This article explores the theoretical foundation of the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements, developed by the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL) and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), describes why and how to use these progress indicators in language education and reveals the value and impact on…

Any curriculum consists of several components: goals, disposition, duration, needs analysis, learners and teachers, exercises and activities, resources, ways of learning, skills to be acquired, lexis, language structure, and ability assessment. Before setting up a program or course of study, these components should be determined and described in…

La Escuelita, a Warwick (Rhode Island) Spanish language instruction program for children in grades 3 through 6, originated in 1983 in a group-tutoring program and expanded under the auspices of the local Parent-Teacher Association into an after-school activity for all city schoolchildren. The PTA undertook the administrative tasks, and the…

In response to requests from students for information about the role of women in target-language cultures, a curriculum was developed by the Minneapolis public schools for women's studies in the high school foreign language classroom. The focus was on women in French, German, and Spanish-speaking countries. The role of women in these cultures has…

An Italian program integrating second language instruction into the elementary school curriculum is described. The program is seen as a forward-looking effort but lacking in important cultural content. Discrepancies between objectives and classroom reality are discussed. (MSE)

Examines the needs and concerns of college faculty members regarding the departmental ambience in undergraduate teaching and the difficulty of integrating research and teaching. The article advocates interdepartmental cooperation and resource sharing to foster positive change in faculty members' fields and to resolve the problems of faculty and…

The Australian Language Levels (ALL) curriculum is being developed as a learner-centered, activities-based approach to second language instruction at all levels. It is activities-based in that learners use the target language in specific activities for specific purposes. Each activity integrates content with process or method, and activities are…

An innovative high school curriculum in Finland is designed so that the year is divided into six 6-week periods. In an experiment begun in fall 1989, English second language instruction was provided to second-year students in the form of content-area instruction in computer science, chemistry, and physics at one of two levels. Each course lasted…

Considers the degree to which scientifically acquired knowledge about language can be used in the design and execution of language teaching programs. Second language learners should become fluent speakers when they are exposed to copious linguistic data and have adequate opportunity for interaction in the language with other speakers. (CB)

A French language program for Mexican children established by the Franco-Mexican Alliance uses penpal correspondence to motivate language learning. Age-appropriate and balanced learning activities and a well-articulated progression of courses make this a successful approach for children. (MSE)

Examines challenges facing scholarship in cultural fields at the university level. These challenges include economic concerns, political hostility, and a change in the status of foreign literatures. Departments of foreign languages and literatures must redefine their goal as foreign cultural literacy in order to remain viable. (nine references)…

A national survey investigated the extent and design of programs in which content instruction is combined with instruction in English as a Second Language (content-ESL). Findings are summarized here. Is was found that about 15 percent of all public schools, and all states, have such programs, with heaviest concentration in the south and southwest…

This report shows findings and recommendations from the Planning Task Force, a group of faculty and administrators at the City College of San Francisco in California (CCSF) that addresses the establishment and strengthening of linkages between non-credit programs. The Planning Task Force employed several methods of inquiry in order to determine…

This paper describes the development and implementation of an intensive summer course in English as a Second Language (ESL) designed for children aged 4-5. Planning included development of a curriculum and instructional materials based on theory and practice in the teaching of young children, English language learning and instruction, and…

Analyzes 15 ongoing foreign language program articulation projects that demonstrate what can be accomplished toward establishing coherent sequences, goals, and assessments. (51 references) (CK)