Play sessions of two Mexican children (one five and one eight years old) with English-speaking friends were recorded and the use of language play was examined. Language play is viewed as a non-literal, rule-bound use of language that children engage in for its own sake, either cooperatively or competitively. Practice opportunities and children's…

Three groups of Grade 7 students participated in a study to examine the personality and language exposure factors associated with learning French as a second language. (CFM)

The attitude and motivation of twenty-one Venezuelan students learning English at Boston University was assessed using two means: a controlled interview and a bilingual adaptation of the Gardner et al. 1974 Attitude Scales. Neither measure showed statistically significant correlations between positive attitude or strong motivation and progress in…

This article presents the theoretical and practical implications of a psycholinguistic model which exploits students' knowledge about language and which incorporates attitudinal variables into a strategy for teaching foreign language grammar. (DB)

A study was conducted to measure the extent to which three learning strategies--practicing, monitoring and inferencing--affected student performance in three grade 10 (ages 14-15) and three grade 12 (ages 16-17) classes of French as a second language. (Author/HP)

The relationship of communication to the foreign language profession is addressed in this volume. The following articles are presented: (1) "Communication and the Foreign Language Teacher," by Charles T. Brown; (2) "Rationale for Language Study," by Jane N. Lippman; (3) "Public Awareness: How Can Associations and Institutions Use Public Relations…

This study was undertaken to determine motivational factors connected with the learning of English by francophone students living in a milieu where there is little contact with anglophones. Research is reviewed which supports the contention that the attitudinal/motivational dimension, or integrative motivation, bears an important relationship to…

This article states that affective learning is important to prevent boredom and stimulate language use. Use of affective learning activities in the language classroom is outlined and a teaching technique, the open-ended sentence is described as a method that elicits responses charged with personal opinions, feelings and humor. (CHK)

Affective learning activities (ALA) are essential in foreign language learning. Although the cognitive domain is essential for learning to take place, lesson content is more interesting when it springs from the affective domain of the learner. Specific strategy models to facilitate the release of the learner's affective domain are suggested. (CLK)

This article describes the evolution of a confluent language program, which provides simultaneous processes for successful language learning, self awareness, self appreciation, and interpersonal communication. The confluent language curriculum design has been successfully implemented in language classes throughout the United States and in some…

Recent research that has attempted to define the good language learner can also yield information about the good language teacher. While it remains clear that there is much variation among learners, the following characteristics have been distinguished as identifying the good language learner: (1) field independence in classroom or tutored…

This paper examines the role of selected affective, cognitive and social factors in second language acquisition, in an attempt to define a group of factors associated with success in second language learning within the formal educational system. Also examined is the effect of different teaching programs on an optimal group of factors. (CLK)

This report examines one aspect of a broad experiment in language instruction designed and implemented at 10 participating colleges of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. Two types of language laboratories (recording and nonrecording) are examined to determine the effect of each upon the cultural-orientation scores of the students. The scores…

Describes the philosophical bases of confluent education, and provides examples of this method in language instruction. (AM)

This study constructs and applies an evaluation model to determine if bilingually instructed children in a particular educational program suffer a loss in linguistic, academic, or cognitive growth, and determines whether their self-image and attitudes toward the two salient ethnolinguistic groups are less favorable than those of their…