Foreign language (FL) needs is a new interdisciplinary area of research developing between applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, and educational planning and evaluation. FL needs consist of the demands, wishes, and expectations of the whole society, its groups and individuals, reflecting the relationship of their contemporary and future existence…

The University of Malaya Spoken English Project (UMSEP), a cooperative effort undertaken by the University of Malaya and the British Council, is described. The purpose of the project is to design and develop oral English courses for final-year university students and recent graduates needing English skills for careers in business, public…

A guide designed to help local curriculum planners develop and implement curriculums to provide all students with equal access to foreign languages provides an overview of current philosophies, objectives, methods, materials, and equipment and a guide to sequential program development, articulation, and evaluation. An introductory section…

Focusing on educational reform in China, this paper suggests policies that will lead to the optimal diffusion of educational innovations so as to enhance China's modernization efforts. The intention is to identify a theory of knowledge about the types of educational policies likely to be most beneficial in helping China achieve its educational…

During the period 1984-1986, over 30 teachers from the Yorkshire (England) region have worked in collaboration with the Children's Learning in Science Project (CLIS) developing and testing teaching schemes in the areas of energy, particle theory, and plant nutrition. The project is based upon the constructivist approach to teaching. The purpose of…

This module is one in a series of 127 performance-based teacher education (PBTE) learning packages focusing upon specific professional competencies of vocational teachers. The competencies upon which these modules are based were identified and verified through research as being important to successful vocational teaching at both the secondary and…

Written for deans in colleges and universities of all sizes and types, this book examines a number of management issues and provides advice on recognizing and solving problems that face academic administrators who have several departments or divisions under their jurisdiction. The book is divided into ten chapters: (1) The Perfect Dean; (2)…

To examine the contributions and procedures of regional educational laboratories, the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) compiled a history of its own development and compared its approaches in several critical areas to those of seven other regional laboratories. A section on the purpose and development of the laboratories provides…

This is Volume II of a two-volume final report of a study on the exchange and use of knowledge for school improvement in three paired educational systems in Boston, Massachusetts. The pairings, which involved the collaboration of a college/university with one or more of the Boston public schools in carrying out school improvement programs, were…

Seventy postsecondary programs that use one or more telecommunications technologies to serve learners are described, and current patterns and trends, and projections about future problems and possibilities, are discussed. The purpose of the guide is to encourage educators to focus attention on the educational problem before considering which, if…

The papers in this issue of "Studies in Language Learning" deal with various aspects of the recommendations of the "Report of the President's Commission on Foreign Languages and International Studies." They discuss how these recommendations could be made specific in schools, colleges, and among the citizenry. The following…

The following articles and features are presented in this issue: (1) "Approaches to Text," by R. Gannon; (2) "A Case Study in Dealing with Cultural Reserve as an Impediment to Language Learning," by R. Harker; (3) "Student-Centered Chalkboard Activities for Beginning Learners," by W. Matreyek; (4) "Introducing Dialects in the ESL Class," by M.…

The study focused on the Environmental Protection Agency's Black Creek Watershed project in Northeastern Indiana in relation to the farmers attitudes toward environmental innovations, as well as their continued use of such innovations 2.5 years after the project's completion. Data were gathered by 89 interviews at the beginning of the project…

The culture in a female-managed residential college that focused on communication studies was examined. The college, which was opended in 1981, is a unique living unit under the supervision of a head and associate master, in which 107 students live in a collection of suites representing the academic disciplines of journalism,…

Compiled are 61 abstracts of master's theses in environmental education and communications. Three of the these were completed in 1978, 24 in 1977, 15 in 1976, and the remaining 19, prior to 1976. Abstracts are organized into six categories; (1) site analysis: descriptions and development plans for areas to be used for environmental education; (2)…