The language problem of emigrant children has two major aspects: (1) concern for mother tongue maintenance; and (2) concern that the children are not learning the second language, which is the official language of the host country. The first is primarily the concern of the family, whereas the second is the concern of the entire community. Massive…

This bibliography provides the teacher of adult limited-English speakers with a list of the books which are available to help them learn English. The focus is on the adult who is interested in immediate employment or vocational training in English. Materials written for college or university-bound adults are not included. A list of articles,…

This paper describes a technique for giving ESL (English as a second language) students with rather limited English ability an opportunity to talk on a regular basis. The technique takes into consideration: (1) the time limitations of the classroom; (2) the tendency of some students to dominate discussion and the need for giving others…

Four types of exploratory foreign language programs are described: (1) the language overview course, (2) the trial-study course, (3) the Level I offering, and (4) the course for the non-college bound. It is largely in the middle schools (grades 6-8) and junior high schools (grades 7-9) that exploratory programs are being used. The language…

A report is presented of a survey conducted in the fall of 1977 among 185 representative foreign language supervisors, teachers on all levels, and teacher trainers. The purpose of the survey was to determine what projects and research in the area of curriculum, instruction, and classroom management were most needed and should therefore be…

These 16 papers in French and English deal with questions related to the purpose of learning a language, one's native language as well as a second one. Specifically, the presentations deal with the following topics: (1) consideration of learners' needs; (2) the usefulness of learning English in Quebec; (3) the tension between knowledge and…

A general model for second language learning is proposed in this paper. First, this model aims to describe different components (input, intake, integration, output) of the learning process in terms of the information (explicit/implicit, linguistic/sociolinguistic) to which the learner is exposed. Secondly, the model serves to identify the stages,…

Most instructional materials developed in the past 10-15 years do not provide for sufficient activities to allow the student to become involved in anything other than drill and memorization. Furthermore, in those situations where "communication activities" do occur, they are designed to teach the sentence as a structural, grammatical…

Games, simulations and related techniques as an extension of the language teacher's repertory are receiving renewed attention. The value of goal-directed pair or group activities in teaching for communicative competence is obvious. Less value is attached to the sort of "language games" which consist of juggling verbal formulae of little or no…

The guidelines presented here consider important questions of English language proficiency for foreign students entering colleges and universities in the United States. Several problems are discussed: admissions, measurement of proficiency, responsibility of the institution, administration of the English-as-a-second-language (ESL) program, ESL and…

The conditions for the acquisition of communicative competence in standard English must be considered in the case of language learning by immigrants, indigenous minority language groups, and speakers of Black English. The crucial factor in language learning is the relationship between the minority group and the local society. Among immigrant…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate French programs in Alberta. Evaluation teams visited schools in four jurisdictions; each school jurisdiction provided a representative sample of 50 non-Francophone students at each of the grades 6, 9, and 11, and a sample of 25 dropouts from the program in each of the grades 6 and 11. Tests and…

Literacy across Cultures, the journal of the Foreign Language Literacy Special Interest Group, a special interest group formed within the Japan Association for Language Teaching, seeks to network people, ideas, theory, practice, and experiences that can help lead to a better understanding of foreign language literacy. This issue contains six…

A study explored questions on changing skill requirements of small firms in the services sector that are internationalizing their activities. These seven European Union (EU) member states were involved: Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The services sector accounted for a significant part of the EU…

This dissertation addresses the general experience of foreign language learners of high school and college age who are totally blind and who study in regular classroom settings. In a qualitative study, interviews were conducted with five nearsighted students, their foreign language classroom teachers, and teachers of students with visual…