Describes methods for teaching students to converse in a second language, focusing on games and themes. (BK)

Describes conversational language course of exercises designed to single out mistakes students kept making in language lab and concentrate on exercises to correct them to enrich English with more complex structures not used by students spontaneously. Method can be used to proceed from closed to open conversation exercises. (Author/BK)

Presents procedure for designing a course in directed conversation in a second language, including choosing topics and developing workbooks that become the psychologically accepted replacement for an official text and a tool for the teacher. Gives two sample units. (Author/BK)

Describes attempt to give English-as-a-second-language students the opportunity to practice their English in a relaxed but productive way. Gives example of a conversational leaflet developed to guide conversation. (Author/BK)

Discusses language fieldwork (direct personal contact with native speakers) as an adjunct activity in German conversation and composition courses and as a means of encouraging contacts between students and native speakers of German. Discusses the author's personal experience with such an activity, evaluates the project, and draws conclusions based…

Discusses a three-stage approach for teaching advanced conversation. Students master related course material, write and perform a miniplay based on that material, and then "survive" in a situation based on the material. Use of the videotape recorder can bring added motivation and better performance. Its advantages and disadvantages are discussed.…

Reports on a pilot project which used an imaginary tour of an Italian city as the basis for conversation exercises. (AM)

Presents various techniques for incorporating social awareness into conversational and composition language courses. (AM)

Memorization and recitation of dialogues are an important part of English as a second language (ESL) courses. However, if the goal of using dialogues is to promote free conversation, the practice of reciting dialogues must entail more than the rote memorization of another's thoughts. Therefore, the talk-and-listen method is a good technique for…

Suggestions for using the Paris counterpart of the yellow pages and telephone book front matter in French language and cultural instruction include ad illustrations and specific cultural information, general information about the French telephone system, and observational techniques. (MSE)

Describes a method which uses popular French songs to stimulate discussion in a high school level conversational course. (AM)

Six exercises intended to promote conversation skills are presented, including five survival games situated in space, caves, the middle of the ocean, the Sahara desert, and the North Pole; and a game to select a prison parolee from a group of candidates. The games involve role playing and decision-making activities. (MSE)

Concerns research in the use of cloze tests to measure a particular language skill when a standardized paper-and-pencil test is not an obviously appropriate validating instrument. The conversational cloze test proved to be superior to a written or prose cloze test in measuring the students' oral ability. Statistical tables are given. (Author/PJM)

Presents a language teaching method designed to increase communicative competence through an application of speech act theory and the use of dialogs and the source language. (AM)

Describes a "preliminary" course for English as a foreign language in Grades 5-6, including games and situational conversations. An outline is given, ordered on the basis of increasing difficulty. Hints are given for extending the repertoire of games. Finally, the value of written texts is discussed. (IFA/WGA)