American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

Abstract The renewed national focus on teacher quality and effectiveness has resulted in more rigorous standards that describe the knowledge and skills required of teacher candidates across all disciplines. In the area of foreign languages, three sets of professional standards address the oral proficiency of teachers in the target languages they teach across the career continuum. For teacher candidates, the ACTFL/NCATE Program Standards for the Preparation of Foreign Language Teachers (2002) establish minimum oral proficiency levels based on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines—Speaking (2012). Utilizing ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) data, this study examines to what extent candidates are attaining the ACTFL/NCATE Oral Proficiency Standard of Advanced Low in most languages or Intermediate High in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Findings indicate that 54.8% of candidates attained the required standard between 2006 and 2012 and that significant differences emerged for language, year tested, and university program results. Further research that takes into account additional contextual information about candidates and programs will inform continuing professional dialogue about the oral proficiency of teacher candidates entering the profession.

The involvement of all tiers—local, state, regional, and national—is essential to propel foreign language education to the next level of unity and progress. Greater efforts should be made to improve commu nication and involvement among all stakeholders, including the admin istrators who manage schools, hire staff members, build schedules, assign courses—and help build and maintain communication with the local community.

Studies of civil jury verdicts have been a prominent feature of the Institute for Civil Justice's research agenda since its inception. This work has included the creation of a database for the analysis of jury verdicts and descriptive and analytic studies of verdict trends. Our current research extends our jury verdict work in two significant directions: First, it provides additional detail about punitive damage awards in cases in our existing database in which the plaintiff complains of financial injuries—cases in which punitive damages are awarded relatively more frequently than in other types of cases. Second, the database has been extended to include verdicts reached in Alabama from 1992 to 1997.

The Modern Language JournalVolume 62, Issue 5-6 p. 272-274 Thirteenth FIPLV World Congress on Language Learning Howard B. Altman, Howard B. Altman University of Louisville HOWARD B. ALTMAN is a professor of Modern Languages at the University of Louisville. He was president of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in 1977.Search for more papers by this author Howard B. Altman, Howard B. Altman University of Louisville HOWARD B. ALTMAN is a professor of Modern Languages at the University of Louisville. He was president of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in 1977.Search for more papers by this author First published: September‐October 1978 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1978.tb02399.x AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume62, Issue5-6September‐October 1978Pages 272-274 RelatedInformation