This article addresses the questions: why is the development of conversational competence important within higher education? And how might this goal be pursued? We offer answers that may aid a broad range of stakeholders (language learners, course designers, lecturers, language development managers, and policy makers) in thinking through these…

Suggests activities in a foreign language classroom to develop language skills and listening comprehension through conversations. (DS)

A system for developing students' conversational skills is described. The conversational practice is regular and systematic and can be handled by aides, substitutes or advanced foreign language students. It can also include humanistic or psychological techniques after the elementary phases. (KM)

Conversation is not easy to teach because of the absence of natural stimuli. Role-playing is seen as the best way to practice natural and interesting conversation. (IFS/WGA)

Topics for conversation courses include conversational rules and structure, conversational strategies, functions and meaning in conversation, and social and cultural contexts. The direct teaching of conversational skills involves adding specific language input, increasing the role of consciousness raising, and sequencing communicative tasks…

Reasons for Indonesian students' reluctance to practice English are discussed, including absence of classroom follow-up activities. Some teaching/learning principles are noted, followed by some conversation teaching techniques (e.g., using humor, rhymes/songs, and interviews). (Contains 10 references.) (LB)

This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of conversation classes for learning a foreign language, and outlines three basic prerequisites for a successful conversation class: a small, homogeneous group, actual facts and ideas available for discussion, and a basic working vocabulary. (CLK)

This article discusses the advantages and ways of using the Monopoly game in Russian language conversation courses in American schools. Procedures for developing a Russian language version of the game are outlined. (CLK)

Discusses various approaches to the successful conversational language course at the advanced level. (AM)

Given recent research that encourages more frequent use of the discussion method in teaching, this digest reviews the role of instructional conversations (ICs) in second language learning. ICs, instructional in content and conversational in quality, offer natural and spontaneous language interactions that are free from the didactic characteristics…

A preliminary analysis of the language syllabuses and language students at Southampton University (England) is used to determine needed improvements in language teaching methodology and to establish clear aims and objectives that will build on students' previous experiences, plug gaps that remain, and relate this language learning to the…

Selected papers from the 1982 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages are presented. The theme of the conference was the establishment of communication and cooperation between foreign language and English as second language (ESL) teachers. The papers focus on methods for developing language skills and curriculum frameworks.…