This article makes two points about foreign language: (1) proper pronunciation is indispensable to initial accuracy and comprehension, as well as to later study of literature and culture; and (2) the best approach to pronunciation is based on the native language as a contrastive model. Taking as an example the learning of German by…

The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the oral reading strategies of average and below-average readers in grades four, five, and six who were speakers of Hawaiian Islands dialect. Fifty subjects from Keaukaha School on the island of Hawaii composed the sample group. Subjects were selected on the basis of their standardized test…

The psychological problem of interference is analyzed and its significance for the instruction of the target language is outlined from following viewpoints: behavioral aspects, the system theory of van Parrerens and Chomsky's model of generative language acquisition. (Text is in German.) (IFS/MS)

In the "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" appear periodically the so-called "Filser Letters," in which current topics are presented in incorrect English, reflecting German structure and vocabulary. These might be used in Secondary Grade II, from a contrastive point of view. A sample "Filserbrief" is presented. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

The subject of this article is a Cantonese-speaking infant who arrived in the U.S. at 16 months. At 19 months, three striking anomalies marked her Cantonese speech. These anomalies are discussed; it is proposed that their origin may have been her new English-speaking environment. (CHK)

A review of recent research suggests that evidence is lacking to support the conclusion that black dialect interference is a major contributor to black children's reading problems. (MKM)

Proposes a method for describing the relationship between writing error and style shifting rates across communicative situations. Finds that errors diminished in proportion to the tendency of students to select grammatical features that are shared by Black American English and Standard American English in formal communicative situations. (RAE)

Discusses several objections to Krashen's Input Hypothesis which states that language acquisition is the learners' understanding of a language at a stage slightly higher than their current one because of their understanding of extralinguistic cues of the language. (Author/LMO)

Describes the controversial Deficit Theory in relation to Mary Mason's position that educational failure and linguistic "handicap" or "deficit" are directly related. Argues that Mason's position reveals a limited understanding of both linguistics to education and the process of sociocultural transmission. Questions the quality…

Draws on findings in psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and social psychology in order to document the factors involved in second language acquisition and the implications for the classroom teacher. Pays particular attention to the theory that second language acquisition follows a similar process to first language acquisition as contrasted with…

Describes a study which tested the proposal that adults learning second languages transfer errors from their first language (L1) to their second language (L2) when the L1 has activated a parameter of Universal Grammar which is not operative in the L2. The subjects were native Spanish speakers learning English. (SED)

Points out that the prelingually deaf, whose first language is American Sign, need to learn English as a second language (ESL). The teaching methods of ESL have been successful when applied to deaf education, and there is a need for improved coorporation between teachers of the deaf and ESL teachers. (Author/SED)

Uses data from English-speaking children learning French in the Toronto French Immersion Program as evidence to support the 1981 study by Gundel and Tarone on the acquisition of pronouns by Chinese- and Spanish-speaking adults learning English. This study concluded that the acquisition of direct object pronouns proceeds in three stages. (SED)

Four major difficulties encountered by Iraqi learners of English when pronouncing English vowels are outlined and discussed, and suggestions for the teacher of English are made. (RM)

Describes a study of "analogy" and "interference" errors in the syntax of second language learners. (Author/RM)