An analysis of the lexical content of four recently published textbooks for college-level introductory German is presented. The study investigated the extent to which the materials prepare students for the intermediate level, as cited in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' (ACTFL's) proficiency guidelines. The lexical items…

Class activities for developing Spanish proficiency in third- and fourth-year high school students and first- and second-year college students are presented. Activities include a discussion of teaching for proficiency, drawing on recent research, and notes on the design and intent of the activities. Sample exercises for listening comprehension…

This paper isolates and examines separately three distinct sources of error in essay scores: lack of agreement between raters; inconsistencies in performance within mode of discourse, and inconsistencies in performance between modes of discourse. Essay prompts in the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) Writing Supplement were designed to assess…

A study examined the occupational differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. The study focused on the determinants of Hispanic occupational achievement; differences in the process of occupational achievement among different Hispanic ethnic subgroups; variations in the process of occupational achievement across geographic areas; and…

A study of the interrelationships of linguistic and communicative competence in English and Spanish, self-concept, field-independent cognitive style, and scholastic achievement among Mexican-American pupils at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels found that linguistic and communicative competence were highly related within…

This master list describes the competencies that a bilingual education teacher should demonstrate in order to teach reading and language arts in Spanish. These competencies are divided into 12 areas: (1) commitment to the philosophy and principles of bilingual-bicultural education, of which Spanish reading and language arts are a necessary…

Assessment of the Spanish-speaking bilingual child's language dominance is essential to bilingual education, but to date there is no universally accepted way of doing this. There are many tests on the market which purport to measure language dominance and achievement, and which involve various criteria and methods. This paper describes four tests,…

Two considerations are brought to bear on the reading approach presented here. First, because the major focus in a teaching method designed for use with bilingual education students is to increase both language facility and reading ability, the approach is designed to provide the student with the opportunity to read, use, and listen to a standard…

The leadership of the foreign language education profession convened to discuss the major issues for that profession in the 1980s. Several papers each were devoted to the following subjects: (1) curriculum and materials, (2) global education, (3) evaluation, (4) research, and (5) teacher education. Brief reaction papers for each subject are…

This report describes the results of the Massachusetts study of foreign languages, part of the second phase of the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program. The assessment was conducted using a random sample of students from all over the state during one year of testing. The report is presented in five sections: (1) background of the study;…

This paper investigates the influence childhood bilingualism has on adult foreign language learning ability. Early research exploring the influence of bilingualism on general intelligence is mentioned as well as recent studies that present more favorable results. It is hypothesized that childhood bilingualism will have a positive effect on adult…

Immigrant education and Language Shelter programs for Finnish speakers living in Sweden are discussed in answer to Cora Brent-Palmer's criticism that a middle class bias exists in the Swedish educational system. She claims that the system operates against the academic opportunities and employment success of Finnish immigrants. However, it is…

This instructor's handbook of ten listening comprehension exercises, each consisting of 30 unrelated paragraphs, is part of the basic course in Indonesian. Beginning with the 36th week of instruction, the exercises are introduced at the rate of one per week. After hearing each paragraph, listeners have 10 seconds to indicate which of four English…

A report is presented of an evaluation study that was set up to monitor the effects of a bilingual program on students' progress in all subject areas, its effects on student attitudes towards the French language and culture, and the patterns of language usage in the bilingual classroom. The sample for the study consisted of three groups: a…

THE INTRODUCTORY REMARKS IN THIS EVALUATION OF THE FIRST NDEA INSTITUTE FOR TRAINERS OF LANGUAGE TEACHERS SUGGEST THAT THE INSTITUTE ENJOYED MUCH SUCCESS, LARGELY BECAUSE OF THE TREATMENT OF THE PARTICIPANTS AS COLLEAGUES AND THEIR CLOSE COOPERATION. SECTIONS ONE THROUGH EIGHT OF THE REPORT COVER VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE INSTITUTE'S ORGANIZATION,…