CAL Resources Archive The CAL Resources Archive was created to provide our visitors with access to older pages and content from our Web site that they may find useful. Please be aware that information within the CAL Resources Archive is historical in nature and will not be maintained or updated by CAL.

New Products

New ERIC Digests From the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics

Digests are short reports that synthesize current research, review the literature, describe teaching methods and program models, and offer practical ideas for teachers and others.

• Assessment Portfolios: Including English Language Learners in Large-Scale Assessments
• Brain Research: Implications for Second Language Learning
• The ESL Standards: Bridging the Academic Gap for English Language Learners
• Examining Latino Paraeducators' Interactions with Latino Students
• Planning for Success: Common Pitfalls in the Planning of Early Foreign Language Programs
• Programs That Prepare Teachers to Work Effectively with Students Learning English
• Simulated Oral Proficiency Interviews: Recent Developments

Digests are available online at www.cal.org/resources/digest.

To order free ERIC/CLL Digests by mail, enclose one self-addressed stamped (55¢) business-size envelope for every 5 Digests ordered. Mail to

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ERIC/CLL

4646 40TH ST NW

WASHINGTON DC 20016-1859

New Resource Guides Online

Each Resource Guide Online provides information about and links to relevant ERIC/CLL publications, publications from other sources, Web sites, organizations of interest, and conferences. Also included are the results of an ERIC database search. All RGOs are available on our Web site at www.cal.org/resources/faqs/rgos.

These are our latest RGOs:

• Linguistics
• Second Language Proficiency Assessment

Directory of K­12 Foreign Language Assessment Instruments and Resources

This searchable, Web-based directory includes detailed descriptions of more than 200 foreign language assessment instruments used in Grades K­12 as well as annotated bibliographies of the latest assessment publications and Internet resources. This directory is accessible on our Web site at www.cal.org/resources/k12assessment.

Foreign Language Teaching:
What the United States Can Learn From Other Countries

by Ingrid Pufahl, Nancy C. Rhodes, and Donna Christian

This report presents the results of a study designed to collect information about the teaching of foreign languages in other countries. Twenty-two educators from 19 countries responded to a series of questions about methodologies, strategies, and policies in their countries that could help to improve language teaching in the United States. The following implications for U.S. schools were drawn from the study results.

• Start language education early. Most of the countries surveyed begin language instruction for the majority of students in the elementary grades.

• Learn from the failures and successes of other countries.

• Conduct long-term research on the effectiveness of specific policies and practices, such as early language instruction.

• Provide strong leadership at the federal level.

• Identify how technology can improve language instruction.

• Improve teacher education by studying pre-service and in-service professional education in other countries.

• Develop appropriate language assessment instruments.

• Designate foreign language as a core subject. In almost all the countries with successful language education programs, foreign language has the same status as other core subjects such as mathematics and reading.

• Take advantage of our sociolinguistic context by promoting the learning of languages spoken by the many immigrants and refugees in the United States.

The full text of the study report is available at www.cal.org/resources/countries.html.