Examines five causes of second language learning errors and presents ten tenets derived from error analysis studies. Teachers are encouraged to experiment with error analysis findings to determine the relative merits of the direct, or "old look," and the subtle, or "new look," approaches to error correction. (EJS)

The "state of the art" in the three fields of contrastive analysis, error analysis and interlanguage is critically examined from the point of view of evolving an explanatory theory of a second language learner's performance. Each field is discussed with respect to its outreach, theoretical assumptions, methodology, claims and empirical…

IN ORDER TO DISCOVER IF PUPILS COULD ARRIVE AT THEIR OWN RULES OR GENERALIZATIONS FROM DRILL (THUS SUGGESTING THAT TIME BE SPENT MORE PROFITABLY IN ADDITIONAL PRACTICE THAN IN EXPLANATION), FOUR DIFFERENT METHODS WERE TESTED. FOUR FRENCH AND FOUR SPANISH HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES WERE SUBJECTED TO EXPLANATIONS (1) BEFORE THE DRILL, (2) AFTER THE INITIAL…

The value of using inductive and deductive methods in instructing a mathematical principle and foreign language alphabet are tested with sample groups of sixth and eighth grade students in two separate educational experiments. In both cases, the instructional methods used were--(1) instruction in principle before application to examples, (2)…