bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
(Net) Fair Value Accounting for Forward Contracts
Authors: BRADBURY MICHAEL , PRANGNELL HELEN
Published: January 2009

This paper illustrates the contract method of accounting for a forward exchange contract under IAS 39. This differs from the method demonstrated in most current textbooks, which is based on gross accounting for the underlying rights and obligations of the forward exchange. The gross approach had been argued from the conceptual framework (eg, SAC 4) whereas IAS 39 requires the contract (net) approach. IAS 39 requires the existence of a contract for a financial instrument to be recognised and then requires accounting for that contract as a separate asset or liability from the underlying executory asset or obligations.
A Dialectic Analysis of the Whistleblowing Phenomenon
Authors: BATHER ANDREA , KELLY MARTIN
Published: January 2009

Although whistleblowers are often portrayed as courageous individuals deserving of respect, the act of whistleblowing can be viewed as a disloyal act which may bring much harm to the whistleblower's colleagues. We argue that although some whistleblowers have provided a great service to society, the world would be best served if the need for external whistleblowing were obviated by appropriate management practices.
Independent Expert Valuations in Takeovers: Are They Biased?
Authors: BUGEJA MARTIN
Published: January 2009

The predictability of the opinions provided in expert reports produced in Australian takeovers has led repeatedly to public criticism. This study assesses the validity of this criticism by comparing expert valuations with the recommendations of target firm directors. The results indicate that expert valuations typically agree with directors' recommendations, with the rate of agreement being 95% for reject recommendations. Consistent with expert valuations provided in rejected takeovers being inflated, these bids are associated with similar premiums to accepted bids. Additionally, rejected offers that succeed do so at well below the expert̂s valuation, and prices in unsuccessful rejected offers do not increase towards the expert̂s valuation.
Performance Reporting by Australian Government Trading Enterprises: an Empirical Study 1998–2002
Authors: LEE JANET
Published: January 2009

Performance reporting forms a critical part of the governance processes of government trading enterprises (GTEs). Accountability and transparency are of particular concern because social obligations of GTEs could be compromised by the growing dominance of commercial objectives. An analysis of the reporting of performance information in the annual reports of selected GTEs over a five‐year period revealed a number of inadequacies, including diverse approaches to reporting about effectiveness, service quality, achievement of social objectives and comparative non‐financial performance. The analysis reinforces the need for further research into how annual reports can better reflect the performance of government businesses.
Financial Statement Fraud: Some Lessons from US and European Case Studies
Authors: BRENNAN NIAMH M. , McGRATH MARY
Published: January 2009

This paper studies 14 companies that were subject to an official investigation arising from the publication of fraudulent financial statements. The research found senior management to be responsible for most fraud. Recording false sales was the most common method of financial statement fraud. Meeting external forecasts emerged as the primary motivation. Management discovered most fraud, although the discovery was split between incumbent and new management.
NAFTs ‘Annus Horribilis’: Fraud and Corporate Governance
Authors: CORDERY CAROLYN
Published: January 2009

Using a case study of National Australia Bank, this paper explores the challenges in complying with the Australian Stock Exchange's Principles of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice Recommendations. In 2004 NAB announced foreign exchange losses of $A360 million, following which the board engaged in a public dispute over liability for the losses. There were indications that the board had failed to provide an appropriate structure to encourage ethical behaviour, and had ineffective internal controls. The aim of the case study is to generate an understanding of structural pitfalls in order to lead to the improvement of corporate governance in practice.
Beneficial effects of splenectomy on massive hepatectomy model in rats
Authors: Arakawa Yusuke , Shimada Mitsuo , Uchiyama Hideaki , Ikegami Toru , Yoshizumi Tomoharu , Imura Satoru , Morine Yuji , Kanemura Hirohumi
Published: January 2009

Aim:  Possible spleno‐hepatic relationships during hepatectomy remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of splenectomy during massive hepatectomy in rats.

Methods:  Rats were divided into the following two groups: 90% hepatectomy (Hx group), hepatectomy with splenectomy (Hx+Sp group). The following parameters were evaluated; survival rate, biochemical parameters, quantitative RT‐PCR for hemeoxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) and tumor necrosing factor α (TNFα), immunohistochemical staining for HO‐1, proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index and liver weights.

Results:  The survival rate after massive hepatectomy significantly improved in Hx+Sp group as well as serum biochemical parameters, compared with Hx group (P < 0.05). HO‐1 positive hepatocytes and its mRNA expression significantly increased and TNFα mRNA expression significantly decreased in Hx+Sp group compared with Hx group (P < 0.05). Moreover, liver regeneration was significantly accelerated at 48 and 72 h after hepatectomy in Hx+Sp group.

