Numerous publications, including the "Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century" (National Standards, 1999), emphasize the importance of cultural understanding in the development of intercultural competence in foreign language learning. However, there is no agreement on how culture should be defined operationally in the context…

This article reports on findings obtained from an online survey answered by 97 foreign language department chairs. The Web survey was pilot tested for validity and reliability and obtained a Cronbach's reliability coefficient of .80. The results suggest that student learning outcomes assessment in American undergraduate foreign language education…

This article discusses reasons for explicit pronunciation instruction, despite the continued neglect of this area in the communicative classroom. "ACTFL/NCATE Program Standards for the Preparation of Foreign Language Teachers (2002)" and "Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century" (National Standards, 1999) dictate that teachers…

This article reports on "Beyond the OPI: Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) Design Project," a three-year (1997-2000) research initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education International Research and Studies Program. The primary goal of the project was to develop an integrated skills assessment prototype that would measure…

Foreign language teacher candidates learn to bring literacy in second languages (L2s) to children through a standards-based task in which they develop a thematic instructional unit, implement the lessons in foreign language enrichment classes in an urban school, and reflect on student learning. To teach reading in an L2 requires knowledge of…

The integration of foreign language learning with service-learning has continued as a growing trend through the 1990s into the 21st century. Tutoring programs can offer unique opportunities for addressing the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning (1999). This article details one flexible curriculum-based model that promotes especially…

This paper reviews the process a university foreign language department went through in developing a procedure to assess its curriculum using the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines and, to a lesser extent, the National Standards, as guiding principles (National Standards, 1996). This procedure included a noncredit workshop that met only once to inform…

Suggests need to relate national foreign-language standards to students' and teacher lives. Concept of teacher as learner is developed within study-abroad context, and outcomes of this experience consistent with goals of standards are described. Specific changes in teaching practice are discussed that occurred as result of one teacher's…

Discusses the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) performance guidelines for K-12 foreign-language learners. The guidelines comprehensively describe the language performance of students of foreign languages across three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational), following specific periods of…