Foreign Language Institutes Research Articles

Reusable, lifelike virtual humans for mentoring and role-playing

Lifelike, interactive digital characters, serving as mentors and role-playing actors, have been shown to significantly improve learner motivation and retention. However, the cost of modeling such characters, authoring and editing their interactions, and delivering them over limited-bandwidth connections can be prohibitive. This paper describes a framework, authoring tools, and Web-based run-time environment that support the creation of training scenarios using digital virtual humans and other reusable 3D components. By conforming to the Humanoid Animation (H-Anim), Extensible 3D, and ADL Shareable Content Object Reference Model specifications, these 3D components are designed to promote reuse and interoperability at several levels. Recently, these software tools were used to develop prototype lessons in foreign language and cultural familiarization for use at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. These lessons include simulations in which the student, taking the role of a US soldier, interacts with the local population of a foreign culture in authentic situations, using both English and the local dialect. Digital virtual humans are used to represent not only the soldier, and the role-playing actors; but also a mentor who reviews language and cultural learning points, and provides remediation. Using these prototype lessons as examples, we review the potential advantages of the technology in other training applications.

Impact of the Proficiency Scale and the Oral Proficiency Interview on the Foreign Language Program at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

Abstract: The ACTFL oral proficiency interview (OPI) and the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale provide both a testing method and a set of rating factors for evaluating proficiency. Both are closely related to actual language tasks identified as critical for government employees. Over time, the scale has been expanded to include four skills, a system of levels, and the testing needs of numerous organizations. At the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), analyses of the proficiency levels into afunctional trisection consisting of task, content, and accuracy have fostered use of the OPI and ILR scale in teaching as well as testing. The article begins with a backgound discussion of the OPI and the ILR scale, then focuses on the trisection and its implications for instruction.

The Power of Solitude: My Life in the German Resistance

'Dearly beloved Child of my Heart, we are probably standing at the end of our beautiful and rich life together. Because tomorrow the People's Court intends to sit in judgment on me and others. I hear that we have been expelled from the army. They can take the uniform from us, but not the spirit in which we acted' - Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, in a letter to his wife. Marion Yorck von Wartenburg was involved in the Nazi resistance group known as the Kreisau Circle, whose co-founder was her husband, Peter. The Kreisau Circle participated in the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944. Peter's cousin Claus Stauffen-berg and other members of the military resistance carried out the attempt. When they failed, hundreds of people were arrested, tried, and executed, including Peter. Marion and other members of the conspirators' families were also arrested and spent months jailed under miserable conditions. In this memoir Marion recreates the terrifying reality of her life as the wife of a resistance fighter and at the same time conveys the depth of the bond that existed between her and her husband. Julie M. Winter is co-director of the Foreign Language Institute in Helena, Montana, and the author of Luther Bible Research in the Context of Volkish Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Peter Hoffmann is William Kingsford Professor of History at McGill University in Montreal. His works include Stauffenberg: A Family History, 1905-1944.

Language attitudes in Guangzhou, China

ABSTRACTCantonese and non-Cantonese students of the Guangzhou (Canton) Foreign Language Institute took part in a matched-guise experiment, expressing judgments about two samples of speech produced by the same person but presented as coming from two different speakers. In one sample the person spoke good Putonghua (Mandarin), in the other a Putonghua heavily influenced by Cantonese. All judges tended to agree that what they thought was the better Putonghua speaker would have a better chance for social advancement. However, Cantonese judges also showed some positive evaluation of a “heavy Cantonese accent” in the sphere of personal empathy. Such empathy was stronger among male than among female Cantonese. Similar attitudes regarding a “high” (Putonghua) and a “low” (Cantonese) variant in a multilingual society are typical for most Western societies that sociolinguists have studied. They now seem to be equally typical for an Oriental, socialist society like that of China. (Chinese dialects, evaluative reactions, comparative sociolinguistics)

Are the Fireflies Ghosts?

