The design and content of a required, fourth-year course in Soviet culture are proposed. The course has three distinguishing characteristics: basis in a broader, social sciences definition of culture; the Soviet Union as a frame of reference; and instruction in Russian. Its objectives are both cultural knowledge and language proficiency. (MSE)

It is proposed that college second-language students can increase understanding of the nature of fiction and film in a carefully planned upper-level course combining genres. One Spanish teacher's experience illustrates that this improves students' appreciation of Hispanic values, specific literary and cinematographic techniques, and use of…

Evaluates the first stage of "Lernpunkt Deutsch," a new three-stage German course designed for upper elementary and early secondary school. Describes the publisher's package of materials and the appropriateness of the course, utility of the different package elements, format of the materials, and assesses whether the course provides pedagogically…

A collection of six essays focuses on second language instruction for adult learners. In "Modern Languages and the Adult Student" (David Smith), the motivations of adults taking evening classes are examined and the ways in which language teachers need to adjust to this population are discussed. "Language Learning Theories and Their Implications…

Many teachers feel that the primary goal of language education is the development of communicative rather than linguistic competence. This shift in focus has affected syllabus design. However, no single syllabus appears satisfactory by itself. The grammatical syllabus is effective to instill in learners automatic production of accurate structural…

This course guide aids university professors in doing research to develop a course in scientific and technical French. The course is intended to aid students in developing communicative skills in French in the context of science and technology. The course introduces students to the culture of France as well as to its industrial and technological…

A study of the verbs used in the management sections of nursing texts looked at the use of verbs as lexical items and grammatical forms and at their form-function relationship. The analysis of verbs as lexical items attempted to establish whether or not there was a common core vocabulary among the four texts studied. The examination of verbs as…

A college course in commercial Spanish is described. The course objectives are to: build a solid foundation of business and professional vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and punctuation; prepare for oral and written communication with commonly-used Spanish business phrases and terminology; expose students to the different types of written…

Introduces courseware authoring systems, which are defined as software devised for an instructional environment that simplifies courseware development. The process of courseware authoring consists of two basic elements--computer and lesson--which are further subdivided. The use of authoring systems to simplify each of these subcomponents is…

The unique technical writing needs of the nonnative professional are identified, and their implications for course design and materials development are outlined. It is argued that recent research on the dynamics of reading technical English can be used to improve technical writing instruction for nonnatives in industry. (MSE)

Offers a model which can be used to describe any given second language teaching method, as well as analyze different methods for their internal adequacy, similarities, and differences. (EKN)

Discusses a program outline for French language instruction covering the first four years of study and five levels. The GLAFLL program (Graded Levels of Achievement in Foreign Language Learning), under study at the Education Center of Edinburgh, is based on the communicative competence approach and stresses student participation. (MES)

This discussion of second language instruction through subject-area content reviews trends and literature in the field. Content-based language instruction is defined and distinguished from other forms of language instruction. Three major types of college-level content-based language instruction are described: sheltered instruction, taught by a…

Two types of feedback are examined, and their use in controlling the processes of instructional development and improvement are discussed. Closed-loop feedback, the most direct, uses immediate feedback about a process or product to make immediate adjustments in it. Open-loop feedback, in which input cannot be changed immediately, uses feedback to…

The University of Rhode Island's business Italian course is an advanced language course whose focus is the Italian business world and its reflection of values, customs, and traditions. The course begins with presentations on salient features of contemporary Italian, such as syntactical simplification and nominalization, and how the social,…