We study the benefits of junior kindergarten for linguistic-minority 4-year-olds compared to their linguistic-majority classmates from the same low-income neighborhoods. At the end of the school year, linguistic-minority children made significantly greater improvements in language skills than their host society classmates. At the mid-year point,…

New York's state standards for student achievement in second language learning, for languages other than English, are outlined in the areas of both communication skills and cultural awareness, at three proficiency levels. The first standard is that "students will be able to use a language other than English for communication." The second…

This handbook on elementary-secondary foreign language education goals and objectives serves as a framework on which a comprehensive curriculum for Michigan schools can be built. It includes a discussion of the most significant components of current foreign language methodology and is designed to assist local school districts in goal setting and…

This paper presents findings from a state-sponsored study of the adult education needs of limited-English-proficient (LEP) adults in California. The findings relate primarily to the situation of the over 2.3-million Spanish-speaking LEP adults, and within this population, to Mexican immigrants. Data were gathered in household surveys in three…

This collection of papers on bilingual education, presented at the previous two NABE annual conferences, focuses on special programs, gifted and talented education, special education, and innovative teaching approaches. Articles include: "Writing Instruction for Limited English Proficient Students: A Survey of Teachers' Perceptions" (Laurie R.…

A collection of essays on first and second language proficiency from the fields of psychology and linguistics includes the following: "Modeling and Assessing Language Proficiency" (John H. A. L. de Jong, Ludo Verhoeven); "The Construct of Grammar in Early Language Development" (Folkert Kuiken); "Dimensions in Grammatical Proficiency" (Wim H. J.…

A collection of nine papers from the fourth part of the conference on the applications of foreign language and international studies to business addresses the issue of program and instructional design. The papers include: "Program Design, Lesson Planning and Strategies for Foreign Language Business Courses: An Overview" (Ronald Cere),…

Workshops on proficiency testing attended by foreign language faculty at the University of South Carolina provided the starting point for extradepartmental involvement in proficiency testing. As a result of funding requirements and a cooperative arrangement between the foreign languages department and the Masters in International Business program…

Selected papers from a conference on language proficiency, policy, and language teacher professionalism include: "Proficiency in Perspective in the Foreign Language Classroom" (Sally Sieloff Magnan); "Teaching Foreign Languages: Policy and the Federal Role" (Paul Simon); "Proficiency in the 'Real World' of the Professional…

The Workplace Skills Enhancement Project was provided by the Seattle-King County Private Industry Council in Partnership with the Employment Opportunities Center and the Refugee Federation Service Center. Of the 150 participants in the program, 137 were Asian. Workplace literacy training was generally advertised as a voluntary program available to…

The report summarizes findings of a pilot study of 1985 graduates of bilingual high school programs at the University of Ottawa and Carleton, Queen's, and McGill Universities. Data on French language proficiency, attitudes toward the French language, and current patterns of French use at the universities are compared for early and late immersion…

A functional approach to language teaching begins with knowing how students intend to use the foreign language for specific purposes and in specific situations. Instructors of medical Spanish can begin by determining the specific language functions that their students must be able to express when communicating with Hispanic patients, by means of a…

In its first year under Title VII funding, Project BRIDGES (Bilingual Resource Instruction for the Development of Gainful Employment Skills) provided instructional and support services to 346 limited-English-speaking students in three Brooklyn (New York) high schools (South Shore, Sheepshead Bay, Franklin D. Roosevelt). The project's aim was to…

This book presents the results of a study entitled "What Counselors, Educators, Psychologists and Others Should Know About the Hispanic Culture in Order to Work More Effectively with Hispanic Students and Their Parents" funded by the California Department of Education in 1982-83. Approximately 500 people (Hispanics and Non-Hispanics) from 19…

Selected papers from the 1985 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages include: "Research in Creativity and Its Application in the Classroom"; "Teaching Language Through Comprehension"; "The Testing of Proficiency in Listening Comprehension: Guidelines for Teaching"; "Who Should Be Asking…