flew like banners from the bamboo poles above her balcony. Ursula wrote anecdotal accounts for German newspapers about her language teaching experience. She used to say that if you stayed in China for three weeks you'd write a book, and if you were there for three months you'd turn out an article, but if you stayed for a year, you'd find it hard to write anything. She was right. The truths were too hidden, too intricate, too deep for me to dig them up with my little made-in-the-U.S.A. shovel. Actually I didn't go to excavate truths about China anyway. I went to teach American literature and English composition to students who, as it turned out, thought Jack London's novels were still inciting revolution in the American ghettoes and that Americans charged their parents when they came to dinner. I suppose I also expected, like many another American, to front the essential facts of in the woods of the other side of the world, and see what life to First, however, I myself had to learn how and what to teach. The educational facts of life at Guangzhou Foreign Language Institute were, as I had expected, different from those at Dartmouth, where I teach in the U.S., but I hadn't anticipated how upside-down, how disorienting the changes would be, even the more superficial ones. Dartmouth, for example, has about 4,000 outstanding undergraduates, male and female, whose annual college costs amount to about $14,000. Guangzhou Foreign Language Institute has about 1,000 outstanding un dergraduates, male and female, whose annual college costs amount to about $80. Baker Library has 1.5 million volumes; the Guangzhou library might have had as many as 15,000. I counted 26 sports in the Dartmouth General Information Bulletin; at Guangzhou teachers, staff, students, and anybody else from the political unit who wanted to join in played soccer, basketball, badminton, track, tug-of-war, and ping pong. Dartmouth students live in singles, doubles, suites, or off-campus hous ing. Guangzhou students live six to an 8 x 15-foot room. Dartmouth

Chinese EFL Students' Learning Strategies for Oral Communication

I An investigation of the learning strategies employed by Chinese EFL students for oral communication was conducted. The study attempted to identify the general strategies and specific techniques used by Chinese learners of English to improve their oral proficiency and to assess the effects of some of these. In addition, the study explored learner characteristics which are believed to affect learning strategies and techniques. A three-part questionnaire was administered to 60 graduating English majors at Guangzhou Foreign Language Institute. Subjects were asked to specify and describe personal foreign language learning strategies (adapted from Reiss 1981); to respond to 22 items (derived from Rubin 1975 and Stern 1975) relating to their use of learning strategies and techniques; and to respond to three language learning situations. Each of the subjects also had an oral interview; this interview, modeled on the Test of Oral Interaction (a part of the Communicative Use of English as a -Foreign Language examination series developed by the Royal Society of Arts Examination Board), was designed to evaluate ability in open-ended communicative tasks. To obtain more detailed information about the learners-in particular, their personal insights about their learning processes and strategies-the questionnaire was supplemented by interviews with the ten highest and nine lowest achievers on the oral interview. The investigation identified a large number of learning strategies and techniques of a functional or formal nature, such as talking to oneself and memorizing lists of words. Statistical analyses (including t-tests, simple and multiple regression, and intercorrelations) demonstrated that certain strategies and techniques are critical for improvement in oral proficiency. Particularly prominent were functional strategies such as thinking in English; speaking English with other students, with teachers, and with native speakers, when available; participating actively in group oral

NDEA Foreign Language Institute Programs: The Development of a New Educational Model

My topic for this afternoon has been announced as “The Ends, Means, and Accomplishments of the NDEA Modern Foreign Language Institutes.” That is indeed the topic I shall speak on, but before I come directly to it, I should like to deliver a message. The message I want to deliver is a simple one, and it is brief. It consists of only three sentences.

English for Speakers of Other Languages: Programs Administered by the U. S. Office of Education

Recent legislation has expanded considerably the opportunities for support of programs involving English for speakers of other languages which are administered by the U.S. Office of Education. In addition to the National Defense Education Act, both the Higher Education Act of 1965 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, for example, support activities concerned with ESOL. Under the former act, an Experienced Teacher Fellowship Program for twenty-five teachers of English as a second began in Fall 1966; under the latter act nearly 500 million dollars was used to support language arts programs, including ESOL, for roughly four million disadvantaged children. These programs and others are described in the following outline which is an effort to present an up-to-date picture of USOE-sponsored activities involving ESOL. For the purposes of this sketch the fifteen programs described are included under the categories of Teacher Training, Study Grants, Research and Development, and School Programs. Following each description is an indication of the bureau in the U.S. Office of Education which is responsible for the particular program. Much of the research which went into obtaining the information which follows was done by Miss Margaret Moore, a research assistant with the Modern Foreign Language Institutes Section of the U.S. Office of Education.

Eyewitness of the Cultural Revolution—

Drawing a picture of China on the basis of personal experience alone presents several problems. First, “foreign experts” generally did not have access to much more material or information than did foreign journalists; when the movement began to make itself felt in foreign language institutes, in March or April, we were told categorically that it had nothing whatever to do with foreigners. Second, our outstanding advantage as observers–contact, and on the whole good relations, with students–was in general little exploited, in the beginning because we did not appreciate the importance of what was happening, and later, for fear of provoking our employers. Third, much of the most interesting “news” came as rumour from somewhere within the large body of foreigners living in the Friendship Hostel, and these sources were inevitably imprecise in their dating.

