Critically reviews some important attempts at needs analysis which have been made in the last 10 years and identifies strengths and weaknesses of needs analysis at the present stage of its development. Suggests that there is currently no objective method of analyzing learner needs. (EKN)

Using a delayed mimicry paradigm to assess speakers' awareness of nondistinctive phonetic differences which, in part, distinguish languages, the study provides tentative evidence that such differences are detectable by language learners and do not present an impossible barrier to phonetic learning in second-language acquisition. (EKN)

Available experimental evidence is reviewed concerning the keyword method, a two-stage procedure for remembering materials having an associative component. The review examines subjects' memory for definitions, given vocabulary words; subjects' learning of other aspects of vocabulary, given definitions; group-administered keyword studies; and…

Discusses the political involvement of the foreign language profession. Describes some of the bills or programs currently in Congress that affect the profession. (EKN)

By reviewing historical background of mnemonic techniques in second language learning, detailing two imagery-based mnemonics and discussing theoretical interpretations of the mnemonics, this paper discusses the practical implications of the problem of transfer of learning to naturalistic situations. Also noted are classroom applications of…

Discusses attitude and motivation as macro aspects of second-language learning and empathy and personality as the micro level. Believes learner's attitude, motivation, and personality are as important as intelligence but have nothing to do with capacity to learn. (Author/BK)

Describes underlying concepts and current issues in communicative testing and illustrates application of these ideas by examining theoretical constructs, issues, and work done so far in relation to second language testing. (Author/BK)

Presents several types of synophones, words similar in sound but different in meaning, including those differing in one phoneme only, more than one phoneme which can have an identical Latin root, and several phonemes which defy exact definition. Suggests validity of context as aid to comprehension of unknown words should not be overestimated.…

Presents results of survey conducted to discover the reading habits and preferences of secondary school students in Greece. Results show a high percentage read a newspaper often and the number of books read per month is high. (BK)

Comments on the document "Threshold Level for Modern Language Learning Schools" (J. A. Van Ek, Strasbourg, 1976) and its appropriateness as a description of learning goals for the first years of foreign language teaching. Criticizes particularly the "reduced learning" concept, on which the threshold projects are based. (IFS/WGA)

Outlines the state of foreign language instruction in Europe and the forces affecting it. (IRT)

An English teacher tells what out-of-school activities should include, what results are to be obtained from them, and, in general, what place they should occupy in the English school system. (IFS/WGA)

Concludes that youth confers no immediate advantage in learning to pronounce foreign sounds. (RL)

States the reasons for introducing the study of foreign languages as early as possible in the scholastic curriculum. (CFM)

Outlines a project for setting up bilingual schools for Italian children in Switzerland and Germany and discusses the advantages of doing so. (CFM)