A self-instructional program in German for undergraduate students of engineering at Trinity College, Dublin, was developed based on a questionnaire of student needs, language experience, and preferred instructional methods. The course design and instructional materials for the program emphasized oral/aural skills; moreover, counseling and academic…

The acquisition of Irish as a second language in a four-year-old child of bilingual parents attending an Irish-language preschool group in Ireland is chronicled, with emphasis on the characteristic features of her language learning process and the factors determining which language she uses with others. The study was based on transcribed…

Foreign language (FL) needs is a new interdisciplinary area of research developing between applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, and educational planning and evaluation. FL needs consist of the demands, wishes, and expectations of the whole society, its groups and individuals, reflecting the relationship of their contemporary and future existence…

A dilemma arises in the attempt to establish procedures for valid assessment of academic learning. Measures of learning with high pedagogical validity often have poor psychometric properties. Conversely, tests that are well-constructed by psychometric standards may succeed in sorting and ordering students or schools, but have little pedagogical…

The language community of urban Hispanics in the United States and educational strategies that are appropriate for teaching English as a second language (ESL) in a bilingual/bidialectal language situation are considered. Within the New York City Hispanic community of Puerto Ricans, several varieties of English have been noted: standard English,…

The chapters in this collection were largely compiled from presentations at inservice teacher education mini-courses and workshops held at Boston University during 1977-1980. The following articles are included: (1) "Language Policies in American Education: A Historical Overview," by Maria Estela Brisk; (2) "Understanding the Role of Language in…

Curricula for interdisciplinary courses that enable second language classes to employ the arts are proposed. At the University of North Dakota, mini-courses provide one-semester credit and are given for 2 hours 1 day a week over a period of 8 weeks. Some of the courses are cross-listed with other departments. Two of these courses, Joan of Arc and…

A case study of the progress of Janice, a native Spanish speaking second grader learning English in a Florida public school, focuses on the classroom environment in which she was learning English, her writing development, her perceptions of writing in English and how they changed over time, and her struggles in the face of her teacher's and…

Drawing on and extending the work presented in a companion volume, "Schooling and Language Minority Students: A Theoretical Framework," five principles are presented that represent an integration of recent empirical research in bilingualism, bilingual education, and second language acquisition to help policymakers and educators meet the…

Designed to be integrated into a regular language arts curriculum in grades 1-3, the program begins with a review of the recent history of elementary second language programs in the United States and a discussion of the direction the movement might take in the 1980s. Research done on nonintensive, nonbilingual second language programs in the past…

A study of the role of classroom lessons in the acquisition of English as a second language by Spanish speakers that compared language acquisition at school and during the summer months is reported. An introductory chapter outlines fundamental assumptions about the loci and intentionality of second-language learning, and the second chapter…

This article describes a four-step programme designed to promote the use of cooperative learning among teachers at a Singapore primary school. In the initial step in the programme, teachers at the school were asked if they would like to participate in the programme. Six came forward. In the second step, an outside consultant did a brief workshop…

This paper defines bilingual education and notes that because of bilingual education's broad definition, a number of vastly different types of programs and program goals are being pursued. Four broad categories of bilingual education programs based on four different kinds of community and school objectives are discussed in this paper. Each of…

This document consists of two statements, one made by John Molina, Director of the Office of Bilingual Education, and the other by Elton W. Ridge, Project Manager of the Lau-Bilingual programs. The statement by Molina discusses the scope and the goals of ESEA Title VII programs and what has been accomplished. Statistics are presented on the number…

One of the trends in foreign language teaching today seems to be increased emphasis on the development of communicative competence and a new concern for the student as an individual. One technique for stimulating communication is the "rapid-fire question" technique, which involves building up to a speed of 150-200 questions in 50 minutes. This…