a project that applies multimedia and hypermedia technology to the study of modern languages. The approach differs from taditional ones in that language is not viewed from a conversational or grammatical perspective but through scenarios imitating the contexts of natural language use. In this phase, the…