A committee was formed to examine the need for and the possible approach to foreign language instruction for International Business and International Relations students at St. Mary's University (San Antonio). Research literature of most interest to the committee described specific courses and programs in higher education, different formats ranging…

A discussion of language proficiency in college-level African language programs begins with a review of the literature in the broader field of foreign language learning concerning notions of language competence, proficiency, and proficiency goals. This section examines linguistic competence, communicative competence, communicative syllabus design,…

A state grant to the Department of Romance Languages of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville has allowed development of a proficiency-based curriculum for first- and second-year French and Spanish. Most of the effort to date has been preparation of the syllabus based on specified goals and objectives, or student outcomes, focusing on allowing…

The current status of the teaching of oral and aural skills in university French language courses in Great Britain is examined. A review of survey results finds that French teaching at the university level remains much as it was 20 to 30 years ago despite increasing calls for change, and that more serious attempts at change are found in Scottish…

To date, principles of applied linguistics have been practiced little in the Chinese foreign language (CFL) classroom. Most students of Chinese, the majority of whom are in higher education, are not knowledgeable about linguistics. Most teachers of Chinese in the United States are hired for their interest in Chinese culture or native Chinese…

Oral/aural skills (1) are a major vocational requirement for a student graduating in the language field, (2) are an essential, academically valid element in the language learning process, and (3) enhance the student's overall intellectual development. If a communicative language curriculum is designed carefully, it will integrate all of these…

Interpreting, or oral translation, deals exclusively and intensively with language in action. The process develops and exercises intellectual, personal, and linguistic skills. However, its introduction into second language curricula would require changing expectations and strategies. The syllabus for a course component in interpreting should have…

This paper describes the KELP (Kanda-English Language Proficiency) Project, a project for self-directed English-as-a-Second-Language learning at Kanda University of International Studies (Japan). In the study, students plan and direct their own language learning programs, using individually designed learning contracts. Examples of three kinds of…

Languages have lost status in the educational system, and oral skills are less effectively and rigorously taught. However, a University of Leeds program providing short, intensive courses in administrative and legal French for British civil servants has been found to be very effective in developing the participants' oral and aural skills. The…

This final report describes a project at the University of Connecticut-Storrs, begun in 1993, to create a 5-year interdisciplinary, undergraduate, double-degree program, combining a bachelor of science in engineering with a bachelor of arts in German. The program, called Eurotech, is intended to provide students with practical, integrated foreign…

The conference proceedings include the opening address, plenary session papers, workshop reports, a final forum and address, and the conference program and participant list. The plenary session papers include: "What Are We Doing in Modern Languages Today?"; "Communicative Skills and the Modern Languages Degree"; "The Place of Spoken Language in…