This is an excerpt from a course for advanced students, designed to teach proficiency in English composition by providing activities specifically geared to the elimination of native language interference. (LG)

A comparison is made between the modal verb systems of German and English with an emphasis on the interference caused by slight variations. (TL)

The article defines the word-ordering problems that American students encounter while studying Russian, and underlines the necessity and feasibility of presenting basic concepts of word-order to beginning students. A specific method which stresses oral drill is outlined. Some results are discussed. (CLK)

Recent years have seen the decline in popularity of contrastive analysis (CA) and the rise of error analysis (EA) as a method for explaining and predicting errors in second language learning. In CA, it is felt that by comparing the structure of a first language (L1) to that of one being learned (L2), errors can be predicted. These errors are…

An investigation of the naturalistic acquisition of a second language phonology, based on the case of a native Icelandic speaker learning the fricatives and affricates of English, reveals that neither transfer hypothesis nor the developmental hypothesis alone provides an adequate explanation of second language phonological development. This…

The author discusses claims that linguistics can solve the problems of language teaching. Linguistics is either a theory of language or a description of a particular language, and both vary greatly from investigator to investigator, both as to scope and substance. Linguistic "analysis is the business of the linguist" but it is not essential to the…

First language and second language learners have to learn through making mistakes. Foreign language learners do not have to learn, to anything like the same extent, in this way. Foreign language teachers should study students' mistakes in order better to understand how they are learning and mislearning. Teachers should try to avoid language…

Implicit in the discussion of views taken by Wolfe, Geschwind, and Newmark is a claim that no learning theory based solely on "nurture" can account for the fact that language acquisition in childhood is a trait, in adulthood a skill. The child can master the language system completely, regardless of his intellectual capacity or his social…

Intended for use with English-speaking students, this text is based on the most frequent errors of interference and overgeneralization made by these students learning Modern Greek. The material is presented in the form of translation drills from English into Greek. Each drill begins with a sample sentence given in both languages followed by nine…

Compares the error-grading system of Zydatiss (in 'Linguistik und Didaktik', No. 24, 1975) with examples from the "Natural L2 (Second Language) Acquisition" project, and raises the question of how far it is possible for a teacher to utilize the approach of a self-guided language-learning process. (IFS/WGA)

Attempts to show that study of the differences between English and Chinese can help account for the difficulties Chinese speakers have in learning English and vice versa. Discussion focuses on: What devices are used to signal important structural meanings in the two languages? How do they differ from each other? (Author/KM)

A thorough knowledge of grammar is a necessary condition for fluency and correct expression in a foreign language because it replaces one's instinct in the native language. Three rules for mastery are given: regular practice of specific exercises; a habit of self-criticism; work on weak points. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

A brief analysis of the complex English non-past tense contrasted with the simple Moroccan-Arab non-past. In English the non-past is represented by many forms; in Moroccan-Arabic it is represented by few forms. This fact is the cause of confusion to the Moroccan learner of English. (AMH)

This article concentrates on problems faced by Italians when learning the stress of English single, cognate, and compound words. (CHK)

The term ethnoreconstruction has been coined to refer to a strategy by which a speaker of one language or dialect attempts to speak a related language or dialect by systematically transforming the elements. The process is discussed with reference to several languages. (CHK)