Questionnaire responses of college and university foreign language department chairpersons (N=766) revealed that 15 percent of these programs continued to offer language instruction on an individualized track, while 25 percent expressed interest in developing new individualized instruction programs. Responses regarding language offerings,…

Describes how the Department of Romance, German, and Russian Languages and Literatures at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), secured sponsorship for several Italian classes threatened by budget cuts from local and national Italian cultural organizations. The collaboration also helped make the CSULB Italian program more responsive to…

Four alternative foreign language curricula for college students are described. A course in business French may appeal to students who want their foreign language study to be marketable to prospective employers. The instructor in such a course will find his/her chief task to be the collection of suitable materials; a variety of suggestions from…

Presents some of the factors responsible for increased foreign language enrollments at one university. (AM)

Skills and attitudes needed by language teachers, characteristics of a well-designed curriculum, and other aspects of teaching and learning in foreign language and second language programs are outlined. (SW)

Surveys of college students have been conducted to determine their needs for foreign language study. Students desired career-oriented foreign language programs that meet their professional needs. As a result of the surveys, the University of Houston will offer language courses in German oriented to hotel majors, business majors and opera singers.…

Links success of future international trade between U.S. and French-speaking world to a broader knowledge of economic systems and cultures of Quebec, Belgium, Switzerland, North and West Africa. More than just developing language competence, American students in business French need curriculum giving more exposure to diversity of cultures and…

Discusses specific instruments and procedures that university-level foreign languages and literatures departments can use in outcomes-assessment of their undergraduate majors, including standardized tests, oral assessments, questionnaires, and portfolios. Case studies of outcomes-assessment programs in language departments at the University of…

A second language program developed at Wilson College (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania) with a federal grant uses the Rassias Method of theatrical, dramatic language saturation. In the first application of the program at the college, peer tutors (who would be assistant teachers in the subsequent immersion program) were trained in a three-day workshop.…

The guide is addressed to the colleagues of the foreign language assistant in the languages departments since the assistant's work, to a large extent, depends on a successful relationship with them. The foreign language assistant is defined as a native speaker of a foreign language, e.g. French, German, Spanish, Italian, who serves in a British…

After presenting evidence that there is a wide gap between teaching a language and translating a language, reasons for proposing a program in Russian translation are offered. The proposed program for Iowa State University will be selective in admission of undergraduate Russian majors. The program will lead to a certificate in conjunction with the…

The number of M. A. programs for preparing TESOL teachers has grown greatly in the past decade. The profession generally has grown and matured during this period. The M. A. program at San Francisco State College was established in 1963 and has graduated over a hundred teachers. A number of developments, particularly in general linguistic theory,…

Sets out the advantages of a functional/notional syllabus as opposed to a grammatical syllabus. Presents topics around which to build a functional/notional syllabus in teaching college-level French. Makes suggestions, based on students' perception of their communicative needs, for the sequencing of these materials. (PMJ)

Supports the idea that second language teachers should "teach the test," provided that such tests meet the criteria of authentic assessment. Authentic assessment focuses on constructivist learning and communicative tasks; the integration of teaching, learning, and assessment; quality and coverage of content; and quality and fairness of standards.…

Discusses the benefits of incorporating African-Caribbean contributions to U.S. history and culture at the level of higher education, such as promoting global interconnectedness, correcting misinformation about African Americans, recognizing and profiting from knowledge acquired by ancient civilizations, and strengthening economic competitiveness.…