Contemporary foreign language (FL) materials are examined to determine whether they reflect the current thinking and rhetoric in the profession. An attempt is made to analyze trends in production and application of materials. Six journals from 1972-74 and programs for several annual FL teachers' meetings were grouped according to topics to summarize current trends in the profession. The foreign language materials are then examined in terms of these trends, which include: performance/competency-based education, affective operations of the learner, individualization and personalization of instruction, vocational and career education, humanization of education, application of poststructural linguistic notions, teacher-made materials, communicative competence, and course length. Publishers of print materials are reacting in a positive manner to trends involving individualized instruction, performance objectives, commercial testing, the teaching of the target culture, and short courses with varied topics. Over the most common type of mixed-media material is print plus audio materials. Use of the cassette recorder and slides and filmstrips has increased since they are logical companions to more student-centered, heterogenous classrooms. Most current film and filmstrip materials depict realistic situations in the daily lives of the target culture. Use has been made of live radio and television broadcasts in foreign language classrooms. Protective packaging is a feature of audio cassette tapes, video tape cassettes, and carousel or cube dispensers of slides. Consequently, these instructional formats can be used in the classroom with a minimum of "set-up" activities and a decrease in the number of ways in which the product can be injured. (SW)