The article discusses three Russian language textbooks for speakers of English which represent a new trend in Russian pedagogical materials, that of minicourses for specialists in specific disciplines. The three textbooks are: S. H. Gould, "Russian for Mathematicians" (New York, 1972), G. P. M. Walker, "Russian for Librarians" (London, 1973), and…

Papers in this journal issue concern various aspects of foreign language syllabus construction. Titles and authors are: "The Threshold Level: A Notional-Functional Syllabus" (Barbara F. Matthies); "Functions of Grammar in a Language Teaching Syllabus" (William E. Rutherford); "Communicative and Grammatical Syllabuses to Teach Conversational…

This collection of papers is a resource for classroom teachers and program administrators who want to know not only what the communicative approach to language teaching is all about but how the goal of communicative competence is being met in teaching contexts similar to their own. Papers and authors include: "Functional Approaches to Language and…

The extent to which video has come of age with respect to language learning is the focus of this special issue, which provides information on sources of materials and offers practical ideas for the effective and creative use of those materials in second language instruction. Articles include: "Video and Language Learning: A Medium Comes of Age"…

The papers in this issue of "Studies in Language Learning" deal with various aspects of the recommendations of the "Report of the President's Commission on Foreign Languages and International Studies." They discuss how these recommendations could be made specific in schools, colleges, and among the citizenry. The following papers from the issue…

In 1978 Illinois embarked on a comprehensive statewide program to improve and expand the teaching of foreign languages and international studies in the schools of the state. The state superintendent appointed a task force of 20 leaders representing all sectors of the civic and educational community. The task force's report, delivered in 1979,…

A number of ways to integrate foreign language education and social studies are given from the perspective of a social studies teacher. An area studies course might include the foreign language component as well as social studies, art, music, and historical perspectives. Such a course would also include special evening and weekend activities.…

A census of secondary schools in Illinois as well as in the nation has revealed that less than 25% of the students are enrolled in foreign language classes. While most secondary schools in Illinois offer some foreign language instruction, there are small rural schools that are unable to offer a solid program. The French Language Intensive Program…

Play-acting is a natural human instinct; role-playing, disguising, game-playing are all favorite activities for people of all ages. In a foreign language course, dramatization is especially appropriate and can be used in many ways both in class and as an extra-curricular or supplementary activity. Much language learning occurs during the…

A study was made of language attitudes of suburban middle class high school students with special reference to French, German, Spanish, and Latin. Of the 621 subjects chosen for the study, 82 had never had any foreign language learning experience. Two types of questionnaires were given, one to those who had studied foreign language and the other…

A survey is presented of foreign language (FL) newspapers, magazines, and radio and television stations that broadcast exclusively in foreign languages or that offer foreign language programming. The content of foreign language newspapers and magazines resembles that of English language publications. The majority of the 386 foreign language…

Since the publication of the report of the President's Commission on Foreign Languages and International Study, U.S. incompetence in foreign languages, as well as efforts of secondary and post-secondary institutions to remedy the matter, have received much attention. Course offerings and curricular innovations have attempted to meet the career…

This issue presents an overview of research in computer-based language instruction using the PLATO IV computer system. The following articles are presented: (1) "Language Study and the PLATO system," by R. Hart; (2) "Reflections on the Use of Computers in Second-Language Acquisition," by F. Marty; (3) "Computer-Based Instruction in Elementary…

Technical aspects of the PLATO system, the language work done on PLATO thus far (specifically in foreign languages), and areas for further research in computer-based language instruction are reviewed. PLATO-IV, designed and implemented by the Computer-Based Educational Research Laboratory of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is…

Conditions under which using computers can help improve the study of foreign languages are discussed. Attention is limited to a consideration of a language course that aims at giving students a high level of accuracy in listening comprehension, oral expression, reading comprehension, and written expression. The following questions are addressed:…