This article describes an experiment undertaken to analyze the learning habits of Latin students in Germany, discusses the implications therein for programed instruction, and relates the advantages of such instruction. In the experiment, students were found to confuse similar words which had been presented together in instruction (e.g.…

This article investigates a specific foreign language (FL) learning problem, the substitution of /s,z/ for English unvoiced and voiced "th" by native speakers of Egyptian Arabic, and concludes that the facts are better explained in terms of language transfer than by an explanation in terms of inherent difficulty independent of native…

The interlanguage hypothesis, as it accounts for some of the problems and complexities inherent in second language learning, is described. This approach is compared with the strong version of the contrastive analysis hypothesis. Strengths and weaknesses of the interlanguage hypothesis are examined. (Author/RM)

Recommends that language teaching be organized by complexity of communication tasks rather than by difficulty of linguistic structure, that learner speech be analyzed on its own terms borrowing methods from child language studies, and that the adjustments in speech that teachers make in talking to students be recognized as such. (MLA)

A description of an analysis of 10,000 errors made by Finns and Swedes who were learning Finnish or Swedish as a foreign language. A new classification of errors is established and a precise definition of language mixing is given. Five types of errors are described. (AMH)

Spanish-speaking learners of Portuguese often transfer features of Spanish language to Portuguese. Learner errors, including those caused by Spanish interference, are analyzed by contrasting Portuguese and Spanish grammar. (SW)

Describes a study done to test the hypothesis that factors that shape children's production of their native language (L1) will also influence adults' pronunciation of sounds in a foreign language (L2). Results confirmed the hypothesis that developmental processes are "reactivated" when adults attempt to produce L2 sounds not found in their L1.…

Describes a study of two Polish speakers learning English, which investigated whether modifications of complex syllable structures in the interlanguage were attributable to transfer and whether they showed movement toward an open syllable pattern. Of the modifications not attributable to transfer, only half showed movement toward an open syllable…

Results of a study of sound system acquisition of five-year-old students of English-as-a-second-language show that first- and second-language learners exhibit similar but not identical simplification processes, and that evidence for a common developmental sequence in acquisition of consonant sounds was limited. (MSE)

Discusses the use of English for purposes of comparison and illustration in teaching German grammar. (RS)

Lists advantages of using the initial teaching alphabet for language learning. (RK)