In addition to academic pressures shared with American students, students from other countries studying in the United States have the stress of living in an unfamiliar culture. Common symptoms of culture shock (irritability, loneliness, depression, rigidity) have been identified. Parallel symptoms have been described in the learned helplessness…

This study examines two kinds of French language tests originating from the Threshold-Level (T-Level) or Niveau-Seuil theory of language learning in the context of several linguistic and testing concepts: discrete-point testing with regard to notions and functions from T-Level theory, communicative context, and assessment of listening…

The College Board's recent report on academic preparation for college calls for foreign language proficiencies to be developed in secondary education. The needed proficiencies are outlined more specifically in a special booklet that also offers teachers practical suggestions for achieving them. The process of integrating language proficiency goals…

Based on results of a project undertaken in Finland over many years, this definition of transfer is offered: Transfer is both a facilitating and limiting factor which provides one basis for the learner to form and test hypotheses about the second language he or she is learning. Theory and research on transfer are discussed as they relate to item…

A study was undertaken to assess the French second language proficiency of kindergarten students in two intensive French programs and to assess the development of mother tongue skills of native English speakers in a third program. The three subject groups were as follows: (1) students in a full-day immersion program; (2) francization (half-day)…

The study of the spontaneous generation of a pidgin by two children, five and six years old, to accommodate their communication needs when neither had fully acquired his native language, is described. The children were an African native of a Swahili-speaking family and an American child living in the African village. The new language created was a…

The Language and International Trade Program instituted in 1978 at Eastern Michigan University enrolls three-fourths of the university's undergraduate and graduate foreign language and bilingual studies majors and has become the largest business language studies program in the United States. Important program components include an international…

The two most commonly used language proficiency tests offered in the United States by foreign countries' chambers of commerce are those of Spain and France. The Spanish test has been introduced recently and has no rigorous and uniform set of rules governing its administration at all centers. Issues arising from the administration of this exam…

An analysis of the objectives of modern language instruction expands on earlier work concerning the "Threshhold Level" of language learning. The first part outlines a model of language instructional objectives more complex and encompassing than those of the threshhold level and examines the nature and instructional incidence of each component of…

This document consists of two closely related papers given at the same conference session: "Oral Proficiency for Managers: A Design for Portuguese" (Maria Antonia Cowles), and "Oral Proficiency for Managers: A Design for German" (Doris Kirchner). These papers discuss program design and strategies for developing oral foreign…

A study investigated the degree to which first language ability was associated with successful English-as-a-second-language acquisition in 33 outstanding Indonesian teachers. It examined the applicability of theories of common underlying proficiency in the storage of two languages and the development of cognitive academic language proficiency. The…

The paper, originally given at a 1986 Ethnic and Multicultural Symposium, examines implications of research on assessment procedures for limited-English-proficient (LEP) handicapped students. The discussion includes a report on a longitudinal study to identify techniques that effectively distinguish between LEP students who are handicapped and…

Curriculum development efforts at the language school of the Foreign Service Institute, the training agency for Department of State personnel on overseas assignment, are examined as they have evolved in the past two years. Five emphases are found to have shaped and structured all curriculum development work: (1) relevance (a close and specific…

A study evaluated language needs, preparation, and screening among non-native-English-speaking U.S. Army officers and enlisted personnel, focusing primarily on the needs of officers. The purpose was to help determine the minimum competency levels needed on two measures of English proficiency. Evaluation questions guiding the study were: (1) What…

Brigham Young University has implemented a policy of allowing non-language majors, often with limited second-language proficiency, to study abroad. A study examined the effect of a six-month study program in Vienna (Austria) on the academic achievement and post-reentry language registrations of 224 students. Study-abroad students were matched with…