TNL LI SS SSS SS learning process. Students then begin to realize that inefficient, ineffective strategies must be revised or discarded and replaced by more appropriate strategies. Additionally, language instructors must help students address the emotional demands faced by many language learners. Research indicates that the oral production required during language instruction may provoke considerable anxiety. Not only must students contend with the new sound system of the foreign language, they must attempt conversations and discussions that could easily be carried out in English. Moreover, with an inefficient amount of new language vocabulary and expressions, learners may begin to believe that they are simply incapable of learning a foreign language. Even with rather high motivational levels, language learners soon may feel that they are not progressing at an accept- able rate. Again, information through assessment provided by the instructor may help to persuade learners to accept and understand their self-diagnosed deficiency more realistically. Additionally, methods of reducing students’ stress and anxiety through positive self-talk, guided imagery, and other relaxation techniques bear investigation by the college-level foreign language instructor concerned with student success. Proficiency in a foreign language usually takes many years to achieve. Normally learners will require resi- dency in the foreign language culture in order to become optimally proficient. Research indicates that proficiency seems to be enhanced if the learner desires to integrate at least somewhat with the people who speak the foreign language and their culture. If learners bring negative attitudes toward the foreign language or stereotypes about its speakers to the classroom, it will be more difficult for them to invest the necessary effort in develop- ing strategies needed for achieving true language profi- ciency. Instructors should provide avenues for helping learners to rethink old attitudes and thus improve the chance to become both linguistically and culturally proficient in the new language. Instructional Strategies for the Foreign Language Classroom Recommendations for increasing foreign language learners’ strategies and self-regulatory awareness in foreign language classes include: ° Helping students assess their attitudes, motivations, study habits, and beliefs about foreign language learning from the beginning. Knowledge of these variables will allow the instructor to address indi- vidual student needs in order to improve students’ Opportunity for acquiring skill and proficiency in the language. * Giving honest assessments of the amount of time required to learn a foreign language and the level of attainment that learners may expect to achieve at the end of a particular course of study. If the instructor has had language learning experiences (which most all have had), it is appropriate to share these insights with students. * Encouraging learners’ self-reporting of activities outside of class by means of journals. This activity should contribute to enhanced language proficiency, provide opportunity for direct feedback from the instructor, and perhaps offer a strategy for helping the students take a more analytical look at them- selves and the language learning process. ° Suggesting that students exchange telephone numbers and form cooperative study groups for outside-of-class learning activities. Not only will they be able to share experiences as participants in the same endeavor, but they will be able to observe the study strategies of peers in their own quest for language proficiency. As language instructors, we owe it to current and future students to make the language learning process a less stressful, more pleasant and productive educational enterprise. Jeri H. Dies, Graduate Assistant, Foreign Language Education For further information contact the author at The Univer- sity of Texas at Austin, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, EDB 528E, Austin, TX 78712. Suanne D. Roueche, Editor Peterbilt Rachael October 22, 1993, Vol. XV, No. 25 ©The University of Texas at Austin, 1993 Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER institutions for their own personnel. INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administration, College of Education, EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austn, Austin, Texas 78712, (512) 471-7545. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issued weekly when classes are in session during fal and spring terms. ISSN 0199-106X.