Discusses why most colleges have dropped a foreign language requirement and what should be done to reestablish and solidify the place of second language programs in a required curriculum. (EKN)

Puerto Rican students took the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), the Prueba de Aptitud Academica (PAA), and the Pruebas de Aprovechamiento Academico. The strength of the relationship between scores on the SAT given in English and the PAA given in Spanish increased as proficiency in English as a second language increased (Author/BW)

Reports on a survey of ACTFL members' opinions on proficiency goals and tests for foreign language learning. The survey, sponsored by ACTFL and conducted by Policy Studies for Education, polled 400 elementary and secondary school teachers and local/state coordinators, receiving responses from 35 percent of them. (Author/MES)

Ten 1975-80 surveys and studies of FLES programs reported: Americans approve of FLES programs; children profit from FLES programs which stress interpersonal communication skills; and children develop increased interest in academic programs. Positive correlation exists between practice and proficiency in second language acquisition. Different…

A requirement for all college professors to learn to speak a second language is advocated. Educators at a Wingspread Conference on International Education encouraged institutions to provide more travel and rewards for faculty to encourage them to become more competent in foreign languages. (MLW)

Children and adults were asked to place something "in front of" or "behind" a featured or nonfeatured object. Most subjects responded to the object's inherent features. A significant number of adults used the observer orientation cue. Children had more difficulty with the nonfeatured object but also used the observer…

Presents study conducted using high school Spanish students to demonstrate that either a cloze test or a redundancy test could be used in place of either the MLA total score or an interview test. (Author/BK)

Discusses and compares the relative effects of a French immersion program in two different settings: a French-speaking setting in Quebec and an English setting in British Columbia. No clear-cut differences in favor of either setting were found, although students in the French setting reacted more favorably to their program. (PJM)

Elaborates on cognitive/academic language proficiency and basic interpersonal communicative skills. Discusses assumptions regarding bilingual program exit and entry fallacies and implications for U.S. bilingual education. Argues that failure to adequately conceptualize the construes of language proficiency and its cross-language dimensions causes…

On tests of English proficiency, 55 Iranian students studying in the United States scored between levels achieved by Fourth- through seventh-grade native speakers. The subjects indicated that association with Americans and time spent in the United States rather than studying English in Iran contributed to their success in English. (PMJ)

Discusses contradictions in Federal educational policy regarding mainland v island Puerto Ricans. Reviews recent information on the educational status of Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics. Holds that the government has a legal obligation to develop a systematic bilingual education policy and to resolve the segregation of ethnic and language…

The relationship between interpretation and stylistics in translation criticism is discussed. In a four-level model for translation criticism, zero-level translations reflect no semiostylistic techniques; levels one and two demonstrate elementary and sophisticated linguistic-stylistic procedures; and the highest level translations reflect the…

Suggests that creating a second-language semantic network can be conceived as developing a plan for retrieving second-language word forms. Characteristics of linguistic performance which will promote fluency are discussed in light of the distinction between episodic and semantic memory. (AMH)

Offers a critical review of arguments for and against T-unit analysis in second language research. Maintains that T-unit length is a valid measure of syntactic complexity and a true index of overall development in second language acquisition. (PMJ)

An approach is presented for providing students with communication practice by relating course material to the common purposes of language use. A system for classifying communication activities is outlined in order to insure realistic, varied practice. Examples are provided in Spanish. (SW)