In‐Service Training: Ways and Means*

IN-SERVICE training for teachers, like most terms currently used in the modern language field, means different things to different people. Obviously it would include a teacher's study leading to a master's degree and eventual permanent certification. By the same token, the term also includes the NDEA Foreign Language Institutes, in that these are designed to provide further training for teachers who are already in the profession. It is not my intention to deal with these two aspects, but rather, with recommendations for in-service training at the local level, a program designed to meet the specific problems that a group of teachers may face in a given community. The necessity for improved and extended programs of in-service training is inferred by the inherent shortcomings of the master's degree programs as they now exist and the NDEA Institutes. Unfortunately, the vast majority of our teachers continue to take the master's degree in professional education. Of the estimated 40,000 teachers of modern foreign language-and this is an estimation, based on other estimations-some 14,000 have attended NDEA Institutes. For the past three years, and continuing this summer, there has been an effort to form homogeneous groups of participants by institutes. However, this grouping has been based solely on the applicant's estimation of his language proficiency. In theory, this method might have great merit; in practice, one wonders. It might occur to those who have attended or taught in an institute that participants selected on the basis of height, color of hair, or indeed, preferences in detergents, might easily produce an equally homogeneous group; it has to me. Yet, since the participants are considered to be homogeneous, the courses are primarily general in nature. This mention of the lack of attention to the specific problems that individual participants have is not meant to be a criticism of the institutes' curriculum planning

An Alternative to the NDEA Institute

THERE is general agreement among educators and others in public life that a major need today is the training of foreign language teachers. Not only is the field of foreign languages expanding but its methodology is undergoing radical changes. Traditional methods are being re-evaluated while new approaches to language learning are being advocated. Foreign languages are the subject of intensive experimental studies drawing upon the findings of linguistic science and utilizing the tools made possible by scientific advance. Not only do prospective teachers have to receive basic training in the new approaches to foreign language teaching but experienced teachers as well need the opportunity to make a critical appraisal of their methods and to become acquainted with the latest developments in the field. Foreign Language Institutes established by the National Defense Education Act have made a valiant attempt to cope with this urgent need for teacher training. They are providing an intensive program for many new and experienced teachers. The NDEA Institutes, however, cannot by themselves meet the need for teacher training which exists today. On the one hand, there are not enough openings for all the teachers who apply. On the other hand, many teachers who need further training cannot leave their homes in order to pursue their work on a college campus. Many cannot give up their family responsibilities. Moreover, there is a great number of teachers who for one reason or another do not wish to be involved in an all-day teacher training program. To these teachers can also be added the group of veteran teachers for whom very few places can be found in the NDEA Institutes. These are experienced teachers with a wide educational background who nevertheless feel a need to keep abreast of new developments in the field. Finally, there are the teachers whose school term ends too late to allow them to attend an NDEA Institute. For all these teachers, it is obvious that the NDEA Institutes cannot be of service.

Teaching “Culture” in N.D.E.A. Foreign Language Institutes: Reflections on the Ambiguities of the Anthropological Concept of Culture

Teaching “Culture” in N.D.E.A. Foreign Language Institutes: Reflections on the Ambiguities of the Anthropological Concept of Culture

Teaching "Culture" in N. D. E. A. Foreign Language Institutes: Reflections on the Ambiguities of the Anthropological Concept of Culture

Teaching "Culture" in N. D. E. A. Foreign Language Institutes: Reflections on the Ambiguities of the Anthropological Concept of Culture

Objectivity in Civilization Courses*

The Modern Language JournalVolume 46, Issue 1 p. 29-30 Objectivity in Civilization Courses* Harry A. Walbruck, Harry A. Walbruck University of Wisconsin Racine and Kenosha CentersSearch for more papers by this author Harry A. Walbruck, Harry A. Walbruck University of Wisconsin Racine and Kenosha CentersSearch for more papers by this author First published: January 1962 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1962.tb00792.x † The above observations are based on a culture course given at the 1961 NDEA Foreign Language Institute of the University of Wisconsin in Madison by the writer, a former language teacher and newspaperman in Germany, who also covered the Nuremberg trials in 1946 and took part in several cultural exchange programs in England and Holland. 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 onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume46, Issue1January 1962Pages 29-30 RelatedInformation

REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this articles:The Bases of Speech, 3rd Edition, G. W. Gray and C. M. Wise.Manual and Anthology of Applied Linguistics: For Use in the NDEA Foreign Language Institutes, Simon Belasco, editor.Reading and Word Study for Students of English as a Second Language, Kenneth Croft.Teacher's Manual for Spelling Patterns, Frances Adkins Hall and Eleanor H. Brenes.Spelling Patterns, A Review Speller, Frances Adkins Hall and Eleanor H. Brenes.