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- Title
The “Scientific Linguist” Goes to War: The United States A.S.T. Program in Foreign Languages.
- Authors
Velleman, Barry L.
- Abstract
During World War II there arose in the United States an urgent need for intensive foreign language instruction that emphasized the spoken language. Beginning in April, 1943, the U. S. Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) established approximately 500 intensive speaking courses in over 30 languages in fifty-five United States universities. After a single year, the program was suddenly abandoned, owing to combat personnel needs. The present study proposes to describe the sources, implementation, content, materials development, and methods of the ASTP in foreign languages. The study analyzes the ASTP Spanish language materials, explores the attempts at assessing the speaking proficiency of trainees of the program, and evaluates the program’s contributions to subsequent pedagogical approaches and assessment in the United States.
- Subjects
UNITED States; MILITARY education; FOREIGN language education; SPANISH language education; WORLD War II; CURRICULUM; SPOKEN Spanish; SPANISH language ability testing; TEACHING aids; COLLEGE curriculum
- Publication
Historiographia Linguistica, 2008, Vol 35, Issue 3, p385
- ISSN
0302-5160
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1075/hl.35.3.05vel