This study was conducted to examine the needs of the students of cabin services program regarding English in order to guide the design of a vocational English language curriculum. The research design used in this study was the concurrent triangulation approach, one of the mixed methods models. This approach can be used when the researcher collects…

The production and understanding of humor calls for a specific competence. It appears that second language learners fail to develop this competence even when they reach native-like proficiency levels. A review of the literature suggests that the notion of humor competence in second language learning has not been examined. Humor competence can be…

A discussion of textual, as contrasted with traditional, grammar for French second-language instruction argues that textual grammar is essential for acquisition of communicative competence because it identifies grammatical facts relevant to everyday communication and allows the student to experience the construction of meaning through them. (MSE)

Describes the establishment of SEASPEAK (an international maritime English), a restricted, regularized sublanguage for use in ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communication. Discusses a project by which this sublanguage is being tested and developed, with the intention of producing a reference manual of recommended language and procedures of…

Explains a classroom presentation of verb forms and tense functions based on the communicative needs of the students rather than on the full paradigm of each verb tense. Arguments for the use of this natural approach and an association model to facilitate vocabulary acquisition are presented. (PMJ)

Illustrated cards can be used in language classes to prompt students to respond with spontaneity and free expression. A variety of games and cards such as "Concentration" are described, and it is argued that some language goals can be practiced more effectively by card games than by traditional textbook-pencil-teacher approaches. (12…

This final report describes a project in which videotapes of secondary school students performing linguistic and communicative tasks at various levels of French and Spanish instruction were produced. The videotapes are intended to illustrate levels of foreign language acquisition to language teachers. High achieving students were filmed after 2,…

In the fall of 1996, the State Board of Education adopted "Vermont's Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities." In 2000, the standards were formally revised and again adopted by the State Board. In the summer of 2004, another chapter in the standards, "Grade Expectations for Vermont's Framework of Standards and Learning…

Follow up to a previous study of the use of "por" and "para," this study analyzes "ser,""estar," and "haber" for lexical selection in relation to their functions and also for errors in tense, mode, aspect, agreement, and invented forms and uses of copula in simplified or reduced utterances. Data were from 20 oral examinations of Peace Corps…

Numerous cases are used to illustrate language mistakes made by Hebrew-speaking students learning English. Teachers' and students' reactions to error correction are discussed, and some linguistic reasons for errors (e.g., mother-tongue interference) are suggested. (12 references) (LB)

The use of the learning task as a basic planning and instructional tool for communicative second language instruction is discussed, and considerations and procedures for designing such tasks are outlined. A task is defined as a piece of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing, or interacting in the target…

The oral interview (OI) was developed to meet the need for a testing procedure of second language speaking skills. It has been refined and expanded several times since first developed in the 1950's for use by the U.S. Government. Now known as the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages/Educational Testing Services (ACTFL/ETS) scale,…

A thorough revision of present syllabus-design practices is necessary to achieve the goal of enabling the learner to use the target language with relative fluency in simulated speech transactions. Four new orientations are suggested that lead more directly to language use than do monolithic and paradigm-oriented linguistic features. (Author/RM)

An approach is presented for providing students with communication practice by relating course material to the common purposes of language use. A system for classifying communication activities is outlined in order to insure realistic, varied practice. Examples are provided in Spanish. (SW)

Redefines the "situational" approach to language teaching as meaning more than mere reference to space and time. Criteria for judging the realism of a situation and the authenticity of the language used are discussed as presented in materials for students of foreign languages. (CFM)