The traditional focus of the language elective has been to give students the skills to communicate in the foreign language which has also been their main selling point. However, language graduates need more specific and wide-ranging skills if they are to compete in the current and future job markets. It is now widely accepted that universities…

This paper discusses learning language and communication activities that focus on students' concrete involvement in their learning process. The activities first deal with student-produced blogs and digital videos in business Spanish. They then present student-produced podcasts for Swedish business communication learners that are meant for speakers…

India is a multilingual country. English is the second most important language in the country after the national language Hindi since it is taught as a compulsory subject in all the Indian schools. In the educational system of a multilingual country, it becomes imperative to improve the English Language teaching skills of the school teachers who…

Those in America are confronting a stark alternative: either open themselves to an appreciation of human plurality and the diversity of cultures around the globe or limit themselves to a narrowly normative culture. Will American schools and colleges provide students with opportunities to learn to understand other voices, or will the educational…

This article analyzes the findings of a pilot project conducted in 2008-2009 as a partnership between University Studies, Portland State University's interdisciplinary general education program, and the University's Russian Flagship Language Partner Program. The project proposes a new approach of integrating non-English speakers' language skills,…

Recently, the Modern Language Association (MLA) called for a major reorganization of undergraduate academic programs and even the structure of foreign-language departments. Typically, the initial two years of language instruction are taught by non-tenure-track instructors with little or no voice in the department. Faculty members mainly teach the…

The Full-Year Asian Language Concentration (FALCON) program was designed for students who need an intensive program in Chinese to make them proficient enough for graduate study. Using L1, FALCON teaches students to express adult concepts in L2. Since good writing requires a great degree of proficiency, it is neglected initially for the sake of a…

Discusses a four-year project now in the second year at Earlham College to increase the use both by faculty and students of foreign languages. Provides the background to the project, the detailed objectives, and abbreviated comments on accomplishments to date. (EKN)

Reports on survey of beginning German at colleges and universities in the U.S. Results show grammatical knowledge is most important objective followed by speaking, listening, and reading comprehension, cultural awareness, then writing. Results indicate growth within the profession. (BK)

Describes the University of Arizona's plan of action for defining and testing second language proficiency at the fourth semester level (a college requirement). Tasks include (1) reviewing proficiency literature; (2) redefining the second language requirement by using the ACTFL proficiency guidelines; (3) developing testing techniques; and (4)…

The oral translation courses at the University of Northern Iowa are described and suggestions are given for applying the approach to other university language courses and to secondary school language courses. After the initial organizational periods, each eighty-minute class period consists of translating an interview that was recorded in the…

In 1980, Midwestern State University (Texas), a typical college in several respects, held a series of panel discussions aimed at making students aware of the practicality and applicability of language study. Originally conceived as a "work fair" that would help recruit English majors, exigencies of a changing academic situation and the English…

Among the justifications for using games in foreign language teaching, one finds the theory that games play an important role in the instructional and learning processes and that they can be designed to develop linguistic skills and communicative abilities. A review of several authors not only suggests the value of games and game-like activities…

Describes a course, offered by Michigan Technological University, designed to increase the intercultural communication skills of American postsecondary students. Activities include readings and movies illustrating cross-cultural conflicts; application of a model to a cross-cultural case study; panel discussion; and cultural simulation. (Author/CB)

Central Missouri State University's Department of Modern Languages' summer study program uses such techniques as small group work, student journal-keeping, community contact, and independent travel to help students build language skills. Students' final grades are based on these criteria. (CB)