Conclusions:  Splenectomy had beneficial effects on massive hepatectomy by ameliorating liver injuries and promoting preferable liver regeneration.
ABO‐blood type incompatible living donor liver transplantation in a patient with Budd‐Chiari Syndrome secondary to essential thrombocythemia
Authors: Kawaguchi Yasuo , Tashiro Hirotaka , Amano Hironobu , Kobayashi Tsuyoshi , Irei Toshimitsu , Igarashi Yuki , Ide Kentarou , Oshita Akihiko , Itamoto Toshiyuki , Asahara Toshimasa , Ohdan Hideki
Published: January 2009

Budd‐Chiari syndrome (BCS) results from diverse causative factors. Myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs) including essential thrombocythemia (ET) account for a minority of BCS cases in Japan. ABO‐blood‐type incompatible living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in adults has become an acceptable procedure owing to the development of new strategies for preventing antibody‐mediated rejection. This report presents a rare case of BCS secondary to ET, which was cured by an ABO‐incompatible (AB to A) LDLT. In this case, prostaglandin E1 and gabexate mesilate were administered into portal vein and rituximab prophylaxis was applied. No splenectomy was performed as it is in most ABO‐incompatible cases, since a flow cytometry showed no anti‐B antibodies in the splenocytes collected by a wedge biopsy during the LDLT. The postoperative course was uneventful. Anti‐coagulation therapy was initiated with aspirin and warfarin instead of hydroxyurea. This report describes an ABO‐incompatible LDLT without a splenectomy for BCS secondary to ET.
Hearing and Seeing Musical Expression
Authors: BERGERON VINCENT , LOPES DOMINIC MCIVER
Published: January 2009

