This study attempted to investigate the ability of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom learning environment and student background characteristics to predict student persistence in EFL learning. The study also aimed to investigate whether the associations between learning environment characteristics and persistence varied by several…

This article discusses principles involved in developing course materials for technology-mediated Chinese language learning, with examples from a new course designed to take into account the needs of distance and independent learners. Which learning environment is most efficient for a given learning activity needs to be carefully considered. It…

The role of the syllabus in second language teaching is described, distinguishing six major types of syllabi and how they might be implemented in various teaching situations. The foreign language teaching syllabus involves both the integration of subject matter (what to talk about) and linguistic matter (how to talk about it). Choices of syllabi…

Reviews recent literature in second language acquisition (particularly concerning Krashen's Input Hypothesis) and in English for specific purposes (ESP) to find a firm theoretical basis for the development of communicative approaches to language teaching in ESP contexts. Tries to define the characteristics of noninterference/input strategies that…

Some aspects of planning second language programs along communicative lines are examined, and a framework for planning communicative classroom activities is described. The problem of determining whether to start planning with methodology and materials or overall curriculum design is discussed at length. A practical solution, a teacher's handbook…

Four questions concerning the communicative approach are addressed: (1) What are its theoretical foundations? (2) How does the new approach force teachers to reexamine the stated goal of helping learners communicate? (3) How does it modify teaching methods? (4) What are the implications of adopting a European teaching model? (MSE)

The stages of development of an adult communicative course in French are outlined, including the principles used in course content selection, structural progression, and the means found for encouraging student participation. The primary influence for the course came from the Council of Europe and experience with adult students. (Author/MSE)

Discusses a program outline for French language instruction covering the first four years of study and five levels. The GLAFLL program (Graded Levels of Achievement in Foreign Language Learning), under study at the Education Center of Edinburgh, is based on the communicative competence approach and stresses student participation. (MES)

This book aims to help the practicing language teacher apply theories of communicative language teaching in classroom situations. The text is divided into two main parts, preceded by an introductory paper which sketches some of the background to communicative language teaching and attempts definitions of crucial terms. The first part of the book…

This paper contends that communicative competence should be the organizational principle in foreign language teaching, and outlines a proposed communication-oriented language teaching unit. Its advantages in both teaching and learning are discussed. (CHK)

Despite the diversity in syllabus design and teaching methodologies for English as a second language, and for second language instruction in general, communicative proficiency is the underlying common goal. Some of the most influential ideas supporting this trend come from the fields of sociolinguistics, second language acquisition, and second…

A proposal for introducing basic communication courses into China's foreign language curriculum argues that it is a change needed to meet the new objectives of foreign language teaching in that country. Four suggestions for a smooth transition include: (1) basing the communication courses on what already exists in the curriculum; (2) using a large…

Two aspects of a 9-month intensive course in Indonesian are outlined: the component introducing language use in Indonesian social situations, and the choice of instructional materials. The language of social situations is introduced systematically in a series of combinations of speaker, location, and topic, and includes a substantial segment on…

This study of the notional-functional approach to second language teaching reviews the history and theoretical background of the method, current issues, and implementation of a notional-functional syllabus. Chapter 1 discusses the history and theory of the approach and the organization and advantages of the notional-functional syllabus. Chapter 2…

This article presents an analysis of a course in oral English created at the University of Nancy in 1974 for adult beginning students of English as a second language. The linguistic foundations of the course are discussed (verbal communication and communicative competence), as well as its psychopedagogic and pedagogic bases (cognitive approach,…