This paper gives practical suggestions for the ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher who must prepare adult foreign students for academic life in the United States. The paper is based on activities carried out at the English Language Institute of the University of Pittsburgh. It is divided into three sections, according to language skills:…

The Bilingual/Bicultural Education Professions Program conducted a needs assessment designed to find out the situation teachers in the Holyoke Public Schools face in their classrooms and what needs they have, in order to improve preservice teacher education. The tools used to determine teacher needs were a demographic questionnaire, an explicit…

This profile in outline form of the English teaching situation in Denmark discusses the role of English in the community and within the educational system. The general educational system is described, as well as means of assessing proficiency in English, the syllabi and textbooks used for English instruction, English for Special Purposes, and…

This is a summary in outline form of the English language teaching situation in Cameroon. Cameroon is officially a French/English bilingual state but English at present plays the minor part. There are five francophone and two anglophone provinces with populations of five million and one and a half million respectively. In the anglophone provinces…

This book consists of ten papers presented at the 1976 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Three major trends in foreign language instruction were identified as themes for the conference: (1) the growing emphasis on developing communication skills in the language learning experience; (2) the concern for the individual…

A transcript is provided of a radio program broadcast February 24, 1978, on the state of foreign language education. The participants in the discussion were leaders in the field, teachers and students from many parts of the United States and from all educational levels. The subjects covered are: some problems facing foreign language programs; the…

Situational Reinforcement, a teaching methodology developed out of the cognitive-field theory of learning, is described. It combines many techniques and methods developed over the years. This discussion of it considers common learning problems: (1) boredom, apathy and passivity on the part of the student, (2) the teacher's preoccupation with…

These guidelines were developed to assist teacher training institutions in setting up competency-based programs, as mandated by New York State law, for the training of foreign language teachers. The guidelines define basic competencies in the following areas: practical command of the language, language analysis, culture, the teaching-learning…

This is an introductory text for the Swazi language, siSwati. Spoken by nearly a half million people in Swaziland, siSwati is one of the Nguni languages of the southeastern branch of the Bantu languages. Each of the 25 lessons in this text covers one or more basic grammatical structures. The first five lessons present the sound system in detail,…

The fact that a relatively large segment of the secondary school population chooses to learn a second language, for reasons other than entrance requirements, has implications for foreign language curriculum planners. As part of an initial step in planning new syllabi, the Curriculum Advisory Committee of the New York State Education Department…

The perennial problem of articulation of foreign language programs between the high schools and the colleges is readdressed in this paper. Six factors are identified as primary in contributing to the problem: (1) instruction is paced too fast, thus encouraging superficial learning and creating a disparity of coverage practices among the many…

This article describes the evolution of a confluent language program, which provides simultaneous processes for successful language learning, self awareness, self appreciation, and interpersonal communication. The confluent language curriculum design has been successfully implemented in language classes throughout the United States and in some…

This guide was developed to assist schools in the process of self-evaluation of their foreign language programs in grades seven through twelve. The principal focus is on the teaching and learning process, with an emphasis on the quality of the curriculum, the training, experience and effectiveness of the instructional staff, the quality of the…

Recent findings from the fields of brain research and speech perception suggest that non-verbal approaches may be helpful in pronunciation learning. The left side of the brain uses sequential information, such as verbal descriptions. The right side works in a more simultaneous manner, specializing in spatial relations and pitch perception, among…

This paper attempts to make a case for increased use of available technology, especially those aspects commonly designated as educational media, in the foreign language classroom. Several arguments are given to support this position. (1) Research has shown that sight is the dominant sense for most people; therefore, varied and integrated visual…