Everybody assumes (1) that musical performances are sonic events and (2) that their expressive properties are sonic properties. This paper discusses recent findings in the psychology of music perception that show that visual information combines with auditory information in the perception of musical expression. The findings show at the very least that arguments are needed for (1) and (2). If music expresses what we think it does, then its expressive properties may be visual as well as sonic; and if its expressive properties are purely sonic, then music expresses less than we think it does. And if the expressive properties of music are visual as well as sonic, then music is not what we think it is—it is not purely sonic.
The Contribution of the Classroom Teacher to Research and Knowledge
Authors: Roeming Robert F.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: Many classroom teachers feel that pedagogical research has no immediate relevance to their daily activities, that research is in the domain of an elite class in the universities. Teachers are trained as practitioners, not researchers. Yet much of the research in language learning and teaching in universities is conducted under exceptionally controlled conditions, and its validity and generalizability are open to question. Only in the real classroom can research be tested. With Federal funds available for research in the classroom, alert and able teachers should identify significant research problems, seek advice and help from the school administration and specialists at institutions of higher education, and apply for financial assistance to undertake useful research in the classroom. Hopefully, ACTFL now will enable teachers to work in national teams on broadly designed research programs.
Memorandum: On Needed Research in the Psycholinguistic and Applied Psycholinguistic Aspects of Language Teaching
Authors: Carroll John B.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: Interest in basic theoretical and empirical studies in psycholinguistics has grown recently, but little work has been done to show relevance to language learning. Foreign language teaching methodologies are supported by very little empirical evidence, and applied psycholinguistic research in second‐language teaching is only beginning to identify critical variables in instructional methods. In the teaching of English as a second language and the teaching of standard English to disadvantaged children, psycholinguistics may have much to offer. But before the application of psycholinguistics in these areas can become truly meaningful, specific problems must be defined and training programs must produce competent, interested researchers.
State Organizations and the Progress of the Profession
Authors: Silber Gordon R.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: As a profession, FL teachers characteristically seem to be dissatisfied with the present in spite of recent advances. While some professions are organized so as to preserve the status quo, we are typically ambitious and idealistic, and we must be organized for maximum professional progress. The concept of a state FL organization is one of the cornerstones of our profession, historically and functionally. The AAT's, national associations, and regional associations and conferences have different roles. Future strength, growth, and effectiveness in the state organizations must rest on their working for improvement in FL programs in the schools, working to upgrade standards for teacher preparation and certification, cooperating to establish in‐service programs for teachers and supervisors, and working to improve articulation between school and college FL programs. They must assume responsibility for gathering statistics, concern themselves with public relations for the profession, and set up legislative committees ready to act when (as in California, Texas, and New York) school FL curricula come up for legislative action. State FL organizations must establish an effective working relationship with state education departments (possibly through a state FL advisory committee). They must find ways to locate and involve talented individuals. Finally, to create a unified profession, the allegiance of college and university FL teachers must be enlisted on the state level in the interest of common goals.
The Experiment in International Living's Multi‐Language Program*
Authors: Fantini Alvino E.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: The Experiment in International Living, an educational exchange organization, initiated intensive language courses in 1964 as part of its programs in an attempt to increase communication between American participants and their hosts overseas. Since oral communication is the primary goal, the audiolingual approach was adopted to train the ear and tongue and teach basic language patterns so that the student can control a minimal vocabulary to express a variety of needs. Because of the paucity of materials, The Experiment is developing audiolingual texts with correlated tapes in various languages. Native speakers teach and supervise language laboratories at The Experiment's School for International Training. Well‐trained teachers, motivated participants, intensive courses, good methods and materials, and the urgency to learn create optimum learning conditions. Language progress is measured at the end of the program. Recognizing that language training adds a new dimension to the overseas experience, The Experiment adds new languages to its programs each year. The ability to communicate allows the participant to develop closer relationships, a more rapid adjustment to and greater appreciation of the host culture.
The Theorist and the Language Teacher*
Authors: Bolinger Dwight
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: The polarization of views that has taken place in linguistics since the mid‐fifties has sown no little confusion among applied linguists and among teachers who have looked to them for guidance. But the positions have been exaggerated and in any case the importance of linguistic theory to language teaching was less than it had been made to appear for propaganda purposes. The values of audiolingualism that have been proved in the classroom can be retained; the values that were mistakenly discarded can be recaptured. Language teaching will profit by the choices offered when points of view are in conflict, but it is not to be dictated to by any of them, for it is a profession in its own right.
Language Study of National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists
Authors: Kaplan Rosalyn
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: A survey of the language courses taken in high school by National Merit Semifinalists indicates that French and Latin are the languages most frequently studied by these talented students. A majority of students studied more than one language and generally studied these for more than two years. The “brighter” the student, the more languages and number of years studied. The higher the academic quality of the high school, the more languages studied and these for a greater length of time. Girls study more years of languages and a greater number of different languages than do boys.
Minimal Passing Scores on the Graduate School Foreign Language Tests
Authors: Harvey Philip R.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: The Graduate School Foreign Language Tests in French, German, Russian, and Spanish are being widely used by graduate schools to measure reading proficiency. Score data have been provided for students tested in the program and for a sample of fourth‐semester students. Graduate schools have utilized these data effectively for the interpretation of the scores but have reported a persistent problem in setting minimal passing scores. A survey of participating schools provided information regarding the passing standards that have been adopted, and data for individual institutions and groups permit comparison of these standards among schools, and with the reported normative information. Data on graduate students are compared to data for fourth‐semester undergraduates taking the same tests.
The Foreign Language Requirement for the Ph.D.: A New Approach
Authors: Bartlett Albert Allen
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: A detailed study of the foreign language requirement for the Ph.D. degree has resulted in recommendations for a revision in its emphasis and scope. These recommendations have been adopted by the Graduate Faculty of the University of Colorado. The Graduate School now has a “communication” requirement of second‐year college proficiency in a foreign language of the student's choice with emphasis on having this requirement met by courses recorded in the student's undergraduate transcript. The “tool” requirements (which may, or may not, be satisfied by the “communication” skill) are left totally to the individual academic departments and schools.
The Use of Audiolingual Techniques in the Third‐ and Fourth‐Year College Classroom
Authors: King Janet K.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: It is often assumed that audiolingual techniques have relevance only for initial language learning. There is some evidence that language majors perform better when they have heard and used the language being learned. Yet frequently, the target language is not spoken in advanced course work because instructors are concerned that their students' level of comprehension and their speaking skills are too limited for the demands of the subject matter. These problems can be dealt with by adapting and regularly using audiolingual techniques appropriate to the ability of the class: 1) a lecture summary or question review of major points made in the preceding class hour, 2) a controlled lecture presentation in conjunction with systematic use of the blackboard, 3) weekly or biweekly use of short essay assignments in the foreign language, 4) tests conducted in the foreign language. Each category is discussed in detail and illustrated with English and German examples.
Research Findings and Foreign Language Requirements in Colleges and Universities*
Authors: Jakobovits Leon A.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: This report summarizes earlier reviews on research findings in FL teaching and outlines those principal conclusions which seemed to the writer to have the most adequate empirical justification. Five major topics are discussed: teaching methods in FL instruction, FL aptitude, the attainment of FL proficiency, the effects of motivation and interest in FL learning, and the goals and benefits of FL study. Nineteen conclusions are presented and their implications for FL teaching are discussed. Several recommendations for changes in the college FL curriculum are included.
The Computer as a Learning Environment for Foreign Language Instruction
Authors: Rosenbaum Peter S.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: For some time IBM Research has been developing and testing computer based learning environments for language instruction. Such systems hold great potential in principle because they can provide more individually supervised practice than could possibly be attained in a conventional instructional setting. Training gains will not, however, result from the mere use of a computer but from a clear view of the relation among several essential components of instruction, components which are valued equally both for computer‐assisted and classroom instruction. Foreign language learning requires extensive supervised practice effectively addressing relevant aspects of linguistic competence and performance. The central focus of foreign language teaching must be on the construction of a learning environment in which students will purposefully undertake activities through which they will master the subject matter. For language learning, the critical elements of a learning environment are (1) acceptable content, (2) a readily comprehensible mediational system allowing a student to perform relevant learning tasks, and (3) a supervisory system structuring and assigning learning tasks on an individual basis. The large training gains observed in a major experiment conducted at Stony Brook (SUNY) last year are attributable, it is believed, to the adequacy of these components in the computer‐assisted instruction system developed for the study.
The Pennsylvania Foreign Language Research Project: Teacher Proficiency and Class Achievement in Two Modern Languages
Authors: Smith Philip D.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: Since 1960 the MLA Foreign Language Proficiency Tests for Teachers and Advanced Students have been used to measure teacher achievement in language skills and allied professional areas. The tests are suggested as prerequisites for teacher certification In Pennsylvania, where the tests were mandatory from 1963 until 1969, a comparison was made between teachers' Proficiency Test scores and the subsequent achievement of their classes on standardized tests.

