Discusses the use of early silent films in second-language classrooms, focusing on the experiences of one instructor in using early French silents in elementary and intermediate French courses. Sample lesson plans and information on the availability of French silents are also provided. (Contains 17 references.) (MDM)

Discusses how an intermediate-level French theater practicum helped students develop advanced language skills by focusing their attention on the performance aspects of Alfred Jarry's play "Ubu roi" rather than the traditional foreign language curriculum. (Contains 14 references.) (MDM)

Discusses the curriculum and outcomes of the interdisciplinary Foreign Language, Culture, and Literature Program offered by Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, focusing on the German language component of the program. The program includes a five-month intensive language course, which includes several months of study in a target language…

Reports on the work of the International Language Testing Association's (ILTA) Task Force on Testing Standards, which has compiled 109 bibliographic records from 24 countries on existing standards documents and solicits feedback for the development of an ILTA code of practice. (MDM)

Discusses the use of alternative assessment procedures in English-as-a-Second-Language classrooms, focusing on three issues: (1) definitions of alternative assessment; (2) issues related to validity, reliability, and objectivity that are often raised as objections to alternative assessment; and (3) the power of alternative assessment to provide…

Outlines a CRADLE (Collections, Reflections, Assessment, Documentation, Linkages, and Evaluation) approach to portfolio development and use in English-as-a-Second-Language classrooms. This approach focuses on a long-term commitment to portfolio usage by teachers, students, parents, and administrators. (MDM)

Describes three self-assessment activities designed for university-level English-as-a-Second-Language students. They include writing letters to the instructor, keeping a daily language learning log, and preparing an English skills portfolio. (Contains five references.) (MDM)

Describes one middle school teacher's approach to promoting self-assessment through the use of portfolios in an English-as-a-Second-Language classroom. The portfolios include goal cards, time planning sheets, and projects. It is suggested that goal-centered activities help to build an assessment partnership between students and their teacher.…

Examined the use of collaborative assessment by eight instructors of a global education course at a Canadian international college for Japanese nationals. Interviews with instructors indicated that although they did not find collaborative assessment easy, they were able to learn from each other and uncover important questions about integrated…

Discusses the revision of the master's degree in the International and Overseas Teaching and Administration (English-as-a-Second-Language track) program at Trenton State College in New Jersey to include a more holistic, rather than test-based, evaluation of students' work. The revised program included action research projects, videotaped…

Four articles provide English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers with advice on how to ensure success with alternative assessment, having students use art and words to tell about their experiences, entertaining test review activities, and how to assess students' knowledge of expressions of gratitude. (Contains seven references.) (MDM)

The legal validity and public support of racial, ethnic, and gender preferences are eroding, and all affirmative action programs must be reconsidered. All American colleges and universities must develop new plans for affirmative action programs. Policies should cover admission, financial aid, employment, and contracting. Three primary models focus…

Radical changes are occurring in higher education that will alter fundamentally the nature of the university and transform the shared governance model used since the 1950s. These changes will require that colleges and universities restructure their management processes and modify their traditional notions about academic leadership. (MSE)

After a period of rapid expansion, two-thirds of the branch campuses of United States universities in Japan have closed. A study suggests that the branch campuses were established largely to capitalize on short-term political, demographic, and financial factors, with little benefit. A deeper commitment to sustaining the overseas program and to…

Discussion of laboratory cabinets and desk systems looks at considerations of cost, flexibility, utility, serviceability, storage capacity, future availability of compatible components, and safety or other legal compliance issues. Four system types (standard floor-mounted, C-frame, end rigger-leg frame suspended, unistrut) are described, and…