Suggests that, to understand the relationship between grammatical competence and actual communicative language use, a model is needed of classroom language processing that considers learners' own connections between meaning and form as a major factor in language use and language acquisition. (nine references) (GLR)

Argues against the current oral proficiency testing approach in favor of an approach in which researchers come to understand what it means for real speakers to interact with each other in the everyday world of human activity. Problematic trends are addressed, and a principled theory of oral proficiency is identified. (DJD)

It is proposed that the concepts of location and goal are helpful instructional tools in Russian, encouraging competence and discouraging incorrect analyses of sentence structure. Minor reorganization of conventional instructional materials and addition of a few sentences for discussion would be of significant assistance in student understanding.…

A theory of language may prove conducive to many important and complex issues in philosophy of education. After grouping these issues into four main categories, I explore the possibility and need to back up the categories with a comprehensive theory of language or a cluster of theories of compatible assumptions. I argue that Habermas's universal…

Five assumptions about the nature of verbal communication are discussed in relation to the communicative needs of second-language learners: that communication is meaning-based, conventional, appropriate, interactional, and structured. Implications for foreign-language teaching are examined. (Author/MSE)

Provides a brief overview of S. Krashen's language acquisition theory. Examples of exercises on French-English cognates are provided, and the role of cognates and of exercises on them in relation to the monitor theory is discussed. (SED)

Delineates five developmental listening comprehension stages second language learners pass through: (1) streams of sound, with no comprehension; (2) word recognition within the stream; (3) phrase/formula recognition; (4) clause/sentence recognition; and (5) extended speech recognition, or general comprehension. The discussion illustrates the…

As an introducation to a symposium on curricular innovation, a sociolinguistic perspective is used to tie together presentations to follow on collaborative and deliberative processes in pedagogy, research, and evaluation in school settings. Collaboration and deliberation, as processes, are bound by the same constraints and potentials inherent in…

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' guidelines for foreign language teaching and learning focus on the linear acquisition of grammatical structures, but this proficiency will not automatically lead to interactional competence. Enthusiasm generated by the proficiency movement should be redirected toward a push for…

This article (1) discusses the relationship between grammatical and communicative competence; (2) examines aspects of grammar theory; (3) discusses pedagogical problems inherent in traditional notions of grammar; and (4) summarizes the pedagogical and research implications of a new perspective on the role of grammar in foreign language…

This is the second part of a two-part article. The first part looked at the learning-acquiring distinction put forward and subsequently developed by Krashen in the 1980s. The article examined the consequences of teaching at either end of the learning-acquiring continuum. Part two picks up the notion that spontaneous communication is not possible…

The five papers in this section of the TESOL volume examine the nature of language learning, characteristics of different language learners, the nature of the supportive environment for language development, and the differences which exist between first and second language patterns of interaction. The following articles are included: (1)…

Identifies some underlying assumptions about language, testing and its use, and second language acquisition (SLA) for those current on the issue of oral proficiency assessment. Suggests that even with its limitations, the assessment procedure can become a source of data for future SLA research. (Author/LMO)

Discusses second language acquisition, the importance of comprehensible input to this acquisition, and the inadequacy of the theory of language interference as an explanation for errors in second language speech. The role of the teacher in the language classroom and the "procedural syllabus" are described. (SED)

To assist language researchers in their analysis of interlanguage, some values for the linguistic variables of Source Language (SL), Interlanguage (IL), and Target Language (TL) are set forth. Although the fundamental assumption underlying interlanguage research is that interlanguages are linguistic systems, it is difficult to describe the…