No important significant relationships occurred between eighty‐nine French and German teachers' proficiency and class achievement after one year. No significant correlation could be found between teacher and student scores in forty classes after two years of French or German instruction with the same teacher nor in twelve intact German classes who maintained the same teacher through Level III Regression Analyses also failed to show that teacher Proficiency Test scores contributed substantially to individual student achievement. It is suggested that the MLA Proficiency Tests are valuable as advanced achievement measures or alternate criterion but should not be required for teacher certification until their contribution to student achievement is more fully defined.
A Methodological Review of the Pennsylvania Foreign Language Research Project
Authors: Wiley David E.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: An attempt is made to give a methodological review of the Pennsylvania Foreign Language Research Project. The history of evaluation and assessment is reviewed. The distinction between conclusion‐and decision‐oriented research is made and applied to the notion of evaluation. The implications of these notions for the design of evaluation studies are specified. These implications are employed in reviewing the research project. The main criticisms of the study concern (1) lack of random assignment of units for the main comparison, (2) possible lack of validity of the analyses of covariance, and (3) use of inappropriate analyses for testing certain hypotheses. Some commendable features of the project are (1) use of more powerful statistical techniques than are ordinarily used, (2) greater effort than that usually given to improve external and internal validity, and (3) monitoring of treatments to improve inferential validity. Given that the main press of the evidence is for no detectable differences in the treatments, it is concluded that the sensitivity of the comparisons should be ascertained in order to see if this finding is due to lack of statistical power or small true differences.
What Does the Pennsylvania Foreign Language Research Project Tell Us?
Authors: Carroll John B.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: Although the design of the study was exemplary, the number of classes and teachers was barely satisfactory, and “strategy” effects may have been confounded with text variables. The “traditional” strategy tended to be a “traditional‐modified” one and may not have been as distinct from the “functional skills” strategies as might be desired. Technical flaws in the statistical analysis included failure to take account of repeated measures and questionable use of criterion‐type variables as covariates, but the main results regarding “strategy” and language laboratory system are valid. Sometimes the analysis was not deep enough, as where there was a failure to rule out variation in student characteristics in connection with correlations between class means on achievement tests and teacher FL proficiency. The study is interpreted as showing that functional skills strategies and materials fail to put enough emphasis on linguistic content. The results on correlations between teacher FL proficiency and class achievement are not persuasive enough to justify abandonment of FL proficiency tests in teacher selection and certification.
The Liberated Dialogue, or “Let the Kids Make Up Their Own Dialogues”
Authors: Ghan Zoe Ann , Rickel Kathryn
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: Creativity as a key to learning has been brought out in original dialogue situations developed by students of Whitney and Byrd Junior High Schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although the learning of prepared dialogues is basic as a building block, originality brings forth a free and more natural use of the target language, at the same time it gives the student a better understanding of the principles on which he is working, and also creates an air of fun and enjoyment. However, this does not mean that the serious side of learning or the element of grading is overlooked. In fact, pupils may be graded on a greater variety of things than in usual class procedure. Building original dialogues calls for group work, physical activities, and free expression of ideas, all of which appeal to students on a junior high level. The result of the original dialogue gives many students a feeling of accomplishment not attainable in everyday class work.
To Read or Not to Read: An Experiment on the FLES Level
Authors: Lipton Gladys C.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: In this experiment, the auditory comprehension of two groups of gifted children in Grade Four FLES is compared. The experimental group had listening‐speaking activities and, from the second day of instruction, reading activities as part of their daily classwork. The control group, covering the same content, used listening and speaking activities.

