This paper describes an approach to the teaching of listening comprehension for English as a second language. Its goals include improving the students' understanding of lectures and lecture-like materials and taking into account the knowledge that the student brings with him to the listening situation. The materials used in this approach consist…

The role of language structure in the classroom is discussed, and the limitations of the formal analysis of language is enumerated. It is argued that most language problems derive not from difficulties with language form, but from covert differences in value which are characteristically associated with those forms. Examples are given of conflicts…

This paper suggests methods for teaching the Russian verbs that govern what are loosely termed "objects" in oblique cases. The case government of such verbs is not necessarily an individual irregularity. Definite patterns emerge, both morphological and semantic, to facilitate grouping these verbs into classes. Russian verbs requiring genitive…

Dialogs are an effective tool for language acquisition and for transmission of cultural material. Much of the apparent confusion about how they should be used in the language classroom results from a failure to distinguish the ages and levels of proficiency of those for whom the dialogs are designed. The great advantage that dialogs have over…

Students of Spanish in the United States who are native speakers of Spanish need courses designed to meet their special linguistic needs. The tendency has been for teachers to place negative value judgments on the Spanish dialects spoken by Mexican-Americans. Instead, courses should be based on the areas in which the native Spanish speaker needs…

An attempt is made in this book to state some of the features of and dispel some of the myths about nonstandard English, particularly the dialects of English spoken by many black Americans, and to consider alternative policies that might be adopted regarding varied forms of English. The chapters of the book include "What Is the Problem?""Is…

An attempt to fill the gap between the purely theoretical and the purely practical, this book provides the classroom teacher with a set of principles for using linguistics in devising and evaluating teaching techniques. Briefly, the chapters (1) present some special learning principles that distinguish language learning from other types of…

One hundred native-born, disadvantaged black children were the subject of this study which proposed the following hypotheses: (1) Subjects proficient in spoken language ability would achieve greater gains in reading ability than those deficient in spoken language ability; however, the former group would vary negligibly among sub-groups in reading…

Articles by four diverse educational innovators offer teachers some approaches to children's writing: (1) Eldonna L. Evertts advises that free self-expression should precede close attention to syntax and spelling; (2) James Britton, in four separate articles, points out: the intimate relationship between speech and children's processes of…

In pattern drills, the context must be clear. Frequent repetition is necessary, and spontaneity must be sought. Intonation must be considered as well as content and structure. Pattern drill should start with one sentence, but progress beyond the sentence level, to free use of the materials. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

This paper discusses normal and deviant phonological processes and describes applications of emerging technology to enhance acquisition of spoken language by hearing-impaired children. Key elements for advancing spoken language development include exposure to spoken language patterns from early infancy, increased use of strategies promoting…

Business communication courses often include a mix of students who are native speakers of the language of instruction and those who are not. When native speakers form a majority, it is hard to meet the special needs of the nonnative speakers. If a course's purpose is to cover strategic aspects of communication, it seems inappropriate to spend…

This article stresses the idea that teaching communicative competence and the ability to deal with a variety of language situations should be the goal of foreign language teaching, with grammar instruction in a secondary position. Teaching by means of "dialogues with options" is discussed and sample dialogues for Italian instruction are given.…

A stylistics-based approach to teaching poetry in the English as a foreign language classroom is examined. Since students may not have the linguistic skills to appreciate a poem, an analytical framework is proposed that includes the elements of repetition, confusion, and surprise. Reference is made to two poems, "In a Season of Unemployment"…

This multiple case study investigated the relationship between kindergarten teachers' questions and children's responses. The classroom discussions of 4 groups of children and their teachers (all middle income level) were taped and classified into five different question and response categories. Results indicated that: (1) some teachers ask more…