The primary task of teacher educators must be to offer foreign language teachers the means to better conceptualize and carry out their task and thus to regain confidence. The present situation is assessed; needs are analysed in terms of teachers, students, the culture and society; and conclusions are drawn. (AMH)

Reports on a survey of mother tongue teaching and support for primary age pupils in England and Wales, undertaken as part of the Schools Council Mother Tongue Project. The analysis indicates that the majority of local education authorities now have a multilingual school population, and that bilingual pupils can communicate in a wide range of…

Provisions for multicultural education in Australia include expanded ESL and foreign language offerings, various bilingual and bicultural curriculum projects for ethnic schools, and revamping of social studies programs to educate all students and teachers about Australia's ethnic minorities. While such programs should enhance mutual respect and…

Presents significant changes that have taken place in French teaching in the United Kingdom which may possibly be adapted for use in Australian classrooms. One major addition, the "French for Business Studies" examination, has been exhibiting increasing popularity among students, due to its practical application to the everyday business…

Although English is a colonial heritage in Fiji, it links the country's different ethnic groups and is the language of instruction for formal education. This paper examines pedagogical and cultural implications of the present primary English curriculum, based on findings from an empirical study of primary English teaching in Fiji. It reviews the…

This report covers six areas related to the development of French second language (FSL) programs in Alberta: (1) background information on recommendations of the Curriculum Policies Board, including the plan for curriculum revision; (2) characteristics of newly developed French programs; (3) premises underlying the program development,…

Global education encompasses all disciplines in the curriculum on all levels. It provides foreign language teachers with an opportunity to construct curriculum from the ground up rather than from the other direction. Because most middle school and junior high school teachers can provide foreign language teachers with necessary knowledge about the…

Discusses the teaching of French language, literature, and culture in light of the experiences and observations of Gustave Lanson, a professor of French at the University of Paris who taught as a visiting professor at Columbia University in 1911. It is argued that French studies as a discipline needs to emphasize the pluralistic, multicultural…

The teaching of Spanish in American schools and colleges to native speakers of Spanish has its origin in two main factors: the need for acceptance by the teaching profession of maintenance and development of the Spanish spoken natively in the United States, and the need for cultural determination by the nation's native Spanish speakers. In light…

An anthropological study of the American Deaf Culture points out that its members do not merely constitute a subculture and that study of American Sign Language, like many other foreign languages, offers knowledge of not only a natural language but also the culture in which it is used. (CB)

Discusses the role of assessment in determining whether the investment in an early start in a foreign language has been worthwhile, suggesting that it is important for reasons, such as feedback to parents and the public, informing national policy development, and school self evaluation. Describes an independent evaluation of modern languages in…

ALTHOUGH CAUTIOUS TRADITIONALISM, TEXT AVAILABILITY, LITERARY VALUE, AND PREFERRED LANGUAGE USAGE APPEAR TO FAVOR USING READING TEXTS BASED ON 19TH-CENTURY CLASSICS IN RUSSIAN LANGUAGE COURSES, AMERICAN STUDENTS, WHO IN THEIR CAREERS WILL NEED TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE CURRENT GENERATION IN RUSSIA, WILL FIND AN EXPOSURE TO MODERN READINGS MORE…

Outlines the procedures used to identify, analyze, and organize components of an American Sign Language curriculum, based on processes used to develop second-language curricula. Students are encouraged to develop communicative competence and cultural awareness in a classroom environment, allowing for natural language learning. (CB)

Presents a well-defined, goal-responsive curriculum model, derived from the concepts of the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages, which introduces several foreign languages to middle-grade students to begin to construct a foundation for later proficiency in a foreign language and to instill greater cultural sensitivity.…

The following position papers are presented: (1) "Foreign Language Curricula and Materials for the Twenty-First Century," by Robert C. Lafayette and Lorraine A. Strasheim; and (2) "Global Education: An Area for Fruitful Collaboration between Foreign Language and Social Studies," by Judith Torney-Purta. The first paper discusses the necessity of…