Individual children in the experimental group were matched with individual children in the control group for sex, age, and reading achievement level. There were 78 pupils in each group, making a total of 156 pupils in the study. The null hypothesis of no difference between the two groups was tested at the.05 level of confidence, using a “t” test. The results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in auditory comprehension, and that the girls surpassed the boys in each group. A rethinking of FLES methodology is indicated, particularly with respect to gearing the program to meet the needs of individual “learning styles.”
The Language Teacher Tours the Curriculum: New Horizons for Foreign Language Education
Authors: Ort Barbara A. , Smith Dwight R.
Published: January 2009

Is the foreign language department an “island entire of itself?” Has the typical foreign language program, with its unfamiliar sounds and machines, become surrounded by a mystique, governed by its own unique laws and isolated from the mainstream of the school curriculum? A close look at many programs suggests that the response must be yes, but in this era of team teaching one wonders whether foreign language instruction should be divorced from the rest of the instructional program.

If language is important; if the process of thinking and reacting in alternate linguistic modes provides individuals with greater potential for intellectual and emotional maturation; if language is an intensely social phenomenon—indeed, culture's basic centrex—then it follows that language instruction should be closely related to all facets of school life.

This article explores some of the avenues open to foreign language teachers interested in leaving their secure and comfortable one‐way streets in closed foreign language programs; it presents descriptions of more than a dozen attempts to go beyond the matrix within which foreign language programs have been traditionally structured. The descriptions vary in length, style, and emphasis, but each brings some particular information, insight, or added dimension to this tour of the curriculum.

In reading these descriptions, a number of critical themes emerge repeatedly: student viewpoint, planning, interdepartmental cooperation, materials selection and development, funding, research, intensive instruction, and moving from experimentation to regular curricular offering. Other factors such as student load, scheduling, use of community resources, teacher initiative and involvement in planning, evaluation, choice of content, and innovative teacher strategies are keys to understanding particular descriptions.

