Suggestions are offered here for effecting a smooth transition in Spanish FLES classes from the audiolingual skills level to a level of reading competence which allows for proper pronunciation and both oral and silent reading comprehension. The discussion centers on creating reading readiness at the pre-reading level and considered such aspects as…

Communicative competence in a second language is conditioned by the transfer of linguistic, heuristic and interactive aptitudes. A solution to the problems raised by this threefold transfer might be found in the conjunction of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic insights. A number of pedagogical techniques are suggested in order to show how the…

This paper reports on a program developed to prepare teaching materials for the instruction of French to adolescents who have French as a native language but no longer speak French at home. A principal goal is to create situations that will inspire students to communicate in French, and to avoid purely academic exercises. Since students tend to…

Two questions arise from attempts to develop reading comprehension in scientific French: (1) should the concentration be mainly on vocabulary, or on grammar as well, and if so, what aspect of grammar; and (2) should the students' native language be taken into account, and if so, in what way: by translating, or through a systematic comparison of…

This guide is addressed to teachers and/or school administrators who may have non-English-speaking Vietnamese and Cambodian children in their classrooms. The guide describes certain interference problems involved in learning a second language, as well as a number of psychological and cultural factors affecting the learning process. A suggested…

This is the eighth volume in a continuing series of papers on the teaching of English as a second language. The 14 papers included here represent work in progress and cover a wide range of topics. In the first paper, E. Hatch summarizes recent studies in language switching and mixing. Specific ESL teaching techniques are suggested in articles by…

This essay considers three areas in Spanish grammar that generally cause difficulty to English-speaking learners: the use of "ser" and "estar," the difference in use between the preterite and imperfect tenses, and the use of the subjunctive. Like most problematic grammatical elements in any language, these points are difficult for non-native…

The sound systems of Vietnamese and English have very little in common and therefore the Vietnamese learner of English will have great difficulty with pronunciation. This guide points out the specific problem areas and gives pronunciation exercises to deal with each problem. Twenty-eight pronunciation lessons are included, preceded by two…

Gives a brief account of some factors which affect the teaching and learning of English pronunciation in Jordanian secondary schools. These factors include negative transfer from Arabic into English, learning strategies, and socioemotional, methodological, and psychological factors. (SED)

Discusses the value of classifying the errors adult language learners make and of comparing them to errors made by children. It is suggested that teachers correct student errors in the same way parents correct children's errors in order to encourage successful learning. (CFM)

Summarizes research on educational programs that use stigmatized varieties of English in the classroom, and reviews relevant theory and research in psycholinguistics and second language acquisition. Research on educational programs shows that using the stigmatized variety in formal education seems to have a positive effect on the acquisition of…

This English pronunciation manual for adults was developed by teachers for teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL), specifically aimed at those who do not have training in linguistics or foreign language instruction. It is a compendium of methodologies used by ESL teachers and is not aimed at any particular foreign language learner.…

Renewed interest in the connection between black English and reading difficulty warrants a summary of the groundwork laid in the 1960s and 1970s. Linguists have established the fact that black English is a legitimate language, that its speakers are not language deficient, and that the basic difference in black and standard English pertains to…

Examines the loss in popularity of contrastive linguistics as a method for explaining second language learning systems, and calls for a turn to pragmatics in language teaching. (AM)

This paper presents several methods of reading instruction that teachers can use with young readers, particularly learners of English as a Second Language (ESL), to help them cope with potential negative effects of background knowledge. Insufficient or inaccurate background knowledge may cause readers to make inferences or interpretations that are…