This work is an attempt to explain the rationale and thinking that contributes to the "communication strategy" approach and to illustrate the practical applications of its ideas to second language teaching. It also proposes an approach to teaching based on two major goals: first, to incorporate the better features of audiolingual methods into a…

This evaluation of two programs of materials used in introductory French classes tests two basic hypotheses: (1) pretests are good predictors of subsequent French achievement at the junior high school level, and (2) students in different programs will achieve to the same degree on a final French test. Results of the groups using the "audiolingual"…

Beginning with a brief review of the growth of the audiolingual method of foreign language instruction in the United States of America, this paper examines implications and lessons drawn from an educational experiment in language instruction known as the Pennsylvania Report. The text of a memorandum to school administrators in Pennsylvania by the…

This is a report on a statewide experiment conducted in Pennsylvania secondary schools of all types during the 1965-66 school year. The project sought to determine the effectiveness of various teaching strategies and of the language laboratory in the environment of the real school situation. Each of 61 first-year French classes and 43 first-year…

This general review of language learning theory focuses on criticism of the audiolingual method of instruction which reached its peak in the mid-1960's. Recent trends in teaching methodology, supported by linguistic theories developed by transformational-generative linguists, are examined. Various models of learning are discussed which lead to a…

A review of trends in the teaching of foreign language during the last decade focuses on the predominance of the audiolingual method and current criticism by leading theorists of its theoretical foundations. Discussion of a psychological model of learning explores the relationships of motivation, cognition, evaluation, and response formation. The…

USOE Projects 5-0683 and 7-0133 (Pennsylvania Foreign Language Projects entitled "An Assessment of Three Foreign Language Teaching Strategies Utilizing Three Language Laboratory Systems" and "A Comparison Study of the Effectiveness of the Traditional and Audiolingual Approaches to Foreign Language Instruction Utilizing Laboratory…

Implying the need for a reexamination of the theoretical bases for second language learning in the secondary school environment, this final report of a 2-year experiment, funded by the U.S. Office of Education and conducted in public secondary schools of Pennsylvania, involved 1,090 students of French or German in 1965-66 and almost 700 in…