The first two descriptions are particularly interesting because of Student Viewpoint; the first is written by a high schood student while the second reflects choice of content because of practical questions facing high school students.
A Conceptual Framework For Small‐Group Instruction in High School
Authors: Ciolti Marianne C.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: The conditions and experiences that make the use of a second language a purposeful means of communication in the intimate groupings of social living are recognized as aspects of curriculum and instruction that merit investigation. A theoretical model for small‐group instruction is proposed. It consists of conversational stages in sequence that permit the discussion of a cultural narrative in a group setting of five students. The interaction in these stages (which are based upon various networks of communication drawn from sociological research) is gradually freed from the constraints of appointed leadership, thus assuming the characteristics of a natural conversational exchange. The stages are labeled in such a way as to describe the degree of freedom for personal expression, i.e., verbal action and reaction: the controlled stage, the partially‐controlled stage, and the non‐controlled stage.
Performance Objectives for Teaching Cultural Concepts
Authors: Seelye H. Ned
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: “Cultural understanding” can be defined more precisely than teachers generally do. Seven different purposes which classroom cultural activities can illustrate are outlined. Four purposes show that a culture is an interrelated system of patterns which are maintained because they work; that is, because they relate to each other in a way which enables the society to achieve its needs. A fifth purpose concerns student skill in finding out about another culture, and still another relates to the ability to evaluate a statement an American makes about a culture. The seventh purpose probes the area of attitudes which the teacher may want the student to develop. The usefulness of specific activities (over thirty are described) to achieve these purposes can be increased if the activity is described in terms of student performance rather than in terms of content which the teacher hopes to cover. A performance objective has three principal components: (1) an explicit series of statements describing what the student should be able to do after learning what the teacher wants him to learn, (2) the conditions under which the student is to present evidence of having learned it, and (3) the level of student performance which the teacher will accept as evidence of learning.
A Study of Attrition in Foreign Language Enrollments in Four Suburban Public Schools
Authors: Papalia Anthony
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  This study began with a survey of twenty‐eight school districts of Erie County, New York, and its aims were to determine and compare the attrition in foreign language. Additional data, obtained through discussion with teachers, interviews with students, questionnaires, and Flanders' Interaction Analysis assisted in the formulation of the following conclusions: (1) School districts situated in agricultural and industrial communities offered foreign language study beginning at grade nine while schools situated in residential communities tended to begin the study of foreign languages in the seventh grade. (2) The attrition of foreign language enrollments in high socioeconomic school districts was substantially less than that of schools sinated in lower socioeconomic background. The critical points in dropping foreign language study occurred at the end of the second and third level. (4) Fifty percent of the student discontinued their study because they had satisfied requirements for college entrance while the other fifty percent discontinued because (a) the second and third level was “hard,” (b) preferred another subject, (c) were not interested in continuing, (d) were advised by guidance counselor, and (e) did not like the teach (5) Teachers were aware that the amount the content required was not satisfactorily adjust to individual differences.
The Effect on Foreign Language Teacher of Leadership Training in a Foreign Setting
Authors: Tucker G. Richard , Lambert Wallace E.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  This report summarizes the effects of advanced FL and leadership training on teachers' attitudes, value orientations, professional motivation, and opinions about policy in the FL field. Comparisons were made among three groups of participants, two attending EPDA institutes in France, one stressing FL leadership training, the other following the traditional advanced EPDA program, and a third group following the traditional EPDA program in the States. The results indicated that all three groups were somewhat d pointed in their institute experiences, that they held generally similar attitudes, entations, motivation, and views about FL icies. The differences that did occur seem be attributable to initial differences in makeup of the groups with regard to experience abroad, level of teaching experience, language proficiency. Several recommendation for follow‐up studies are made.
Dialect Variations and the Teaching of Arabic as a Living Language*
Authors: Hanna Sami A. , Greis Naguib
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  In teaching Arabic the cultivated speech of a significant cultural center can provide continuity and a relatively smooth transition from the familiar to the formal. It thus helps us avoid the present dichotomy of “colloquial” and “classical.” Furthermore, cultivated speech is the appropriate form for beginning a living language. It is easier and more appealing than any other Arabic variety. While syntactically it is characterized by nearly the same basic features as formal literary Arabic, morphologically it retains fewer distinctions. If the content is carefully selected, the controlled vocabulary and patterns will provide a common core throughout the learning stages. Careful consideration must be given to gradation and significant cultural context. Only then can the use of audiolingual/visual techniques be effective. Once the learner has mastered the cultivated spoken Arabic he can proceed to writing and literary varieties.
Penetrating the Mass Media: A Unit to Develop Skill in Reading Spanish Newspaper Headlines
Authors: Seelye H. Ned , Day J. Laurence
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  If foreign language newspapers are to be a source of cultural insight and a springboard to conversation with “natives,” students must first develop skill in skimming through newspapers. Development of this skill should be a rewarding activity in itself. The semiprogramed learning unit described identifies the specialized vocabulary of crime, social events, and sports headlines of Spanish newspapers, and provides various exercises to develop familiarity and speed in spotting stories relating to these topics.
Computer‐Assisted Instruction: Plato in Latin
