Do the cognitive benefits of "interleaving"--the method of alternating between two or more skills or concepts during training--extend to foreign language learning? In four experiments, we investigated the efficacy of interleaved versus conventional blocked practice for teaching adult learners to conjugate Spanish verbs in the…

In the present study, we examine the effects of prompts and recasts on the acquisition of two new and different grammar structures in a task-based learning environment. Sixty-four 14-year-old 9th grade students (low intermediate) learning German as a foreign language were randomly assigned to three conditions: two experimental groups (one…

In recent years, gloss presentation format or the location where a gloss appears with respect to its related target word has received renewed attention. Research suggested that different gloss presentation formats could have differential effects on reading comprehension and/or vocabulary learning. This study hypothesized that the effectiveness of…

This article focuses on the first school for indigenous girls in Algeria that opened in Algiers in 1845. The founder, Eugenie Luce, taught girls the rudiments--French language and grammar, reading, arithmetic, and Arabic, while the afternoon hours were devoted to sewing. This early focus on teaching French in order to achieve the "fusion of…

The experiments outlined in this paper assess the relative effectiveness of two approaches to teaching foreign language grammar to adults. One approach, called the "Implicit Method," is based on the audiolingual habit theory of language learning. Grammar is taught inductively through the reading of dialogues and practice with carefully…

This newsletter provides a summary of the documentation available on the activities connected with the Unterrichtsmethode English (UME) Project, an investigation of methods for teaching English as a second language, conducted from 1965 to 1970. The documents listed and described cover general reports; details of the material-method system;…

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…

This text describes a Swedish research program (GUME Project--the Swedish equivalent of the Gothenburg/Teaching/Methods/English Project) carried out during 1968-71 within the field of second-language instruction and learning. A number of comparative experiments were performed in order to assess the relative merits of two different approaches to…

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…

There is a need for empirical investigation of the optimal length for drill sentences at various states of second language learning. This paper reports the results of a study that explores the effects of sentence length and grammatical structure on the ability of foreign students to repeat English sentences. It was hypothesized that sentences of…

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…

This paper presents a discussion of the theory of bilingual education, including ideas developed by several linguistic researchers. Various aspects of bilingual education are discussed including objectives, definition, raison d'etre, dominance and balance, learning, types, and barriers. Second language learning is considered along with reasons for…

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…

An experiment in language behavior comparing two methods of learning grammatical word order in a new language presents scientific evidence supporting the use of pattern drills in foreign language teaching. The experiment reviews the performance of three groups attempting to learn small segments of Russian "microlanguage": (1) a drill group learned…