Training for High-Level Language Skills

Abstract

The majority of attention in foreign language teaching in the United States has in the past been focused on the lower levels of instruction. While many students begin the study of various languages each year, only very few continue to the level where they can truly function. This country's interests demand that we train more students to higher levels of proficiency in a greater variety of languages than ever before. To improve high-level language training, steps need to be taken to (1) coordinate and/or provide advanced-level, intensive language instruction in the United States and abroad; (2) train teachers in the techniques of high-level instruction; (3) catalog, adapt, prepare, and disseminate advanced training materials; (4) conduct research into the most effective training techniques at the higher levels; (5) promote language proficiency testing and certification; and (6) disseminate the knowledge and experience gained from the preceding.

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References

1. Peter A. Eddy , James J. Wrenn , and Sophia A. Behrens , Chinese Language Study in American Higher Education: State of the Art (Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics, 1980), p. 13.

2. Ibid., p. 42.

3. The official Foreign Service Institute language-skill-level descriptions, as recently revised by the Interagency Language Roundtable, follow. For speaking: S-0, no proficiency, means “unable to function in the spoken language”; S-1, elementary proficiency, means “able to satisfy minimum courtesy requirements and maintain very simple face-to-face conversations on familiar topics”; S-2, limited working proficiency, means “able to satisfy routine social demands and limited work requirements”; S-3, general professional proficiency, means “able to speak the language with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical, social, and professional topics”; S-4, advanced professional proficiency, means “able to use the language fluently and accurately on all levels normally pertinent to professional needs”; and S-5, functionally native proficiency, means “speaking proficiency is functionally equivalent to that of a highly articulate, well-educated native speaker and reflects the cultural standards of the country where the language is natively spoken.” For reading: R-O, no proficiency, means “no practical ability to read the language”; R-1, elementary proficiency, means “sufficient comprehension to read very simple connected written material in a form equivalent to usual printing or typescript”; R-2, limited working proficiency, means “sufficient comprehension to read simple, authentic written material in a form equivalent to usual printing or typescript on subjects within a familiar context”; R-3, general professional proficiency, means “able to read within a normal range of speed and with almost complete comprehension a variety of authentic prose material on unfamiliar subjects”; R-4, advanced professional proficiency, means “able to read fluently and accurately all styles and forms of the language pertinent to professional needs”; R-5, functionally native proficiency, means “reading proficiency is functionally equivalent to that of the well-educated native reader.”

4. At the FSI field schools in Taipei and Yokohama, advanced conversation classes are limited to three students per section. The interuniversity programs in Taipei and Tokyo restrict conversation classes to two to four students. In addition, at all of these schools, students have one or more hours a day of tutorials.

5. Richard D. Lambert with Elinor G. Barber , Margaret Merrill , Eleanor Jorden , and Leon I. Twarog , Beyond Growth: The Next Stage in Language and Area Studies (Washington, DC:Association of American Universities, 1984), pp. 31-32.