Oral language skills in childhood are known to predict literacy levels and academic performance. Identification of children's low-average oral language skills in school is challenging when clear criteria for developmental language disorder are not met. There are few studies of targeted, school-based oral language interventions for the older child.…

This paper assesses the efficiency of the "Language Immersion e-Course" developed at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Language Centre. The new self-study revision e-course, promoting students' proficiency in spoken and aural Russian through autonomous learning, is based on the Michel Thomas method, and is…

A number of reports in the US have highlighted the country's need for improved second language skills for both national security and economic competitiveness. The Language Flagship program, launched in 2002, aims to raise expectations regarding language proficiency levels at the post-secondary level and to address structural gaps in the curricula…

During the 1979-1980 school year Project Primary Reading Objectives for Bilingual Education (P.R.O.B.E.) was involved in improving the rate of reading growth and cognitive development of four and five year olds from the Bronx, New York. In bilingual classes that were conducted primarily in Spanish, the 153 program participants received instruction…

Much established pedagogical and CALL (computer-assisted language learning) research advocates an integrated constructivist approach to the use of technology in language learning. This paper reports on a pilot project delivered to first year undergraduate French students. The project aim was to deliver a blend of collaborative and individual…

In response to the needs of teachers for assistance in developing second language speaking and instructional skills, Tarrant County Junior College, Northeast Campus, designed a series of 10 16-hour workshops for teachers of foreign languages for summer 1989. The "Strategies for Proficiency Workshops" were intended primarily as in-service training…

In summer 1988, Tarrant County Junior College, Northeast Campus, conducted a series of eight 16-hour workshops and three 32-hour workshops for high school teachers of foreign languages. The workshops were intended primarily as in-service training to help foreign language teachers: (1) improve their oral proficiency in the language they teach; (2)…

The Instructional Aide Program of the Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools trained instructional aides to provide direct instruction to selected underachieving pupils in the classroom setting. The aides attended in-service training sessions and were provided with supplementary materials and numerous instructional activities in the areas of oral…

This report describes an experimental intensive core French program for grades 5 and 6 at Churchill Alternative School in Ottawa (Canada). The aim was to improve the oral French skills of core French students by providing a period of intensive exposure to French and by increasing the total number of hours in French during one program year from 120…

The report details a federally-funded program at the University of Texas, Austin whose activities included: (1) an experimental summer intensive language institute to facilitate Brazilian Portuguese certification for nine certified secondary school teachers of Spanish; (2) writing and publication of a new textbook of Brazilian Portuguese for…