Authors: Scanlan Richard T.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  PLATO III is a CAI system located at the Univ. of Illinois in Urbana which will soon be expanded into a network connecting schools and colleges throughout the state. The system exists currently as a research tool which is used by teachers of many different disciplines to experiment with the possibilities of CAI. For the past few years several Latin programs have been developed and tested: two for beginning Latin, one to check the student's surface comprehension of a literary text written in a foreign language, and one for Latin composition. All of the programs use a wide variety of teaching techniques in order to discover the best approach for learning via the computer. Students have so far reacted quite favorably, and there seem to be many learning advantages for them, chief among which is the personalized and individualized material which the machine provides. It appears that the impact of computer technology upon education will be far‐reaching and may cause us to modify some of the basic assumptions we have made about the teaching and learning processes.
The Schools and the Minority Child's Language
Authors: Light Richard L.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  Despite some progress, many schools continue to ignore or suppress the linguistic and cultural strengths which minority children bring with them to the classroom. We spend perhaps a billion dollars a year on foreign language instruction for Anglos, yet school policies and state laws have prevented some three million bilingual children from becoming adults fluent and literate in their own native foreign languages. Influential educators have called for a change in teacher attitudes toward minority children, but at the same time they put forward unsubstantiated views concerning the language of such children which are likely to affect teacher attitudes adversely. Mexican‐American children enter school with a valuable knowledge of Spanish language and culture, yet their parents are forced to sue the schools to prevent their assignment to classes for the mentally retarded as a penalty for possessing this special knowledge. On the positive side, the Bilingual Education Act may be one sign of a shift toward linguistic and cultural tolerance in the schools.
Developing Student Responsibility: A New Master of Arts in Teaching Program
Authors: Cushing John A.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  The MAT program offered by the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, represents a unique approach to preparing language teachers. Having assembled a group of dedicated and qualified degree candidates, the program allows them to pursue specific interests in the field of language education, and requires that each be responsible for developing and implementing a personal philosophy of teaching. Candidates share their ideas and insights with each other as various fields essential to effective teaching (psychology, linguistics, etc.) are examined. Orientation is pragmatic; a sizable portion of the year is devoted to practice teaching in a foreign environment. A descriptive chronology of the 1970–71 program indicates that the candidates grew and developed considerably in skill and understanding during the course of the year.
The CIEE and Study Abroad: Purposes, Principles, and Programs
Authors: Stokle Norman
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  In this Age of Disenchantment and national malaise, when America urgently needs ecumenically‐minded educators to curb the disease of monocultural myopia that has wrought such havoc in its domestic and international dealings, the majority of colleges and departments of education are slothful in providing foreign study opportunities for their prospective teachers. This article outlines the efforts now being made by the Council on International Educational Exchange to promote such opportunities through its Cooperative International Program for Teacher Education (CIPTE). Then follows a summary of the general principles underlying the organization and operation of this program, together with brief descriptions of two study centers for graduates and undergraduates in France. The article concludes with a description of the year‐round undergraduate program in Leningrad for the study of Russian, and a reference to the summer foreign study program in France and Colombia for high school pupils which has recently been established by ACTFL in cooperation with the CIEE.
An Experiment in Individualized Instruction through Small Group Interaction
Authors: Papalia Anthony , Zampogna Joseph
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  This experimentation was another step toward individualization of instruction and was conducted at Clarence High School, Clarence, N. Y. It was hypothesized that the academic achievement of an experimental group in French III would be greater if the students worked together, helped each other, and participated in the planning of the curriculum and of the classroom activities. Therefore the traditional classroom seating, where the students sit in rows, was used approximately one hour per week in order to give information or to clarify specific language difficulties. During the remaining time students worked independently, or in small groups as per interest and ability. Moreover, in order to increase the interactive process in the classroom, the following communication games were used: the Wheel, Pairing, the Inner‐outer Circle, Triads, Quartets, and Quintets. A Learning Environment Inventory Scale describing characteristics of classes was administered to determine the social climate. A t test indicated that there was a significant difference in the social climate of the experimental group in the scales of Diversity. Speed, Friction, Favoritism, Apathy, Democracy, and Satisfaction. Moreover, the experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group in the four basic skills of French, as tested by the MA form of the Modern Language Cooperative Tests.
From Individualized Instruction to Individualized Learning
Authors: Hanzeli Victor E. , Love F. William D.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  General dissatisfaction with the quality of foreign language learning and the nationwide enrollment crisis have prompted foreign language teachers to make various pedagogical or curricular responses, the foremost of which has become “individualized instruction.” But the background and nature of this response virtually guarantee its inefficacy, and the consequences of failure appear even more dismal than those of inaction. Therefore, we must take the original correct assumption that individual learners are indeed different individuals, move beyond the present definition of “individualized instruction,” and attempt to transform the foreign language—and in fact the complete educational—experience of students. The goal is self‐motivation and self‐reliance; the best path is that of restructuring, or even de‐structuring, the classroom and school to allow for more freedom and more personal responsibility for learning.
