Recommends using short nonsense texts, containing as many contradictions as possible, to further the students' acquisition of free-speaking competence. The nonsense sentences are to be corrected by the students, and are to be labeled: "practically impossible,""impossible in the context," or "strange." Four short nonsense texts are given. (IFS/WGA)

Examines the correlation between reading ability in a student's first and second languages and his language proficiency in a foreign language. The study concerns university students of English as a second language in Belgrade whose first language is Serbo-Croatian. Available from: Liviana Editrice, Via Altinate 31, 35100 Padova, Italy.

This third and final volume builds on the previous two volumes prepared for use in the Foreign Service Institute programs of Arabic instruction for members of the United States Foreign Service and is intended to be used with the help of a native-speaking Arabic instructor and with tape recordings. This volume is intended to provide recognitional…

This article describes a language achievement test designed for French students studying English. It evaluates reading and listening comprehension, and grammatical and lexical skills. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

This experiment sought to determine whether students writing in their mother tongue (Hebrew) and thus deprived of the opportunity to be exposed to English through writing could achieve the same reading comprehension level as their peers who write English throughout the course. (SW)

Two methods of teaching reading comprehension, one the traditional-frontal approach and the other a self-test approach, were used with university students of English as a second language. The test result at the end of the course revealed little difference between the students taught by the two methods. (CFM)

The use of a comprehension question, involving reading a Latin paragraph and then answering related questions, is thought unnecessary for the British Ordinary-level examination. Suggested alterations are: reconsideration of skills being tested; use of such questions only where not redundant; comprehension as part of literary reading instead. (CHK)

This paper describes an innovative method for teaching reading comprehension in a second language. The underlying assumption of this method is that a student who reads in his native language does not need to learn a theoretical system of grammar rules in the traditional sense of the term, since he already possesses the ability to recognize words…

In Part I, three aspects of cloze tests are examined: placement, measuring achievement, and evaluation. In Part II, it is shown how original texts and textbook texts are prepared for different forms of the cloze test. (Text is in German. (IFS/WGA)

The experiment reported measured the degree to which cloze tests deliberately biased on the basis of contrastive analysis would actually be harder for Vietnamese than for speakers of other languages. The experiment tested the approach to ESL (English as a second language) for Vietnamese described in a guide for teachers of Vietnamese refugees…

This is an investigation of the notion of language for special purposes and a discussion of the topic from the point of view of reading comprehension and its pedagogical implications. The meanings, connotations, and inadequacies of the terms "langue de specialite" and "Language for special purposes" are discussed. A distinction is made between…

Efforts to better the school Leaving Exams in English of a large African state lead to the belief that schools should do away with them completely. Where this cannot be done, a thorough, systematic evaluation of reading comprehension, structure, and usage should be combined with productive integrative evaluation. (SCC)

A questionnaire given to graduates and students of English revealed that: most use of their English was in the home country; aural comprehension was most important, followed by reading-comprehension, speaking and writing. Abroad, English was used more in non-English-speaking countries than in England or the USA. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Realschulen (secondary schools) in Baden-Wurttemberg now permit a reading comprehension test, plus dictation, for the graduation examination in FL, instead of the traditional translation. The test is described: Part A tests receptive skills, Part B reproductive-productive. Suggestions are given on content and conducting tests. (Text is in German.)…