Communicative competence is often characterized as an integrated control of language reflected in the speaker's ability to understand and use language appropriately for communication in various situations. The theoretical basis for the communicative competence construct is the anthropological, sociolinguistc, and pragmatic view of language.…

Despite the diversity in syllabus design and teaching methodologies for English as a second language, and for second language instruction in general, communicative proficiency is the underlying common goal. Some of the most influential ideas supporting this trend come from the fields of sociolinguistics, second language acquisition, and second…

Limited-English-proficient (LEP) students who are not sufficiently proficient in English to participate effectively in an English-speaking instructional environment must be identified for placement in an appropriate educational program. Their progress through an instructional program that is designed to improve their acquisition of English…

This paper commends qualitative assessment as a significant alternative to standardized testing to determine language proficiency, placement, and instruction for ethnic first and second language adult learners in postsecondary education. Standardized tests and traditional language curriculum and methodology are rigid in instructional scope and…

First year planning and implementation of the Portland (Oregon) Partial Immersion Program in Spanish--an elementary magnet program providing a total language experience in a multi-cultural setting--were assessed. The program uses both Spanish and English to instruct students; half of the instructional day is conducted in each language. The…

The paper, originally given at a 1986 Ethnic and Multicultural Symposium, reports on the development and use of a screening instrument for use with language minority students. The literature on disproportionate representation of racial and language minorities in special education and the assessment of limited English proficient students is…

The observations of educators and educational research have shown that academic outcomes for minority groups exposed to the same educational programs are different. The phenomenon does not seem to be due to superior intelligence, social class, or length of time in the country. Documented since the mid-1960s, this should be taken into account when…

The American Association of Teachers of French has proposed professional standards of competence for French teachers based on three principles: (1) teacher development is a continuum beginning in graduate study and extending throughout the professional career; (2) accreditation and evaluation of teacher education programs should take into account…

A new approach taken to teach English to visiting West German teenagers in an immersion course in England emphasizes language use for fluency. Although the syllabus is designed to provide practice in all four language skills, it focuses on integrating the four skills, increasing productive skills, sensitizing the students to the value of paired…

The study has two main components: a descriptive study of the secondary French program (SFSL) in a large school district in the Vancouver, British Columbia metropolitan area, and a followup study of grade nine students who had been surveyed initially when they were in grade six of the elementary French program (EFSL). The followup study examined…

In the hospitality industry there are three major needs for study of a foreign language: (1) the need to communicate with non-English speaking employees, (2) the need to assist foreign travelers; and (3) the need to work in a non-English speaking country. The strength of the need to know a foreign language depends on the employee's level within…

In 1982-83, a study was conducted of Hmong communities in seven cities or regions across the United States. The study sought to describe general characteristics of the communities, to identify programs which serve the Hmong, and to assess how this group is doing in terms of employment, welfare dependency, the learning of English, and education.…

Employment statistics of Mexican-American, Cuban-American, and Puerto Rican men and women are compared with each other and with blacks and whites. Facts and figures are provided for geographic distribution, labor force participation (employed or seeking a job), type of occupation (blue-collar or white-collar), and income. Barriers to employment…

Three developments in the field of foreign language education seem to have particularly great potential for foreign language teaching and learning in the 1990s: (1) proficiency; (2) technology; and (3) authenticity (PTA). The first of these developments involves the language proficiency movement's debate over the establishment of a common metric…

A discussion of the connections between mathematics, language, and second language acquisition focuses on four major areas: (1) the nature of mathematical performance, (2) the language of mathematics, (3) problems that mathematics poses for limited-English-proficient (LEP) children learning English as a second language, and (4) mathematics as a…