A longitudinal study assessed the progress of 271 students of English as a Second Language (ESL) who had entered Project SEEK at Brooklyn College (New York) in the fall of 1985. The goals of the study were to identify factors predicting success or failure in academic courses, and to study attitudes of the students toward their second language and…

The Fluency First in English as a second language (ESL) project at City College (New York) began as a result of the high failure rate among ESL writing students at the college, and the fact that this kept many students from entering the regular college courses. Revision on the ESL reading and writing curricula, beginning in 1987, focused on…

An experimental first-year college German course offered at the University of Texas at Austin emphasized communication, with a complementary de-emphasis on morphologically correct forms in spoken or written production. A modification of the Total Physical Response method was used to orient the students, and at four weeks the emphasis was shifted…

The Summer Language Houses (SLH) in French, German, and Spanish at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have been extremely effective in teaching language skills and encouraging students to continue language study. The five-week intensive language programs at the second-year level emphasize oral communication but provide practice in all language…

Research suggests that the learner is the only one who knows, intuitively, the relationship between the objectives of the evaluation and his or her actual knowledge at any given time. Experience shows that students use some form of self-assessment in the normal classroom setting. The University of Ottawa's Centre for Second Language Learning…

A study of 215 Temple University (Pennsylvania) students investigated patterns in achievement (as measured by course level and grade), language attitudes, attitudes toward and acquaintance with Spanish speakers, and foreign travel experience. Results support previous studies and suggest that the relationship between attitudes and foreign-language…

The method used for assessing German language majors and minors at Bradley University (Illinois) is described. The method uses multiple assessment techniques, and has seven parts: (1) a re-taking of the German entry placement examination; (2) review of results of a two-part exit survey (questionnaire appended), designed to obtain information about…

A study investigated the effectiveness of training programs for teaching assistants (TAs) in language courses at the University of Texas at Austin. The programs provided for these students, offered through various language departments, are designed to introduce the most important teaching methodologies and provide opportunities for TAs to gain…

The University of Pennsylvania's foreign language requirement self-study resulted in re-evaluation of the existing language program. It revealed that most freshmen were not exempted from college second language study by standardized test scores and that the university's required courses were not producing the desired results. These findings…

A course in English as a second language for international graduate student instructors at the University of California at Berkeley is described. In its first offerings, the course served students from three Asian countries and a variety of disciplines. It consisted of work in language, culture, and instructional techniques integrated into all…

Explains Beloit College's 10-day program, designed to interest entering freshman in study of foreign languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian, and Spanish) and cultures. The program was successful in teaching the basics of the foreign languages and in eliminating anxiety about the study of those…

One of the challenges facing many foreign language programs today is maintaining high quality instruction despite increased enrollments and teacher shortages. One strategy for meeting this challenge is collaborative teaching. Collaborative teaching can occur in various settings and for different purposes. Studies of team-teaching have shown its…

The language laboratory could make a larger impact than it does on undergraduate language study. The growth of attractive new technology makes even more important the careful evaluation and exploitation of existing technology. A major obstacle in doing this is the lack of careful and rigorous research about the effectiveness of the language…

The foreign language faculty at College of Saint Scholastica Minnesota) developed and implemented 10-day Spanish and French immersion programs based on Peace Corps methodology as a means of affording students time for intensive study of those languages, improving students' fluency, and instituting a change in teaching methodology. The first…

Describes an attempt made at the University of Reading to support or discount claims made about the pedagogic value of communication games. Some evidence was found in support of games' roles in encouraging students to practice language skills. (Author/CB)