Paul Stapleton's assessment of the current state of language teaching research (LTR) raises important issues. However, his proposal that social science research approaches in ELT have failed, and that that they should be replaced by approaches from the biological sciences, is unlikely to connect with the knowledge-building needs of ELT…

This volume brings together theoretical perspectives and empirical studies in second language (L2) acquisition and bilingualism and discusses their implications for L2 pedagogy. The book is organized into three sections that focus on prominent linguistic and cognitive theories and together provide a compelling set of state-of-the-art works. Part I…

Discusses recent studies giving conflicting answers, mostly unfavorable, to the question of whether the language laboratory is effective. Also, it is argued that children learn their native language by a process very different from foreign language learning and that research on the stages of language learning is urgently needed. (WGA)

Current brain research indicates a need for "bimodal" foreign-language instruction. This paper evaluates the bimodality of the theoretical model accepted by advocates of proficiency-oriented instruction and recommends that further research be conducted to ascertain the effects on student proficiency of a bimodal approach. (Contains 32…

A core of courses is proposed for the training of French teachers and for the development of postgraduate studies in bilingual education: the nature of language, theories of language acquisition, and effective teaching methods. Collaborative research involving practitioners, researchers, and students will be increasingly important.(MSE)

Listings of over 200 graduate theses and dissertations in English as a second language (ESL) completed since 1975 were studied to determine apparent topic areas and methodologies. (Author/RM)

Research findings on the subject of spelling have been compiled in this paper to assist individuals attempting to improve their effectiveness in the classroom. Investigations in spelling instruction have shown wide differences among students in all classes. These differences point to needs for classroom organization and instruction methods that…

The process of second language teaching is reviewed in this article, written in French, and recognition is given to the influences of linguistics, biology, psychology, and the history of language teaching on present day methodology. Aspects of language teaching methods related to audiovisual and structural-global techniques are identified as (1)…

A discussion of past and future research on immersion instruction focuses on the following areas: product variables, teaching and learning processes, and teacher education. It is found that the "product" emphasis of research in the 1980s has shifted to encompass administrative, instructional, testing, and program design issues. (91 references)…

The value of language learning theory and research is discussed, and the need for content-related linguistic, sociolinguistic and cultural research, as well as treatment-related research on language teaching and learning, is emphasized. It has been only gradually, from about the mid-sixties and increasingly from the early seventies, that second…

A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE RESEARCH ON FLES REVEALS THE NEED FOR GREATER STUDY IN MANY AREAS IN ORDER TO FULLY EVALUATE FLES PROGRAMS. SOME FINDINGS INDICATE THAT YOUNG CHILDREN CAN ACQUIRE PRONUNCIATION SKILLS MORE RAPIDLY AND EASILY THAN ADULTS, BUT IN OTHER AREAS OF LANGUAGE STUDY THERE IS A STRONG POSSIBILITY THAT THE TIME SPENT IN STUDY IS A MORE…

RESEARCH HAS NOT YET YIELDED CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE TO PROVE THE SUPERIORITY OF THE AUDIOLINGUAL APPROACH TO LANGUAGE TEACHING OVER THE TRADITIONAL, GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION METHOD. COLLABORATION ON EXPERIMENTATION BY TRAINED PSYCHOLOGISTS AND LANGUAGE TEACHERS COULD YIELD THE RELIABLE AND USEFUL DATA NEEDED TO MAKE RATIONAL DECISIONS ABOUT IMPROVING…

A review of research bearing on second language teaching methodology looks at what it tells about language processing and production, classroom interaction and second language learning, and learning strategy preferences. The perspective taken is that methodology consists of classroom tasks and activities. Implications of the research for the…

This cooperative research project, supported by the Office of Education Bureau of Research, attempts to answer questions on the effectiveness of reading instruction during a sixth grade beginning Spanish program. Major areas studied include: (1) the effects of reading instruction on listening, speaking, and reading skills, (2) the amounts of…

The research agenda for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teaching and learning summarizes issues identified for further study by ESL professionals over the period of 1996-1998. The document is designed to provide funding agencies with clear priorities for research suggested by leaders in the field, provide researchers with support for proposing…