Individualized German Instruction at the College Level–A First Appraisal
Authors: Clausing Gerhard , Mueller Klaus A. , Voge Wilfried M.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  An individualized instruction course in beginning and intermediate German was initiated as an alternative to other programs at the University of California at Berkeley. This study describes materials and methods used in scheduling and teaching the course, student performance, and reactions to the course by students and instructors. At the end of the first year a testing program was administered to evaluate performance in the individualized instruction course and to compare it to the basic course, using pretested equivalent groups as samples. Individualized instruction groups performed as well as or better than the basic course groups on all measures. An analysis of student‐instructor contacts shows that these results were achieved in approximately one‐third of the instructional time needed for teaching the same material in the basic course. The study concludes that individualized foreign language instruction seems to offer a basically sound alternative to other programs and that its continuation and further refinement are justified.
Three Weeks Equals Thirty Weeks?‐A Report on an Experimental Intensive January Language Course
Authors: Wallace John A.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  The effectiveness of intensive language programs of such organizations as the Peace Corps and The Experiment in International Living has often been attributed to the motivation of an imminent overseas experience. Forty‐seven students from colleges and universities on the 4–1–4 calendar participated in an intensive language program in January 1971 at The Experiment's School for International Training. None were proceeding overseas at the end of the program; all returned to their regular campuses. The six‐day‐a‐week, six‐hour‐a‐day program in Spanish, French, German, and Russian was conducted by young, native‐speaking teachers with limited previous experience. Classes were small, ranging in six from four to ten members. Half were at the elementary level, half intermediate. Elementary students were tested at the end of the program using the L level Cooperative MLA tests with norms for one year of college study. Median performance was at the 52nd percentile in reading, 68th in listening, 72nd in writing, and 93rd in speaking. Intermediate students were tested at the beginning and end of the program using levels MA and MB of the MLA tests, with norms for two years college study. An average improvement of 25 percentile points was effected during the three week program, from the 57th to the 82nd percentile.
Contrastive Analysis, Difficulty, and Predictability*
Authors: Oller John W.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  Contrastive analysis (CA) is recognized as a useful technique for research into the nature of human information processing but is rejected as a foundation for second language instructional programs. CA is neither a necessary nor a sufficient basis for program design. The language teacher does not need to know how a target structure contrasts with a native structure as much as he needs to know how speakers of the target language use the structure at issue. The latter question can be asked independently of the former and suggests the possibility of a very different approach to foreign language program design. The problem becomes one of providing the learner with input that is informationally rich enough to enable him to acquire the rules of usage of the foreign language. This paper draws together some basic insights and principles of a large body of psycholinguistic research which suggests that the efficiency of learning is accelerated by an increasing organization of the materials to be learned, and that higher levels of organization which magnify the factor of predictability have the effect of exponentially accelerating the learning process.
How to Train Prospective Foreign Language Teachers in the Use of Individualized Instruction
Authors: Smith Alfred N.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  The increasing number of individualized foreign language programs has created a definite need for instruction in individualization. The prospective FL teacher must be prepared to manage effectively individualized programs to which he is assigned or those which he is asked to begin. Today's methods class should deal with all aspects of individualization without neglecting the teaching skills whidi make up the heart of the course. This is best achieved by integrating the concept of individualized instruction into all of the various methods course activities.
Rationale, Description, and Feasibility of a Partially Programmed Foreign Language Methods Course
Authors: DeLorenzo William E.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  Much thought has been given to the structure and content of the foreign language methods course. Literature from both the specific and general education areas concur on several considerations in preservice methods courses: the need for a balance of theory and practice, the need for increased student involvement in real classroom situations, and the importance of utilizing innovative instructional approaches in the preservice teacher preparation program. A major question in support of these considerations is: How does one gain ample time in order to allow for adequate emphasis on each of the aforementioned points in a methods course that might range from thirty to forty contact hours? In response to this question, the author designed and subsequently implemented an apparently viable solution to the problem. This article deals with the design and feasibility of implementing a partially programmed approach to a performance‐oriented foreign language methods course. Five teacher performance skills were identified. A series of multimodeled demonstrations of these skills were video taped for use in a programmed course segment. This article includes a description of the programmed segment and specific suggestions for applying this approach to other subject matter areas.
A Neglected Aspect of Foreign Language Testing: Structuring the Review Session
Authors: Cory Mark E.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  Considerable attention has been paid to the design, administration, and interpretation of foreign language tests, but practically none to the process of reviewing for these tests in group‐paced instruction. The implementation of a fully articulated practice examination modeled on the format of the exam itself can structure a review session in such a way as to more fully exploit the teaching potential of an exam situation. Incorporating many of the self‐evaluative benefits of individualized instruction, such a review sheet has great usefulness for the course chairman attempting to coordinate a multi‐sectioned course with common examinations, and has the additional virtue of being highly popular with students.