Revised version of a paper presented at the TESOL Convention, March 1971, New Orleans, La. (VM)

Paper presented at the TESOL Convention, March 1971, New Orleans, Louisiana, based on a study supported in part by a University of Hawaii Curriculum Development Grant. (VM)

An experiment measuring the effectiveness of two procedures for presenting pattern drills was devised in order to show that pattern drills are most useful as a learning device if deliberately related to situational or meaningful content. Criteria for the selection of subjects are presented here, as are sample test items and a table of results.…

This is a preliminary report on a series of small-scale language teaching experiments, aimed primarily at demonstrating that valid research into language teaching methods is possible. Small-scale refers not to the number of subjects involved, but to the scope of the experiment. Instead of looking at a method as a whole (as happens in large-scale…

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…

The transformational-generative concept of language learning as constructing a theory about language inspired this experiment. Language performance developed by a method of language learning designed to help the student study about a second language through manipulative exercises was compared to language performance developed by a method not…

Project 2 of the GUME research project on foreign language teaching methods considers whether the structures "some" and "any," and their combinations in English, are best taught by adherence to the habit-formation (implicit) theory or by adherence to the cognitive-code learning (explicit) theory. The experiment also investigates the effectiveness…

Project 3 of the GUME research project on foreign language teaching methods, in line with Projects 1 and 2, questions whether the best effect in language teaching is achieved solely by intensive drilling of the structure in question (the implicit method) or if grammatical explanations further the assimilation of the patterns so that, within the…

Project 5 of the GUME study on foreign language teaching methods continues the work of the previous projects concerning the relative effectiveness of a habit-formation (implicit) method and a cognitive-code learning method, with explanations in either the source or target language. The educational problem of Project 5 is teaching the English…

A summary and comparison of the statistical analysis and results of the first three GUME research projects investigating foreign language teaching methods are presented in this report. The methods investigated are the habit-formation or implicit theory and the cognitive-code learning or explicit theory with either source-language or…

Communicative competence can be defined as the ability to function in a truly communicative setting, that is, in a dynamic exchange in which linguistic competence must adapt itself to the total informational input, both linguistic and paralinguistic, of one or more interlocutors. The research described in this book focuses on the development of…

An experiment in inservice training for language teachers is described. The experiment consists of using radio, television, written materials, or tapes to introduce topics in applied linguistics that are relevant to second language teaching methods. The object of the experiment is to determine whether this method, in which the instructor and the…