From many sources comes evidence of the United States's disadvantage in international relations, through ignorance of other cultures and languages. Problems include incompetence in foreign languages, with implications for national security; inadequate understanding of world affairs; declines in government-supported international exchange; and…

Presents results of research on the second-language proficiency of children participating in an experimental bilingual school, where children used mother tongue 75 percent the first year, 40 percent the second. Children attended neighborhood schools from the third year on. Supports the claim that mother tongue teaching does not harm…

Discusses results of research on the comprehension/production of oral and written language in a classroom. Suggests that effective school participation requires that students acquire various language skills for handling cognitive tasks and for interacting in classroom social situations. Describes a test to assess oral and written language…

Concludes that training in oral language skills may be critical to improving the reading performance of beginning readers. (FL)

Argues for a commitment to foreign language study and international understanding at the federal level. (AM)

Argues for an awareness on the part of employers and teachers of the important role language skills can play in industry. (AM)

The Middlebury Undergraduate German Language Program is described as a model for a Total Immersion Foreign Language Training program. German is the language of communication, both in and outside of the classroom. Lesson structure, materials and testing are described. (CHK)

Examines how Japanese learners of English transmit information in the target language. Results indicate that the amount of utterance and information did not necessarily correlate; speech patterns of the Japanese differed from those of native speakers; and the students possessed potential oral proficiency if given enough time. (26 references)…

Presents a validation study on the Hausa Speaking Test (HAST), a simulated oral proficiency interview. Addressed validity of the HaST through examination of the ratability on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale of elicited speech sample and an investigation of the nature of probes on the HaST through speaking…

Steps are outlined in the development of an academic language proficiency test in Spanish, to measure teacher candidates' language abilities necessary to conduct instruction in Spanish-English bilingual classrooms. Such tests must consider linguistic tasks that bilingual teachers generally perform and communicative skills in academic interaction.…

Suggests ways to help college English-as-a-Second-Language learners become readers and in turn develop language comprehension. These include bringing a variety of books into the classroom, allowing students to choose their own books, providing blocks of time for independent reading and group discussion, and freeing the environment of…

Discusses the development of the Adaptive Testing Linguistic Achievement Significance (ATLAS) test used to evaluate second language proficiency of Belgian civil servants. Notes that testers encountered various problems caused by the complexity of language, the difference in background of the candidates and the absence of official objective test…

Seven sophomores at risk for problems with learning a foreign language were taught using a multisensory structured language approach. Over two years, they made significant gains on native language phonological/orthographic measures and a foreign language aptitude test. Despite gains, the students did not catch up with typical students on these…

Examines growth of metropolitan Miami's Spanish-language economy and the economic and cultural advantages of a multilingual workforce. Discusses Hispanic and Latin American businesses, Spanish-language media, statewide and local Spanish instructional programs, Dade County census data on language use and educational attainment, a Miami business…

Discusses an objective small-scale research project involving preservice student teachers of English in Hong Kong. Argues that language proficiency assessment for teachers (LPAT) in Hong Kong is likely to exert a detrimental influence on the assessment of student writing by reinforcing traditional conceptions of language, grammar, and pedagogy.…