The replacement of the grammatical syllabus with a communicative syllabus is discussed in terms of foreign language teaching practice. A syllabus is a device to assist in effective teaching and an administrative tool which involves generalizing about the nature of learning and specifies a progression to a stated set of goals. Developments in…

Second language students are often discouraged in trying to acquire oral fluency skills. Four specific problem areas are: (1) timidity; (2) listening comprehension difficulties; (3) oral reading problems; and (4) difficulty in putting sentences together. An approach that emphasizes writing skills avoids these problem areas and uses skills the…

Describes techniques for measuring and developing the syntactic fluency of students learning French. (P M P)

A technique is described for eliciting true communication in the elementary German classroom which is also applicable to more advanced study. Students define simple words in German and are encouraged to help one another build a cumulative definition. The instructor reinforces the concept of language as a social activity. (SW)

Teachers of English as a second language can try to help students build up a listening fluency so they can detect their own errors in English when it "sounds wrong." One procedure for this is explained; it involves learning discriminations through hypothesis testing of contrasts and providing immediate feedback. (CHK)

Presents a proposal to bring literature into the basic program of instruction and make it a meaningful component of the learning process. A model lesson describes how literary texts can be perceived and studied as performances of a language. (CB)

Analysis of language research and observation of two language classes suggest that, when teachers devote efforts to promoting students' encounters with and use of natural language, students will have the opportunity not only to learn about language, but also to arrive at proficiency in its use. (CB)

Translated from the Russian. (DD)

Revised version of a paper read on June 17, 1969, at a conference at the Hessian Institute for Continuing Teacher Education. (DS)

The editor of a treatise encouraging the use of American Sign Language for both school and home instruction and communication with the deaf discusses the instructional trends leading to the theory, differences between the suggested instructional methods and previously used methods, and responses to the treatise. (10 references) (CB)

A multilanguage project for development of a foreign-language curriculum is reported along with the teaching method that has evolved from it. The method is represented primarily in a set of "mini-courses," each being a short introduction to a given language. (Contains 34 references.) (Author/LB)

Many language teachers experience frustrations about their lack of success in developing fluency in their students. Reasons for the difficulties are discussed, and the avoidance of short-cuts is advocated. (LB)