This brief overview of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) points out its essential role in organizing and improving the profession and suggests that continued work is needed in terms of professional support through money and member activities. (CB)

Presents the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language's language proficiency guidelines for Japanese, encompassing speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills for novice, intermediate, and advanced learners. (CB)

Proposes a model of target- and native-language proverb comparison which can be used to assist proverb analysis in the language curriculum, using examples from Mandinka, a West African language. (Author/CB)

Describes a course, offered by Michigan Technological University, designed to increase the intercultural communication skills of American postsecondary students. Activities include readings and movies illustrating cross-cultural conflicts; application of a model to a cross-cultural case study; panel discussion; and cultural simulation. (Author/CB)

Describes a thematic, communication-oriented approach developed by the foreign language department at the University of Maryland Baltimore County to the first-year and intermediate sequences in French, German, and Spanish. Design of the syllabus, instructional materials, and teaching techniques are discussed. (Author/CB)

Reports on a 3-year project, conducted by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Foreign Language Association, and the University of Texas, to help establish an oral proficiency requirement based on the ACTFL guidelines for certification of new foreign language teachers. (Author/CB)

Presents the benefits and problems of an unusual exchange program involving graduate teaching assistants from Auburn University (Alabama) and prospective teachers from the Ecole Normale (Caen, France). Through journal entries, the students related their problems with living arrangements, differences in teaching methods, and their increased…

Describes the development of and the reaction to a course in Business French at the University of Hawaii. Its success, coupled with its recognition by state and academic officials, brought about the initiation of similar courses in other languages and the development of French for travel industry management majors. (SED)

Describes courses that were developed for travel industry management degree programs to teach French, Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin. Discusses the development of these programs, focusing on the Japanese courses. Explains the type of background information that was collected prior to developing materials for the first- and second-year Japanese…

Describes two research assignments designed to develop business skills in a college commercial French course. The assignments required students to use reference works in the business section of the library and to do a project on one corporation doing business in France. An annotated bibliography on multinational corporations is included. (SED)

An innovative foreign language methodology, " Read-and-Speak," was tried in a year-long pilot section of beginning French. The method involves: (1) massive easy readings assigned from the outset; (2) speaking the foreign language from the start; (3) delaying formal grammar instruction until April, when an entire introductory text is…

Determines the accuracy of teacher judgment of the oral proficiency of pupils in French and Spanish high school classes. Results indicate that (1) teachers consistently overrate pupil performance and (2) the letter grade of the student in the foreign language class severely biases the accuracy of the teacher's judgment regardless of actual oral…

A visual method of classroom presentation was needed to represent the structure and movement of drama and to move from written text to performance dynamics. A photographic slide was made showing character presence in each scene, and the sequence of slides for the entire play was presented for explanation and discussion.

Presents a three-part approach for developing critical reading and critical thinking skills in the foreign language curriculum. This approach seeks to (1) establish a conducive environment for critical thought; (2) sharpen students' critical eye through extensive analytical reading; and (3) sensitize students to language and language use.…

A new program at Boston University that identifies students who would have great difficulty fulfilling their foreign language requirement is described. This program offers an alternative sequence of courses designed to help these students achieve foreign language learning success. (LMO)