LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION SHOULD BE A SYNTHESIS OF THE BEST OF ALL METHODS. NO METHODOLOGY OR COMBINATION OF METHODOLOGIES WILL CHANGE THE FACT THAT LEARNING ANOTHER LANGUAGE IS THE ACQUISITION OF A COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT SKILL AND CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED ONLY WITH A GREAT DEAL OF TIME AND WORK ON THE PART OF BOTH TEACHER AND STUDENT. HOWEVER, IF, WITH THE LIMITED HUMAN RESOURCES AVAILABLE, STUDENTS ARE TO HAVE SUFFICIENT PRACTICE IN LISTENING, REPEATING, AND PRACTICING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE, THERE SEEMS TO BE NO ALTERNATIVE OTHER THAN TO USE MACHINE AIDS IN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION. EVEN THE CONTROVERSIAL TECHNIQUES OF MIMICRY AND MEMORIZATION AND PATTERN DRILLS CAN CONTINUE TO BE IMPORTANT IF THEIR LIMITATIONS ARE REALIZED. ALTHOUGH CONCENTRATION ON ORAL SKILLS MIGHT LEAD TO NEGLECTING THE ACQUISITION OF THE OTHER BASIC SKILLS, THE PASSIVE SKILLS CAN BE TAUGHT EFFECTIVELY AT A LATER STAGE. AT THE INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED LEVELS, THE ACTIVE SKILLS MAY CONTINUE TO BE PRACTICED AND PERFECTED ALONG WITH THE STUDENT'S LEARNING OF CULTURE AND LITERATURE, BUT FEW STUDENTS WILL ACQUIRE ACTIVE LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE IN THE CLASSROOM AT THESE LEVELS IF THEIR INITIAL EXPOSURE HAS BEEN ONLY TO THE PASSIVE SKILLS. THEREFORE, IT IS NOT A QUESTION OF WHICH ELEMENT OF LANGUAGE LEARNING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT, BUT WHICH IS TO BE TAUGHT FIRST. THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN "THE MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL," VOLUME 49, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1965, PAGES 19-21. (AB)