Suggests that an institution's use of a critical mass of full-time, tenured and tenured-track faculty members provides a measure for judging the quality of undergraduate education. Presents a table that gives the average percentages of undergraduate course sections taught by full- and part-time instructors in different types of English and foreign…

Suggests that support from the institution receiving a foreign language program grant is essential to the program's life and longevity and that institutions should be encouraged by the funding agencies to meet their expressed, supportive commitments. Suggestions are given on how to make a grant-funded curricular project work. (GLR)

A one-semester course in Schwyzertutsch is described. The Swiss German dialect is taught as the twenty-sixth language in the noncredit extension service of the University of Queensland. (LB)

Describes the development of a project designed to build a positive role for peer observation in a language program, reports the reactions of the participants, and gives guidelines for the use of peer observation in a language program. (seven references) (GLR)

Integration of Francophone culture into the language curriculum rests on a suggested three-step approach, involving extensive student research. Goals are (1) recognition of the geography of French-speaking regions; (2) sensitivity to cultural components (e.g., music, art); and (3) familiarity with at least one significant political, historical,…

The popularity of French second language instruction, the rebirth of bilingual education, and efforts to establish links with French industry locating in Eastern Europe offer an example to France. It is clear that Eastern Europe views bilingualism as a means of revitalizing the region's role in the European community. (MSE)

Argues for the inclusion of courses in phonetics and phonology in college Italian programs, claiming that the myth of Italian as a phonetic language blurs the clear need for such training and that students actually require advanced coursework in phonetics and phonology to improve their articulation and pronunciation. (43 references) (Author/CB)

The push for the English-only literacy approach sends the wrong message to language-minority families. The Arlington (Virginia) Public Schools have established first-language pilot programs to accelerate Latino students' academic achievement and have welcomed community-based educational initiatives. A family-literacy program motivates parents to…

Discusses the United States' significant need for communicative competence in other languages and relevant problems with the higher education system. Addresses the lack of student interest, structural problems, the foreign language mission, institutional challenges and strategies, inter-institutional collaboration, and technology. (EV)

Describes a survey of staffing patterns in modern languages at the college level for the 1996-97 academic year. Questionnaires were sent to 154 foreign language departments in a stratified sample chosen from among departments participating in at least one Association of Department of Foreign Languages (ADFL) summer seminar during the 1992-96…

This paper highlights the problem of falling recruitment to foreign language (FL) degrees in higher education (HE), outlining some of the recent changes in secondary FL education which have contributed in part to this situation. It draws attention to the lack of research into the impact that the fall in numbers of students taking a foreign…

In an effort to support the development of higher levels of foreign language proficiency among our nation's students, researchers have examined the effectiveness of foreign language programs based on the amount of time students receive instruction, the age at which instruction begins, and the course schedule utilized. This Information Capsule…

One of the major challenges in second and foreign language education, is to create links between formal and informal learning environments. Mobile City and Language Guides present examples of theoretical and practical reflections on such links. This paper presents and discusses the first considerations of Mobile City and Language Guides in…

Foreign-language experts are praising the Department of Education for taking a larger role in promoting the teaching of other languages as part of a proposed Bush administration initiative to bolster national security and the economy. The departments of Defense and State have headed up efforts to increase the teaching of much-needed foreign…

This paper reports on the processes experienced in the development of a language programme in a high school in the western suburbs of Sydney in 2006 and represents the ideas and views of the two key participants. We consider the different perspectives held by the key participants on the project and how these need to be worked through in order to…