See FL 502 554 for companion article. (RS)

Discusses weaknesses in the Burstall report's evaluation of a pilot experiment in elementary-to-secondary French instruction. (AM)

Critical of the language instruction which students receive in elementary and secondary schools, the author examines the teaching potential of televised instruction. Foreign language instruction in the elementary school is noted to be particularly weak. Discussion of an experiment involving some 800 children in 4th and 5th grades suggests that…

This study discusses the effect of early instruction in French in eight elementary schools on subsequent student achievement at the end of grades 7, 8, and 9. The Common Concepts Foreign Language Test in French was the criterion of achievement for the seventh-grade students. Results give averages, differences, and significance of the differences…

This is an account of the first two years' operation of a national experiment in language instruction in England, jointly sponsored by the Schools Council and the Nuffield Foundation for teaching French in primary schools. The report discusses: (1) origins of the experiment, (2) planning the pilot project, (3) "Why French?," (4) the…

This report describes the background, aim and design of the EPAL (English in the elementary school) project in Sweden. As background to the project, a survey is included of the increasingly important position of teaching English from the 1940's through the great school reforms of the 50's and 60's. Developments in foreign language teaching in the…

In order to gain some insight into the issue of optimum age for second language learning, the experiment described in this report was based on the negative hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the ability of randomly selected subjects, kindergarten through grade six, to imitate critical sounds and sound clusters embedded in words…

Factors which influence the acquisition of a second language within the framework of the British educational system are examined in this study. An ongoing, 10-year, language experiment (1964-74) involving 18,000 students ranging in age from 8 to 13, concentrates on determining the desirability and practicability of starting modern language…

A 10-year educational experiment being conducted in England in which 18,000 elementary school students are taught French by non-specialist teachers is described. The methods used rely extensively on audiovisual materials. Discussion focuses on the following factors affecting the program: (1) sex of the student, (2) socioeconomic status, (3)…

An experiment in the teaching of reading in Spanish to second- and third-grade students, conducted by the author at the Ethel Phillips elementary school, utilizes a modified version of Dr. Laubach's "syllabic, analytic-synthetic" method of language instruction. In this approach, vowels are combined in succession with each of the consonants to…

The main purpose of this experiment was to ascertain whether or not the attitudes, motives, and language proficiency of children engaged in a long sequence (5-10 years) of foreign language study vary significantly as a function of interpersonal contacts, through the exchange of illustrated cultural dialogues, with peer groups who speak the target…

This experiment examines a new psychological approach to foreign language study at the elementary school level. A principal objective is to determine the nature and importance of second language learning motivation in monolingual societies devoid of the daily living example of the target language and culture. A five-year French language sequence,…

This experiment examines a new psychological approach to foreign language study at the elementary school level. A principal objective is to determine the nature and importance of second language learning motivation in monolingual societies devoid of the daily living example of the target language and culture. A five-year French language sequence,…