The vocabulary research of the 1980s and 1990s brought a breath of fresh air into the language classroom. Teachers in many remote EFL locations had long suspected that vocabulary was their learners' main challenge, but there was little research evidence to confirm this or say what to do about it. Then, suddenly, work by Nation, Laufer, Meara,…

Mi'gmaq, an Algonkian language of northeastern North America, is one of nearly 50 surviving Indigenous languages in Canada that are usually not considered to be viable into the next century. Only Inuktitut, Cree, and Ojibwe presently have enough younger speakers to provide a critical mass for long-term survival. In one Mi'gmaq community, however,…

The Spanish verb "haber" presents unresolved puzzles concerning its meaning and derivations. Apart from its familiar and recent function as auxiliary in the perfect tenses, the verb's underlying meaning "to have, to hold" persists in the impersonal "hay" while other morphemes previously associated with "haber" may prove unrelated. (Author/MSE)

The dislocation of sentence elements in spoken French is seen as allowing the speaker to free himself from certain constraints imposed on word order, position of accents, and grammar. Dislocation is described, its various functions are enumerated, and implications for second language instruction are outlined. (MSE)

Examines pedagogical advantages and limitations of the Internet for teaching French grammar, and shows how these factors were taken into consideration in creating a Web site at the University of Alberta (Canada), with special emphasis on the integration of exchanges between learners, and exchanges between learners and the virtual francophone…

Reevaluates the role of communication within the communicative approach to second-language learning. The article explores the consequences of using the notion of the speech act in the classroom, dissociating it from other speech acts, context, culture, and grammar. The article concludes that this approach may caricature authentic conversation. (48…

This article first presents an overview of some trends behind the acquisition of sociolinguistic variation in a second language. A study is then presented that aims to test the validity of these trends in a quantitative study of a range of socio- and morpho-phonetic variables in French, including liaison, /l/ deletion, and subject-verb agreement…

Examines the integration of grammar into second-language instruction, specifically in core French courses in Canada. A brief overview of studies on this topic in different settings is followed by an attempt to demonstrate how the limited results of available studies can offer a starting point for finding solutions to the problems of integrating…

Test results for final-year French students in Canadian universities show they have not mastered the gender of some of the most frequent French nouns. Two recommendations are to continue to seek simplification of the learning of gender and to require students to use the full range of syntactic transformations. (MSE)

The history of computer assisted language instruction is briefly reviewed, highlighting several major projects. Computer functions compatible with language instruction include information storage and retrieval capacities, ability to analyze input, and interactiveness. Language skills that can be developed by computer include grammar, vocabulary,…

A microcomputer program providing extensive and constantly changing practice with 35 irregular French verbs in 6 tenses is described. The program's objectives are to establish lateral associations between tense forms, provide continuous opportunity for recall, and shorten correct response time. (Author/MSE)

Discusses the need to use the "communicative approach" to teach French grammar in French immersion classes in Canada. Emphasis is placed on the value of using a "needs-based syllabus" that considers the immediate and long-term employment needs of each individual, as well as the psychological and developmental needs. (18…

This article describes the way in which the curriculum for intensive French was developed. Reference is made to its similarities to and differences from both the multidimensional curriculum proposed by the National Core French Study and the communicative approach. The importance of learning outcomes stated in terms of communicative outcomes…

This article gives the perspectives of three teachers of intensive French (IF) as they adjusted their thinking to teaching in a French as a second language (FSL) classroom that was very different from the core French classroom and developed teaching strategies to facilitate effective learning of communication skills by the students. Four major…

Investigates the acquisition of tense and aspect by learners of English as a Second Language and learners of French as a Foreign Language. Examination of written narratives collected from both groups using a film retell task reveals similar patterns of distribution of tense/aspect morphology across target languages. (29 references) (Author/CK)