Compares the phonetic transcription systems of Jones (EPD), Gimson, Windsor Lewis and Abercrombie. Discusses the usefulness of transcription systems for foreign language teaching, both in interlingual dictionaries and in teaching contrasts between the target language and the native tongue. (IFS/WGA)

Presents some examples, from Japanese and English, in which the syntactic and semantic correspondence seems to be sufficiently established as to demonstrate the efficacy of the rationalist approach, which is defined here as an attempt "to give students the reasons for grammatical phenomena, relating facts about the second language to facts about…

A list is given of all initial consonant clusters a student could encounter in undergraduate study, and the list is then broken down into: (1) those also found in English; (2) those in which some transfer from English is possible; and (3) those outside the average English speaker's knowledge. (AM)

The article describes particular structural aspects of German which are likely to cause difficulties for Polish-speaking learners. (Text is in German.) (DH)

Examines possible comparison techniques which should transcend linguistic levels and should be of practical use in the learning process. The article goes on to discuss the possibility of a contrastive study of errors. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Systematic and chance similarities between Thai and English are illustrated and discussed. The argument is made that a comparative analysis, which highlights the systematic similarities underlying the two languages, is as important in second language pedagogy as the more commonly found contrastive analysis. (Text is in Thai.) (Author/KM)

Ways of improving the present procedure for administering this test were determined in an experiment in which this procedure was compared with three others. (KM)

Minimal pairs as at present used in the ESL classroom are uncontextualized bits of language that are of little use to the ESL teacher. An alternative, minimal sentences, is described here. Minimal sentences give context and meaning to the sound contrasts. (RM)

A presentation, by way of texts and charts, of the French pronoun system, which owes its complexity to the fact of its derivation from Latin and to the persistence of the Latin heritage. Suggestions for use of the charts in language classes at all levels are given. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

This article is a brief discussion of some exercises in guided translation and comparative analysis designed not only to increase students' competence in translation and knowledge of French but also to make them more attentive to their English. (CFM)

This article explains why students should be aware of cultural difference between the source and the target language if they are to make effective use of the latter. (Author/DB)

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)

Proposes a system that can be used to analyze and evaluate any language teaching method at any level, by breaking down a particular method and comparing it to another, in terms of linguistic and sociocultural content, methodological organization; and physical quality. (AM)

During the 1972-73 academic year, an adaptation class for foreign pupils was conducted at the "Anatole France" Co-Educational School in Vitry, France. The class was composed of children between the ages of 6 and 10 years, mainly of Portuguese nationality. Pupils spent 27 hours per week in class. The "Frere Jacques" method,…