Compared with 36 children (6 to 8-years-old) were pitch discrimination ability and ability to deal with relational language. (Author/IM)

Discusses the teaching of Russian aspect in terms of the use of the perfective and the social ramifications and perceptions conveyed by its use. The student must be made aware of the importance of implications of statements in Russian. (CHK)

Graham Davies'"Using Computers in Language Learning" is a useful guide to programming languages, authoring systems, exercise formats, etc., for a teacher contemplating the use of computers for language learning. But much of text refers to British sources, and underlying assumption is that computers are best suited for mechanical drill.…

The author uses the variable of English-language proficiency to explain the differences in earnings among foreign-born men based on the 1976 Survey of Income and Education data. English-language proficiency is found to have significant positive influence on earnings for all ethnic groups, but especially for Hispanic and Asian men. (Author/CH)

Describes a study that provides further evidence for differentiating between memory for meaningful and for nonmeaningful material in the context of language proficiency, suggesting that foreign language teachers with a good memory have no guarantee of proficiency in language learning. (CB)

An examination of concerns about and suggestions for revising the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Oral Proficiency Guidelines indicates that confirmatory empirical research and determination of the relative absence or presence of components are needed. (CB)

Describes a study which sought to determine whether memory for input language is affected by proficiency in the nondominant language. The subjects were native Hebrew speakers with varying degrees of proficiency in English. Basic and advanced subjects did not score higher with input in their dominant language. (SED)

Describes a program which combines two years of college German into one and which culminates in five weeks of intensive study in Germany. Discusses the logistics of the program, along with student and faculty response and recommendations. (EKN)

Play patterns of 11 "language slow" preschool children and 11 younger "language competent" children were examined to determine whether age or language use contributed more to mature play. Matched by language level, subjects were drawn from five middle-class preschools and were of middle to upper socioeconomic status. (RH)

Discusses the experience of a committee at the University of Southern California that was formed to implement the university's requirement that foreign languages become a "Skill Level" requirement. This means that the student must meet the requirement by performing at a certain level on a proficiency examination. (SED)

Reviews projects undertaken by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages during the past year. These include the production of a set of proficiency guidelines in a generic format as well as in French, German, and Spanish and projects to relate oral proficiency testing to instruction. (SED)

Describes the growth of Seeing Essential English (SEE) and suggests that the use of SEE in several school districts is responsible for students' high scores on two tests of English understanding. Advises further research to gauge the contribution of SEE. (EKN)

Maintains that measuring syntactic error alone is inadequate and that syntactic maturity should also be considered. Discusses ways of measuring syntactic maturity in spoken English of nonnative speakers and examines the relationship of syntactic error to syntactic maturity. (EKN)

Between 1898 and 1948, English was the language of instruction for most post-primary grades in Puerto Rican public schools. Since 1949, the language of instruction in all grades has been Spanish. We use this policy change to estimate the effect of English-intensive instruction on the English-language skills of Puerto Ricans. Although naive…