Tests empirically the model of second-language reading proficiency promoted by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). Reader developmental levels are not consistent with the ACTFL hierarchy of text types and reading skills. Graphs compare hypothesized and obtainable results. (LMO)

Reviews 11 British foreign language syllabi that attempt to incorporate vocational education needs, covering languages offered, testing activities, student attitudes, teaching methods, course organization, and teacher attitudes. (CB)

Demonstrates how native speakers of Italian and German rated the "native-speaker-likeness" of recorded speech of other native speakers of Italian and German. Findings indicate that subjects from southern Austria, whose own language norms differ from standard German, marked some German consonant realizations as non-native. (DK)

Uses a quantified version of a syntactic acquisition hierarchy to compare syntactic development in second language learners to that of other components of grammar, particularly inflectional morphology. (CB)

Looks at devices that stimulate intralinguistic thinking patterns, that is, patterns that can only be induced by the structures and forms of the target language without any dependency upon native-language patterns. Focuses on problem-solving activities that help the learner develop modes of thought that can be solved "Italian." (SED)

To research the nature of organized crime in America a major study using anthropological field work techniques was undertaken: although we focused on the patterns of blacks and Hispanic crime activists, previous research on Italian-American patterns was utilized for comparison. (Author/JM)

The vowel triangle'', devised by Wilhelm Vietor, is a diagram of vowel sounds according to the position of the tongue and jaw during articulation. (DD)

PACEFI is a working committee at the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland. (DS)

Excerpted from a study published by the Modern Language Association of America (MLA) pursuant to a contract (No. OEC-0-8-071155-3708) with the U.S. Office of Education. (DS)