A number of language classroom activities designed to incorporate the senses into the English-as-a-Second-Language learning process are described. The strategies used involve group problem-solving, role-playing, information-gap activities using drawing and visual aids, the Total Physical Response approach, student-developed illustrations, games…

The material in this teacher's guide supplements existing tape materials in the lessons of the basic course in French. The exercises begin with Lesson 13 of the Basic Course and continue through Lesson 63. Each unit in this manual concentrates on a grammatical point and contains the following elements: (1) learning objectives, (2) audiolingual…

This review of the state of foreign language education in the United States notes that early grammar-translation methods gave way to the Army Method during World War II. Students learned both inductively and deductively and acquired primarily oral-aural competence, with reading and writing as secondary goals. Not until the late 1950s did the…

This report contrasts the results of a rigidly specified, pattern-oriented approach to learning Spanish with an approach that emphasizes the origination of sentences by the learner in direct response to stimuli. Pretesting and posttesting statistics are presented and conclusions are discussed. The experimental method, which required the student to…

In this article, the author describes her experience teaching English as a second language to kindergarten children of varied language backgrounds. Teaching activities, classroom procedures, and materials are discussed. The basic objective of the program is to increase the children's English vocabulary and to provide cultural education. Ideas for…

A step-by-step description is presented of how the teacher of English as a foreign language can add a question-and-answer period to the oral report. The technique allows for the participation of all students and brings the exercise closer to real conversation. (SW)

Suggests five techniques to be used by the teacher of English as a second language to initiate communication in the classroom: (1) the interview; (2) the mutual interview; (3) the class story; (4) the journal; and (5) role-playing and problem-solving. (CFM)

Conversation classes have three goals: (1) to introduce and practice elements of spoken language; (2) to bring passive knowledge of the language into active use; and (3) to create a situation in which the two other goals may be realized. The place, the material, and the topic are important in achieving these goals. (CFM)

This collection of papers treats second language users in their own right rather than as failed native speakers, reflecting a new shift within the field of second language acquisition research. The 13 papers are: (1) "Background to the L2 User" (Vivian Cook); (2) "Lexical Representation and Lexical Processing in the L2 User"…

Explores whether pragmatic fluency is best acquired by provision of input and opportunity for communicative practice alone, or whether learners profit more with additional explicit instruction in the use of conversational routines. The article hypothesized that such instruction raises learners' awareness of the functions and contextual…

Advocates change in the way American Indian languages are taught in schools and by tribal elders, specifically that they should be taught orally in the classroom. Asserts that American Indian languages must be taught in the context of everyday conversation, not as isolated words, and that new words should also be invented in response to the…

TO DETERMINE WHETHER SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES EXIST IN SKILL PERFORMANCE AS A RESULT OF HEAD START EXPERIENCE AND TO DETERMINE WHETHER THESE DIFFERENCES EXIST BETWEEN TWO ETHNIC GROUPS, 17 ANGLO-AMERICAN AND 62 MEXICAN-AMERICAN CULTURALLY DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN WERE PRE-TESTED AND POST-TESTED DURING THE SUMMER OF 1965 IN CONNECTION WITH SIX-WEEK…

WHEN CHILDREN ENTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THEY POSSESS A LANGUAGE SYSTEM WHICH HAS BEEN INTUITED FROM WHAT THEY HEAR AND WHICH CAN PRODUCE FOR THEM AN INFINITE NUMBER OF SENTENCES REFLECTING EITHER STANDARD OR NONSTANDARD DIALECTS OF ENGLISH. THE ELEMENTARY TEACHER CAN EQUIP THOSE WHO SPEAK A DIVERGENT ENGLISH DIALECT WITH ANOTHER, MORE SOCIALLY…

A literature survey to determine problems American Indians experience with English focused on problems solvable through computer presentation of materials. Recommendations included practice in selected minimally contrasting vowel pairs/consonant pairs, final consonants/consonant clusters, irregular plural nouns, verb tense forms, determiners,…

Examines an interlingual subtitling course for Welsh-English transfer designed to provide professional capability and developed over 10 delivery cycles. Analysis of student performance on course indicates the need for regular practice to maintain capability and the possibility of developing an individual style. (14 references) (Author/CK)