Vocabulary is an indispensable part of language and it is of vital importance for second language learners. Wilkins (1972) points out: "without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed." Vocabulary teaching has experienced several stages characterized by grammatical-translation method, audio-lingual…

Discusses the problems encountered in getting pattern practices into the English program at the secondary level in New Orleans Public Schools. (RB)

This volume contains six essays on both theory and practical learning techniques for second language learning. In "Towards a Synthesization of Teaching Methodologies for TESOL," James W. Ney discusses synthesizing the audio-lingual approach and the cognitive-code theory of language learning. In "Should We Teach Children…

It is believed that by focusing on the problems of advanced learners of English as a second language, implications can be drawn for issues in second language teaching and testing in general. Considerations are offered on the influence of structural linguistics and transformational generative linguistics as well as language acquisition theories on…

This drillbook concentrates on making the student aware of the nature of the differences between his English habits of speech and the Spanish habits he is trying to acquire. The extensive exercises are structured selectively in order of specific difficulties of pronunciation. In the major sections on intonation, vowels, and consonants, the authors…

A discussion of language-teaching programes via television in Great Britain. (HB)

Defines two metaphors taken from curriculum theories in general: the mind-body metaphor and the production metaphor. Relates each to several approaches of learning a foreign language. Concludes with some observations concerning the functioning of metaphor as it relates to contemporary foreign language teaching approaches. (EKN)

Instruction in English as a second language for differentially prepared college students should be conducted in an environment in which students have input from a wide range of authentic spoken and written language samples, varying in difficulty level. The instructional process should be viewed by the students as neither intimidating nor…

The 19 papers in this collection cover diversified topics in the general area of psychology and second language learning. No single method of language teaching emerges, but the complexity of second language behavior and the importance of psychology in the field are underlined. Several trends seem to be most prevalent. There is a new focus on the…

A discussion of foreign languages in elementary schools (FLES) includes both historical and current overviews of FLES in the United States and makes recommendations for development of FLES programs. The historical review looks at program design and methods during the 1950s and 1960s and the successes and failures of program types and approaches.…

BELIEVING FORMAL WRITTEN ENGLISH TO BE A "FOREIGN LANGUAGE" TO MOST AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS, RESEARCHERS USED THE AUDIO-LINGUAL METHOD OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION TO PROMOTE WRITING IMPROVEMENT IN FOURTH-GRADERS. TWO RANDOMLY-SELECTED CLASSES OF STUDENTS OF AVERAGE ABILITY COMPOSED THE STUDY POPULATION--ONE CLASS FOR THE EXPERIMENT,…

This book was originally developed as a practical manual for use in training volunteers in the New York City School Volunteer Program. In its present form, it is both a manual and a reference book. The book begins with a discussion of the disadvantaged child and the frame of reference in which English is to be taught. Methods and materials are…

A child's language reflects his thought processes and his level of development. Motor, emotional, and language development all have a direct relationship to the child's cognitive functioning--each follows the pattern of moving from gross and loosely differentiated states to refined and differentiated systems. Research in early childhood education…

Programs in Spanish as a second language in the elementary school propose to develop pupils' ability to communicate in Spanish and to interact comfortably within Hispanic culture, particularly bilingual-bicultural speech communities. The Spanish SL teacher should be competent in choosing and implementing techniques and materials for teaching…

Ausubel distinguishes two kinds of human learning: (1) rote learning, relevant only to a small fraction of human learning, is the mechanistic formation of discrete, isolated traces in cognitive structure, usually through a process of conditioning; (2) meaningful learning, characteristic of most human learning, is a process of "subsuming"…