Guidelines for the Title 3 National Defense Education Act (NDEA) language programs in the State of Illinois are presented in this report. Recognition of the changing status of language programs and of declining enrollment in the high schools underscores the need to develop student-centered programs. Discussion of NDEA programs is directed toward…

Collected readings by noted writers in the field of language instruction develop a case for the study of foreign languages. Discussion largely focuses on the problem of the language requirement, the place of foreign languages in the curriculum, methods, philosophy, and interdisciplinary studies. Articles included are: (1) "Should Foreign Language…

This study was made to (1) compare Michigan middle schools with junior high schools on the basis of selected ongoing programs and practices, and (2) determine if the two organizations differed in any way. Proportional stratified sampling provided a selection of 138 junior high schools that could be compared with the 138 middle schools in the…

This article explores the question of whether language teachers are capable of ascertaining student acquisition of grammatical rules when the lesson is taught orally. Oral fluency is seen as the foundation of the language process,and a distinction is made between productive and reproductive speech. Frequent use of examples illustrates linguistic…

Intended to meet a widespread demand among teachers and administrators for coordination among the various modern language offerings in the Fairfax County school system, this publication serves as a guide for the articulation of a sequential language program reflecting recent developments in the goals, content, materials, and methods of modern…

This annotated bibliography provides a guide to books on the theory and practice of language teaching. Instructional materials for classroom use are not included. Eight sections of materials are contained in the work: (1) language, (2) language teaching, (3) English for speakers of other languages, (4) French, (5) German, (6) Italian, (7) Russian…

This guide cites more than 1,000 textbooks for use in French programs at all levels of instruction. Entries are coded by the author's or editor's surname and include brief annotations, bibliographic data, availability, and price. The category index includes: (1) introductory, intermediate, and advanced texts, (2) composition and conversation…

A system for observing and coding verbal interchanges between the teacher and his pupils, at all instructional levels, is described in this study. The system, widely known as the Flanders System of Interaction Analysis, is reviewed in terms of its effect on the classroom behavior of teachers and on student attitudes. The application of the…

A study is described which used student compositions in grades 1-12 to examine expressed values over a 10-year period in the James A. Garfield School District in Garrettsville, Ohio. In four sample years, 1,500 students were assigned open-ended essay topics without knowing the writing was part of a research study. Results were analyzed to…

Results showed hardly any differences in time-on-task behavior between third and fourth grade pupils in mixed age single age mathematics and language arts classes in the Netherlands. Students in mixed age classes spent more time working individually. The ability level of the students had little impact on time-on-task behavior. (Author/RM)

Effects on adjustment of biological maturation and social timing were compared using data from a longitudinal sample of 335 young adolescents, who were followed from the sixth through eighth grades. (Author/LMO)

This paper presents preliminary findings from a large-scale study of ability grouping in English secondary schools. Forty-five secondary schools representing three levels of grouping took part in the research. Within these schools, data have been collected from a cohort of Year 9 pupils, aged 13-14 years. All these pupils took tests in English,…

The author focuses on some of the research needs for early adolescents (ages 10 to 15). It highlights areas in which federal policy concerns intersect with developmental research, and discusses six areas: social equity, basic skills, school discipline, parent participation, and school effectiveness. (Author/KC)

The effects of domain-specific and strategic knowledge on analogy performance were studied for 64 gifted and 64 non gifted sixth grade and high school students. Males (n=66) and females (n=62) performed comparably on almost all dependent measures. Implications for instruction and assessment of both types of knowledge are discussed. (SLD)

Whether significant differences exist between student characteristics (sex, grade point average, and class level) and student perceptions of teacher traits in terms of their importance to learning was studied in 401 undergraduates at a midwestern university. Significant differences for sex and class level are discussed. (SLD)