Although second language pedagogy has tended increasingly toward simulation, role-playing, and natural communication, it has not profited from existing research on natural learning in second languages. The emphasis should be on understanding how the processes of guided learning and natural learning differ, psychologically and sociologically, and…

If the purpose of language teaching is not only to transmit knowledge of the language but also to aid and guide learning, language teacher training is to teach not only how to teach language but also how it is learned, training by apprenticeship and about apprenticeship. (Author/MSE)

Language teachers are encouraged to find innovative ways to teach vocabulary, particularly illustrating the relationships between words and spatial and temporal relationships in meaning. The concept of the teachable moment is also discussed briefly. (MSE)

A discussion of the Total Physical Response method of second language instruction places the concept within the context of other unconventional language learning methods, reviews the rationale behind the approach, and outlines the classroom procedures used. A sampling of useful commands for classroom use is included. (19 references) (MSE)

Attitudes toward and approaches to error in language learning depend on one's point of view: strictly linguistic, pedagogical, or that of the learner. This last approach is that "one learns by making mistakes," and from that perspective, there is no absolute definition of error, but only an operative one. (MSE)

An interdisciplinary experiment to develop materials for computer-assisted French instruction at the University of Grenoble is described and the process of translating objectives and strategies into exercises relying on student-machine interaction is chronicled. Three approaches were used: student response using stated rules, recognition…

A four-part experiment testing Lozanov's suggestopedic method of teaching vocabulary uses a literary text as well as a list of discreet words. It was found that certain variations of the method are effective and appropriate for teaching vocabulary and reading comprehension. (MSE)

The acquisition of textual competence in a language occurs through the acquisition of both lexical competence and knowledge of word order that allows the construction of well-formed sequences. Exercises that help develop vocabulary and word order skills in French as a foreign language are presented. (MSE)

An approach to teaching grammar concepts treats conceptualization as a process of sensitization, consisting of three stages: motivating the student to learn the concept, presenting the operating concept and the grammatical category in question, and consolidating and enriching the concept in the student's mind. (MSE)

Critiques traditional philosophical approaches to cognition and reality and compares them with contemporary notions derived from them. A position based on work of Crozier, Cazeneuve, and MacLuhan is argued for the key place of culture in explicating the universe of signs and in content and methodology of second language instruction. (AMH)

Classroom communication in the second-language class is examined from an ethnographic perspective, highlighting the role of students in helping each other learn. Turn-taking, patterns of addressing teacher and peers, and different kinds of interaction that promote learning: cooperative; didactic; competitive; theatrical; personalized. (MSE)