Suggests methods for helping children develop and maintain the art of conversation. (RB)

The conditions whereby a concept might be learned on the basis of a language mediation process prior to the inductive learning of subordinate concepts are sketched. The view is expressed that grammar treatments which are apt to primary education should be defined on the basis of a pedagogy's needs for linguistic characterizations of concepts to be…

Discusses problems in second language acquisition caused by linguistic interference and emphasizes the importance of positive attitudes. (RL)

Discusses a system for evaluating student performance in the language laboratory, grading for comprehension and correctness, with four categories: complete, limited, severely limited, unsatisfactory. Evaluation of laboratory performance is more objective, being based on what has been taught and learned under stable conditions. (Text is in German.)…

This paper suggests that the main reason for the failure of many children to learn to read may be that reading programs often require the child to begin reading before he has developed oral language skills. By 3 years of age the child has acquired almost all the linguistic rules needed to produce basic, or kernel, sentences, which consist of…

A study of two final-year gymnasium classes showed that: (1) objective grading procedures (of "free" oral and written performance in the foreign language) correlate well with "global rating" by native speakers of the language; and (2) "free" oral performance correlates well with "free" written performance. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Factors affecting student listening comprehension include those inherent - age, IQ, hearing ability, knowledge of the foreign language, memory - and those relating to material - content, complexity, length, use of visual clues. Suggestions are made for adapting text material to effective listening exercises. (CHK)

Alternatives to prose translation as a language test are discussed, and an experimental reorientation test in French given to 128 prospective A level candidates is described in detail. (RM)

The "dictee" as a method of language testing is discussed. Commonly made mistakes are described, and ways to help the student perform well discussed. (RM)

While most foreign language programs list communicative language use as a primary goal, classroom tests seldom reflect this objective but rather focus on discrete-point linguistic competence. The authors present a model of the communication process and point to the main task in constructing tests of communicative competence: devising simulated…

A testing model is developed for teachers in multiracial classes in British schools who want to assess their pupils' proficiency in using English for learning, thinking, and communicating. The model serves as a framework for the design and administration of tests for communicative competence in foreign and second languages. (SCC)

Performance objectives for the foreign language curriculum in Michigan schools are presented in draft form. Objectives are outlined for stages A (beginning) through D (advanced). The remainder of the volume deals with stage A. It provides a detailed description of the minimum behavioral objectives for basic language skills at the end of the…