The need for a contrastive approach in foreign language teaching has long been recognized, but in the construction of textbook materials and in classroom practice it has rarely been realized. For pedagogical purposes a useful distinction can be drawn between difference and contrast. Differences can be taught as new items of knowledge, whereas…

Discusses lexical interference for Germans learning Russian, appearing in (1) imperfect equivalencies, (2) differences in the ways the two languages realize "deeper meanings." Using a contrastive approach, guidelines for teaching are suggested. Some typical lexical errors are analyzed, and suggestions offered for avoiding them. (Text is in…

Speakers of Italian often have problems mastering Spanish because they erroneously believe its great similiarity to Italian makes it easy to learn. One of the fundamental problems is the lack of ability to choose the correct verb, "ser" or "estar," both equivalents of the Italian "essere." (Text is in Spanish.) (CFM)

Examines the difficulties encountered by native speakers of American English with initial consonant clusters in Russian. The phonotactic patterns and articulatory and auditory properties of individual consonants in both languages are compared. Testing explores the relationship of native articulatory habits, the reception of aural stimuli and…

Four major difficulties encountered by Iraqi learners of English when pronouncing English vowels are outlined and discussed, and suggestions for the teacher of English are made. (RM)

The position here is that error analysis is inadequate, particularly from the language-teaching point of view. Non-errors must be considered in specifying the learner's current command of the language, its limits, and his learning tasks. A cyclic procedure of elicitation and analysis, to secure evidence of errors and non-errors, is outlined.…

Illustrates the use of stick figures and symbols in presenting the personal pronoun system in French, with the aim of minimizing relationship confusion. (Text is in French.) (MSE)

Errors made by the foreign language learner are classified and discussed. (RM)

The utility of the second language French children choose to learn is questioned. Some language teaching approaches are reviewed, and it is shown that a mere learning of rules is not sufficient but that sociological and psychological factors contribute to the comprehension and structure of sentences. (Text is in French.) (TL)

Describes process involved in learning and procedures used in teaching an element of grammar, using Russian gender as an example. (RM)

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)

This study compares the sound systems of Cree and English, with special attention given to identifying the differences between the two systems which are likely to cause interference or confusion. Specific teaching suggestions are provided for those who are teaching the English sound system to students who are more familiar with the Cree system.…

The uses of error analysis in teaching English as a second language are discussed. Error analysis can pinpoint areas of difficulty for an individual or an entire class. Materials and methods to use in error analysis are detailed, and use of a card file to catalog errors is suggested. (CHK)