The oral interview (OI) was developed to meet the need for a testing procedure of second language speaking skills. It has been refined and expanded several times since first developed in the 1950's for use by the U.S. Government. Now known as the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages/Educational Testing Services (ACTFL/ETS) scale,…

Asserts that common techniques for the teaching of question formation disregard the speaker's purpose and the situation. Moreover, they are frequently based on transforming written sentences, which does not facilitate oral communication. Suggests criteria for judging question-teaching techniques and provides samples of "good"…

The communicative approach used in the teaching of second languages is also effective in teaching pronunciation of English as a second language. Communicative principles and activities in the areas of consonants and vowels, contractions, recued expressions and linking, suprasegmentals, and monitoring are discussed. (CB)

English as a second language teachers should make learners comfortable with the fact that not being understood at times is a natural and expected part of the communication process. Encouragement to understand what lies behind the misunderstandings and what strategies might be employed to ensure continued communication serves learners well on the…

The communication difficulties of foreign teaching assistants (TA) in U.S. colleges are addressed in 11 articles, with attention to the problems of the TA system as a whole in the spirit of international educational exchange. Titles and authors include the following: "'The Foreign TA Problem'" (Kathleen M. Bailey); 'Toward an Anthropology of the…

Special emphases in language instruction for career purposes include relevant vocabulary, speaking and listening skills, dialog, pronunciation, and cultural material. Special techniques include role playing, avoiding use of English, and de-emphasis on grammar, reading, and writing. (MSE)

Speaking a second language is probably the most difficult skill to test in that it involves a combination of skills that may have no correlation with each other, and which do not lend themselves to objective testing. In addition, what can be understood is a function of the listener's background and ability as well as those of the speaker. Another…

Suggests the use of jokes in the English as a second language class to promote oral fluency, awareness of sociolinguistic rules, and understanding of certain values in American culture. (CFM)

This book addresses what kind of analysis of spoken language is appropriate to the assessment and fostering of fluency at the various stages of a student's development. It is easy to define fluency in general terms, but it is difficult to discern what linguistic and paralinguistic options are involved. This book begins by exploring perceptions of…

This guide describes 94 classroom games designed to teach communicative skills in English as a second language, allowing students to use communication strategies in English in realistic situations similar to those in which they would use their native language. An introductory section outlines the rationale for the use of games in communicative…

The MEXUS program, a transnational, undergraduate, dual-degree program in the United States and Mexico, addresses the problem of how universities can better prepare students to manage business in an interdependent global marketplace. The program was initiated as a consortium of four institutions (San Diego State University and Southwestern College…

This final report describes a project at the University of Connecticut-Storrs, begun in 1993, to create a 5-year interdisciplinary, undergraduate, double-degree program, combining a bachelor of science in engineering with a bachelor of arts in German. The program, called Eurotech, is intended to provide students with practical, integrated foreign…

Texts of conference papers and summaries of colloquia on classroom environment and interaction in second language teaching are presented, including: "Fluency Development" (James Dean Brown); "Learner Development: Three Designs" (in Japanese) (Hiroko Naito, Yoshitake Tonia, Takao Kinugawa, Morio Hamada); "Desirable Japanese Teachers and Classroom…