Defining course objectives and testing these objectives are inseparable components of the education process. The development of a model using eleven language functions as the basis for testing communication in a second language is described. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Suggests that consensus is the result of intellectual inquiry among scholars for some common purpose. External and internal forces impel the academic community to move beyond argumentation about what students should be able to achieve as they progress. Legislatures and boards of regents are exercising increasing oversight over public and private…

Two projects of the Ecole Normale Superieure de Saint-Cloud (CREDIF) are described and critically analyzed in this paper: the definition of a threshold level, "Niveau-seuil," in French and a learning module, "Looking for Work," intended to teach necessary written French to migrant workers. The threshold level section is a…

This document on the threshold level in French is the result of a project commissioned by the Council of Europe to produce a system of units in foreign language instruction for adults in Europe. The "threshold level" is conceived as the compilation of knowledge and skills a person would need in order to express oneself simply but…

The greatest need of language teachers today is a workable approach to teaching vocabulary. This is essential if students are to be enabled to achieve communicative competence, that is, to make a transfer from the textbook to the real world of French, as reflected in the French media. An effective and comprehensive approach to teaching vocabulary…

Learning to swim and learning a foreign language are analagous activities, in that both are skills learned for different reasons. Few foreign language students will attain "near-native fluency;" nor will many of them become interpreters or teachers. Foreign language teachers must therefore revise priorities, restructure courses, adjust methods,…