Fluent speakers of a target language choosing to enrol in beginner-level courses at tertiary institutes could be considered unfair. In this paper, however, based on data obtained from in-depth qualitative interviews with 12 students at a Hong Kong university, we show that fluent speakers of Japanese -- a widely-spoken foreign language in Hong Kong…

The New Canadian Citizenship Act (1974) differs in several ways from the first. For example, it no longer exempts older long-time residents and spouses from the requirement of having adequate knowledge of one of Canada's official languages. Enrollment in ESL (English as a Second Language) classes will undoubtedly increase. (CFM)

Surveyed students at Arizona State University to find out why they had chosen to study French, whether they planned to continue studying French, and what courses they would like to see offered. Responses indicated that the students plan to visit France or a French-speaking country, that they are interested in gaining fluency in French, and that…

The Swedish National Board of Education studied 7,095 youths (mostly immigrants) who left compulsory school in 1979 and who spoke home languages other than Swedish. The part of the study reported on here revealed that no less than 42% of them stated that they always spoke Swedish with at least one parent, while 22% never spoke Swedish with their…

Ten readings offering specific suggestions and ideas for teachers of advanced (third year and beyond) foreign language classes include: (1) "Increasing Enrollments in Upper-Level Classes" by Barbara Snyder; (2) "Coping with the Choices" by Donna E. Sutton; (3) "Group Work in Advanced Classes" by Reid E. Baker; (4)…

The Market for Foreign Languages Study was begun in South Carolina to ascertain both the state's projected needs for modern foreign language competencies and the state's foreign language resources over the next five years. Questionnaires have been sent to industrial plants, secondary schools, and junior and senior colleges. Of the plants…

The language competence of adults in Great Britain was examined in a national study involving interviews between April 28 and May 9, 1999, with a representative sample of 3,967 adults over the age of 16 years. Of those surveyed, 58% spoke only their mother tongue, 29% spoke one additional language, and 10% spoke two additional languages. Fifteen…