Teachers who are not well prepared for ELL students struggle to address their needs in the classroom: How can I teach the students if I don't speak their language? What do I do when the students don't understand? If myths and misconceptions about those learning a new language are accepted, the type and quality of instruction for ELL students can…

Recommends the "distributional" and transformational grammar approach as especially suitable for developing a teaching grammar for dealing with the French simple infinitive and infinitive with "de". (IFS/WGA)

Offers a systematic statement of the lexical differences between "noch" and "schon," which should serve teachers better than their intuitive feelings for those words. (IFS/WGA)

Discusses the "francais fondamental" treatment of vocabulary, and proposes modifications for improvement of this tool. (AM)

Finds three faults, from the teacher's viewpoint, in the phonetic transcription in English textbooks used in German People's Universities: many unfamiliar symbols, many irrelevant distinctions, and failure to mention important variations. Suggests improvements in vowel treatment based on Hornby, "Oxford Progressive English" (London,…

In light of (1983) World Communications Year, author suggests that international broadcasting is an underrated and neglected technology in modern language teaching/learning. Transmissions of this type offers a wide range of learning possibilities, not only for language teachers and the more advanced learners, but also for those needing to use…

Presents a learning transfer principle, based on transfer theory and contrastive analysis, as a solution to the inductive-deductive controversy in second language teaching methodology. (AM)

Describes how one 71-year-old Chinese student learning English as a second language succeeded by following the ethic "must study hard--work hard." Commends this approach and claims that age should not deter one's enthusiasm for learning. (JD)

Maintains that recent developments in the teaching English as a second or other language (TESOL) have shifted the emphasis from the teacher as a good communicator to teaching the learner to communicate. Provides guidelines for ensuring successful TESOL instruction. (JDH)

Discusses both the pedagogical arguments and the psycholinguistic rationale for small-group work in the second language classroom. Claims that the negotiation work possible in group actiity makes it an attractive alternative to the teacher-led discussion. Reviews research findings on interlanguage which generally support the claims made for group…

Starting with H.W. Seliger's distinction between second language learning strategies (abstract cognitive functions used to acquire knowledge) and learning tactics (activities learner uses to acquire language), presents the most important tactics and comments on which learner characteristics and teaching methods take advantage of them. Tactics…

Suggests that while slavish, excessive memorization is a habit that hinders the development of critical skills while stifling originality and precision, in certain cases the best approach is to accept the memorization habit partially, in order to exploit it for its own eventual elimination. Capitalizing on students' intellectual curiosity…

Items discussed include: setting of communicative goals, meaning of the target skill "reading comprehension," group work, correcting, games, the monolingual approach, and teaching materials. (IFS/WGA)

Reviews current foreign language teaching methodology as it concerns the organization of the lesson into phases, and presents an alternate phase-sequence entailing linguistic environment, application, remedial, monitor, and feedback phases. (AM)

Characteristics and types of role-play for the language classroom are discussed. Sample activities for grades K-3 and for grades 4-6 are offered. (Contains 15 references.) (Author/LB)