Activities designed for a fourth-year college German class involving role-playing and simulation of either real or realistic situations are described and explained. The situations are developed in genuine communicative settings encouraging dynamic exchange of ideas and opinions. Examples of simulations presented include a United Nations Security…

Many intensive advanced English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes become boring for advanced ESL learners because the courses offer little opportunity for them to experience the interplay between language proficiency and background knowledge. The implementation of a sourcebook project can provide a renewing input into the curriculum for advanced…

The paper describes activities incorporating literature, music, and cultural material that are used with foreign language majors at National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan) and makes suggestions for their use in the pronunciation class. Even at advanced levels, Asian students of English as a second language (ESL) have difficulty with English…

Ways to enhance learning by both at-risk and underachieving students in upper-level accounting courses were studied at Morehead State University (Kentucky), based on the concepts of metacognition, self-regulated learning, and self-efficacy. It was hypothesized that students experience self-regulated learning when they reproduce problem solutions…

In response to an enrollment increase of 666,961 students over the past 10 years, Texas public schools have increased in both number and size. The number of Texas high schools with over 2,000 students increased by 35 percent from 1987-88 to 1997-98, and these very large schools now make up 14 percent of all regular instructional high schools.…

Montgomery County High School in Mount Vernon (Georgia) revised the U.S. history course as an initial step in making provisions for gifted and talented students. The curriculum and evaluation process are described. The course helps address concerns about underprivileged students and middle-class youth who may require more challenge. (SLD)

This article examines the role of friends in girls' and boys' advanced course taking and explores whether friends' characteristics are particularly important for girls' math and science attainment. With the use of data from Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Heath, the results indicate that…

A review of the literature indicates that, compared to larger, urban schools, small, rural secondary schools have limited course offerings in mathematics and science; the review also indicates, however, that the achievement of students in small, rural schools is equivalent to or even higher than, that of students in larger, urban schools. Such an…

The second volume on reading authentic Polish is the continuation of a supplementary textbook to be used either in the classroom or in independent study. The materials included in it are unaltered authentic texts from Polish newspapers, magazines, and other mass media that provide exposure to the context and format of everyday reading matter. The…

A study investigated patterns in the apparent syntactic errors of native English-speaking, upper-level learners of Arabic as a foreign language. One hundred writing samples, including summaries, criticisms, and free composition, were gathered from a number of university courses. Error types analyzed included articles, subordinate clauses, two-word…

This paper examines the degree to which high-school course offerings are unequally distributed across schools, paying attention to relationships between school size and the incidence of new course titles in various curriculum areas. The inquiry is based on the presumption that economies of scale play a role in educational opportunity. The study is…

Papers presented at a conference on the use of simultaneous, consecutive, and other forms of interpreting as features of foreign language teaching and learning in British higher education include the following: "Liaison Interpreting as a Communicative Language-Learning Exercise" (H. A. Keith); "Interpreting and Communicating:…

A curriculum designed for secondary school fourth-year language students focuses on the human life cycle in the Hispanic cultural context. Four lessons cover the following topics: (1) Hispanic values; (2) the roles of women and men in Hispanic society; (3) customs related to dating, love, marriage, and divorce; and (4) treatment of death. Each…

A frequently used method of measuring teaching effectiveness is the anonymous student rating of the instructor at the end of a grading period. The validity of these ratings for faculty personnel decisions has been a source of controversy. The purposes of this study were to examine the differences in teaching effectiveness between selected courses;…

Leadership to reverse rigid tracking practices can make a difference for student success. Through transformational leadership, administrators, teachers, and counselors can serve as catalysts for change from restrictive to inclusive advanced high school classes. Steps are underway by some states and districts to change past grouping practices that…