This guide is intended for vocational educators developing the vocational English as a second language (VESL) component of a course in data entry. The introductory section examines assumptions about second language learning and instruction and VESL classes, local adaptations of the curriculum, and sample VESL lessons. The chapter on language…

Summaries of classroom research studies conducted in Finland on the development of educational aims are presented. Papers in this document deal with: (1) an overview of the purposes of the research project; (2) cognitive processes in classroom verbal interaction; (3) taxonomy of physical education; (4) objectives of religious education; (5)…

Factors that might influence the acquisition of biliteracy were studied in four schools in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area (an Armenian-English school, a Greek-English school, a Hebrew-English school, and a French-English school). This report, the first of two parts, was written after 2 years of study in which the second year was spent both…

This document contains working papers prepared for a seminar on Adaptation and Integration of Permanent Immigrants, along with general and specific recommendations formulated by seminar participants. Conclusions and recommendations from each paper are presented in English, French, and Spanish; the conference papers themselves are presented only in…

This study compares the performances of 16 advanced and 19 beginning English language learners on a listening comprehension task that focused on linguistic and pragmatic processing. Processing pragmatic meaning differs from processing linguistic meaning because pragmatic meaning requires the listener to understand not only linguistic information,…

A transcript is provided of a radio program broadcast February 24, 1978, on the state of foreign language education. The participants in the discussion were leaders in the field, teachers and students from many parts of the United States and from all educational levels. The subjects covered are: some problems facing foreign language programs; the…

Situational Reinforcement, a teaching methodology developed out of the cognitive-field theory of learning, is described. It combines many techniques and methods developed over the years. This discussion of it considers common learning problems: (1) boredom, apathy and passivity on the part of the student, (2) the teacher's preoccupation with…

These guidelines were developed to assist teacher training institutions in setting up competency-based programs, as mandated by New York State law, for the training of foreign language teachers. The guidelines define basic competencies in the following areas: practical command of the language, language analysis, culture, the teaching-learning…

This is an introductory text for the Swazi language, siSwati. Spoken by nearly a half million people in Swaziland, siSwati is one of the Nguni languages of the southeastern branch of the Bantu languages. Each of the 25 lessons in this text covers one or more basic grammatical structures. The first five lessons present the sound system in detail,…

The fact that a relatively large segment of the secondary school population chooses to learn a second language, for reasons other than entrance requirements, has implications for foreign language curriculum planners. As part of an initial step in planning new syllabi, the Curriculum Advisory Committee of the New York State Education Department…

The perennial problem of articulation of foreign language programs between the high schools and the colleges is readdressed in this paper. Six factors are identified as primary in contributing to the problem: (1) instruction is paced too fast, thus encouraging superficial learning and creating a disparity of coverage practices among the many…

This article describes the evolution of a confluent language program, which provides simultaneous processes for successful language learning, self awareness, self appreciation, and interpersonal communication. The confluent language curriculum design has been successfully implemented in language classes throughout the United States and in some…

This guide was developed to assist schools in the process of self-evaluation of their foreign language programs in grades seven through twelve. The principal focus is on the teaching and learning process, with an emphasis on the quality of the curriculum, the training, experience and effectiveness of the instructional staff, the quality of the…

Recent findings from the fields of brain research and speech perception suggest that non-verbal approaches may be helpful in pronunciation learning. The left side of the brain uses sequential information, such as verbal descriptions. The right side works in a more simultaneous manner, specializing in spatial relations and pitch perception, among…

This paper attempts to make a case for increased use of available technology, especially those aspects commonly designated as educational media, in the foreign language classroom. Several arguments are given to support this position. (1) Research has shown that sight is the dominant sense for most people; therefore, varied and integrated visual…