It is proposed that a speech-dynamic analysis of oral fluency phenomena serves best to highlight the nondiscrete nature of the sound stream and to capture English syllable structure. Some current concepts and practices in oral testing are criticized, and previously neglected evidence concerning temporal variables in speech, automatic speech…

The decision of whether to use French or English in Montreal, Canada, is not always predetermined but must be negotiated by the interactants in conversation in ways that can be serious or humorous and have great potential for misunderstanding. The complex relationship between language choice and ethnicity is one factor involved in the decision…

A study was conducted to compare the communication apprehension levels of Puerto Rican college students with those of United States college students. The Puerto Rican students were considered bilingual, having received instruction in English as a second language for most of their school years. In the first phase of the study, 341 students who…

Test score data for kindergarten and first grade children were subjected to several forms of multivariate analysis. First, all fall and spring kindergarten data were factor analyzed to reduce the test scores to the least number of dimensions possible. General ability factors corresponding to the expected test dimensions were obtained in all…

The beneficial aspects of introducing objectives for foreign language teaching based on functional or communicative principles are discussed. Functional objectives make the learner the center of interest and aid in the process of deciding what to include in a syllabus. Functional objectives offer more guidelines for the teacher in the classroom…

Maintaining that sentence-combining language experience is the single most beneficial tool currently available to improve student writing, this paper speculates about the value and effects of the adoption of the language experience approach across the English curriculum. It presents six tasks that need to be undertaken by teachers, researchers,…

The purpose of the report is to explain why so many different types of people in so many different parts of the country need languages in their work, and why students planning their education in preparation for certain kinds of careers should be aware of these needs. The focus is mainly on language as an auxiliary skill, on the careers in which…

This volume contains suggested curriculum guidelines for an effective bilingual program, with specific focus on Spanish language skills for the third grade level. The philosophy of the program views bilingual education as a vehicle and pedagogical tool to be used to better prepare all children to function in society. The point of departure for…

The relationship between various aspects of mother-child interaction and the language performance of young disadvantaged Negro children is assessed in this study. An exploratory survey was conducted to determine if mothers in socially disadvantaged families were willing to enter a parent participation preschool program. Subjects for this study,…

The need for Mexican American students to become fluent in Spanish as well as proficient in English has become of prime importance in the Southwest. There are several substantial reasons why it is imperative that Mexican American youngsters become fluent in Spanish. The student's capabilities in Spanish will be important in his search for a…

This study was undertaken to assess: (1) the U.S. corporate demand for Americans holding an MBA degree with a concentration in International Management, (2) the U.S. corporate demand for foreign nationals holding a similar American MBA degree, and (3) the corporate perception of the value of foreign languages in such an international curriculum. A…

Finds that text material in final (end-of-school) French oral examinations in Germany do not correspond with the accomplishment to be expected of the students, in both appropriateness and degree of difficulty. Offers criteria, sample texts, and suggestions regarding reasonable requirements. (IFS/WGA)

A method of testing student pronunciation involves recording a poem. Students transcribe the words they mispronounced in phonetic script and have it checked by the tutor. The phonetics tutorial is required by first-year students majoring in English who are not native speakers. (SW)

The article compares the use of pattern drills to contextualized practice and suggests that although the second is a more personally meaningful approach, the pattern drills can provide a means through which the operations of many language features will be made more apparent to the learner. (NCR)

Socio-drama can be used to develop communication skills for English as a second language students. Students produce new sentences by participating in several enactments, and language use must be restructured according to the social context. Social interaction, a prerequisite for communication, is also promoted. (SW)