Developing Professional-Level Language Proficiency

This book examines approaches to teaching students who aim to make the leap from "advanced" or "superior" proficiency in a foreign language to "near-native" ability. While there are an abundance of publications on classroom techniques and methods for lower levels of instruction, almost nothing exists about the transition, which is vital for those who intend to use foreign languages in high-level arenas. Compiled by leading practitioners in this area of foreign language teaching, the book fills the gap for those developing programs at the "advanced to distinguished" level.

Betty Lou Leaver is Senior Specialist in Curriculum and Faculty Development at the American Councils for International Education and Fellow at the National Foreign Language Center.

Boris Shekhtman is President of the Specialized Language Training Center and Lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages at Howard University.