From Language Proficiency to Interactional Competence

leashed by the proficiency movement in this country reminds one of the enthusiasm generated in Europe ten years ago by the communicative approach.' There, the renewal came from the needs of foreign workers and adult professionals travelling within the EEC. It had a high degree of social and political urgency and carried with it a great deal of the idealism of the sixties. Here, the proficiency landslide is born out of national military concerns and economic interests; several setbacks in US international diplomacy have made it clear that US monolingualism and monoculturalism are putting this nation at risk.2 The push for foreign language proficiency in schools and universities aims at "aligning government and academic goals," i.e., goals of the defense department and those of education.3 This paper will first summarize the educational goals of the proficiency movement as they are expressed in particular by Higgs and Lowe.4 It will then examine the extent to which