A Scottish study of foreign/second language instruction for vocational purposes focused on teaching methods, skill assessment methods, and teacher and student perceptions of the effectiveness of different instructional approaches. Nine case studies of second language programs (French, German, Japanese, and Spanish) were conducted. Programs…

The Houston Community College (Texas) program (TOTAL ACCESS) designed in response to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, is described and evaluated. The program offers classes to eligible aliens (97% Hispanic Americans from Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala) wishing to pursue the educational program required for legalization. Program…

English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction is a critical service provided by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). ILEA operates 19 adult education institutions serving 275,000 part-time students in a 12-borough area where 131 different languages are spoken. To provide immigrant adults for whom English is a second language with the…

This document is the result of a national Mainstream English Language Training workgroup. Guidelines and suggestions are presented, in five chapters, for English Language Training (ELT) programs. Chapter one deals with the scope and design of particular ELT programs, taking into account the clients to be served, the needs of the service locale,…

Official instructional materials for the second three years (grades 7-9) of the Manitoba Department of Education's core French language program are presented. These materials, intended for teachers, consist of units of instruction for each year, which contain notes for the teacher, suggestions for class activities, materials for student use, and…

THE SIX REPORTS OF THE WORKING COMMITTEES OF THE 1958 NORTHEAST CONFERENCE ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES EMPHASIZE, FROM THE TEACHER'S POINT OF VIEW, VARIOUS PROBLEMS CONFRONTING THE PROFESSION. THE REPORT PREPARED BY MARGARET E. EATON AND HER COMMITTEE ON CONTINUITY IN THE LANGUAGE CURRICULUM, GRADES 3 TO 12, RECOMMENDS A STUDY TIME…

Drawing on recent psychological and neurological research on how individual differences might interact with learning a particular language, the study examines how psycholinguistic research and theory can help in assigning military personnel to language training and to a given language. Using the Defense Language Institute's Defense Language…

A collection of essays on FLES (foreign languages in the elementary school) includes: "Public Education in America and the Implications of Foreign Language and Second Language Acquisition" (Peter Negroni); "The People Factor in the Glastonbury Public Schools" (Christine Brown); "Public Relations: Inside and Outside"…

A 1996-97 national survey of elementary and secondary schools investigated current patterns and shifts in foreign language enrollment, languages and programs offered, teaching methodologies, teacher qualifications and training, and reactions to national reform issues. An introductory section of the survey report offers background information on…

This unit was created as a result of a summer institute sponsored by the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. The Center's goal is to improve student learning of foreign languages in kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12). To this end, the Center provides professional support for foreign language…

"The Achiever" is a monthly newsletter designed expressly for parents and community leaders. Each issue contains news and information about school improvement in the United States. The highlights of this issue include: (1) Report Finds U.S. Higher Education in Need of Change; (2) Meeting a Critical Need: Foreign Languages, Academic Rigor…

This curriculum module contains materials for conducting a course designed to build oral and written English skills for nonnative speakers. The course focuses on increasing vocabulary, improving listening/speaking skills, extracting information from various written texts (such as memos, notes, business forms, manuals, letters), and developing…

The Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools foreign language program for K-12 is described and evaluated. The evaluation report focuses on six areas, including: (1) school district mission and philosophy of foreign language instruction; (2) context (state policies and standards, foreign language program overview and enrollment, fiber-optic communication…

This study investigated the status of instruction in cultures and languages other than English in Queensland, Australia in preparation for development of comprehensive and coherent public policies for the field. The report addresses the following topics: the policy development process (project background and the nature of language education…

California's framework for second language education describes the state's requirements for development of effective foreign language instruction in the public schools. Chapters address these topics: (1) the economic, civic, and cultural benefits of a foreign language program; (2) characteristics of an effective program, including…