A report is presented of work in syllabus construction and language planning in Finland from the middle of the 1960s to the present. An introductory chapter describes Finland's parallel educational systems, which provide for speakers of the two official languages, Finnish and Swedish, and for instruction in the other national language as well as…

Investigating students' needs in three foreign language departments in a liberal arts college setting, the study discussed in this article aims to find similarities and differences in language needs among students enrolled in French, German, and Spanish and the extent to which students' perceived needs match the mission the departments have…

Describes the implementation of a first-year comprehension-based Spanish language program at New Mexico State University. Includes a discussion of the history of the program and of the problems encountered in changing a traditional curriculum. Also describes the materials, classroom practice, and testing and evaluation techniques used in the…

A new major at the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania), International Language/Business (IL/Bus), is described that first accepted students in 1986. This foreign language major of 27 credits, with a concentration in business was modeled on two cooperative programs between the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Management that were…

The foreign language program in the Edison, New Jersey public schools is described. The exemplary features of this program are: (1) It is not limited to college-bound students, (2) a significant provision is made for program advocacy, and (3) there are full four- and six-year sequences in French, Spanish, and German. (PMJ)

The report evaluates the Australian Second Language Learning Program, intended to promote introduction and expansion of second language learning in Australian elementary and secondary schools. The assessment was conducted after 2 years of the 4-year program development phase. The report consists of an executive summary and three main parts,…

For many years, the modern language enrollment at Butler University included many students with a second major in education, and the language curriculum served this population. As the number of teacher trainees diminished, foreign language majors increasingly indicated second majors in business. To serve this population, the foreign language…

The Northeast Campus of Tarrant County Junior College (TX) experienced a foreign language enrollment increase of 196% between 1973 and 1983, compared to a collegewide enrollment increase of only 91%. The program's success is due largely to the number and variety of curricular offerings. In addition to a 6-course sequence of 3- and 4-hour courses…

A discussion of foreign languages in elementary schools (FLES) includes both historical and current overviews of FLES in the United States and makes recommendations for development of FLES programs. The historical review looks at program design and methods during the 1950s and 1960s and the successes and failures of program types and approaches.…

A 1996-97 survey of 1,534 elementary and 1,650 secondary schools across the United States, both public and private, investigated current patterns in foreign language enrollment, languages and programs offered, curriculum design and content, teaching methods, teacher qualifications and training, and response to national reform issues. The study was…

This study of the importance of second language and international studies in Illinois in relation to the interests of the state covers the following topics: the importance of second language and international studies, characteristics of effective programs in second language and international studies, the status of those studies in Illinois, and…

The Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools foreign language program for K-12 is described and evaluated. The evaluation report focuses on six areas, including: (1) school district mission and philosophy of foreign language instruction; (2) context (state policies and standards, foreign language program overview and enrollment, fiber-optic communication…