Presents an overview of the President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies and the MLA/ACLS Task Force reports. The annual report of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language includes: its organization, publications; annual meeting and preconference workshops, and projects. (EJS)

This article describes a course designed to develop oral skills in English as a second language. A video-taped movie is shown without its sound track; the students then analyze, discuss, and ultimately dub in the film in the target language. (CFM)

Suggests the use of jokes in the English as a second language class to promote oral fluency, awareness of sociolinguistic rules, and understanding of certain values in American culture. (CFM)

Presents some of the factors responsible for increased foreign language enrollments at one university. (AM)

Discusses the importance of learning about Asian languages and cultures, and suggests ways in which colleges and universities can introduce these languages. (AM)

Skills and attitudes needed by language teachers, characteristics of a well-designed curriculum, and other aspects of teaching and learning in foreign language and second language programs are outlined. (SW)

This paper suggests how to restructure presentations and activities concerning the often vague and confusing topic of the theoretical underpinnings of learning a foreign language. (Author/NCR)

Discusses materials developed in a class of 11-year-old children beginning English at a German high school. The materials are not based on artificial situations, but on real situations in the students' own classroom. (CFM)

Discusses a course intended to: (1) foster a two-way interaction and commitment between the university and the hispanic community; (2) acquaint students with the local resources for using Spanish and with local manifestations of Hispanic culture patterns; and (3) experiment with team teaching. (Author/NCR)

Describes a French diction and oral communication course conducted at Franklin and Marshall College. Originally envisioned as a "necessary evil" to train students to write and deliver seminar papers, the course unexpectedly appealed to students as a practical experience while developing increased student interest in French language and literature.…

Describes organization of a one-semester oral/aural skills course which was oriented around the commercially available tape of 25-episode serialized suspense story. The appendix lists examples of support materials that were coordinated with the stories episodes to provide aural, oral, visual, and written reinforcement. (EJS)

A discussion of Chinese instruction in a Bordeaux lycee. Specific questions addressed are: enrollment; reasons for studying Chinese; the study of the written and spoken language; the need for an appropriate textbook; teaching culture; and the need to organize Chinese as a regular course in the curriculum. (AMH)

Surveys of college students have been conducted to determine their needs for foreign language study. Students desired career-oriented foreign language programs that meet their professional needs. As a result of the surveys, the University of Houston will offer language courses in German oriented to hotel majors, business majors and opera singers.…

Testing of a second-language phonological acquisition model with four beginning learners of Spanish supported the claim that transfer processes decrease over time while developmental processes increase and then decrease. Analysis also revealed a hierarchical organization of processes in second-language acquisition and an interaction of the native…

Presents guidelines for making individual cassette recordings for student homework from tape masters accompanying foreign language texts. Strategies for using and supplementing curricular material are also discussed. (LMO)