The field of English as a second language has gone through a number of changes in the last decades and has seen extreme adjustments throughout the methods of teaching and curriculum planning. This article finds the relevance of the old methods to the new methods. After providing the background it becomes apparent that almost all the older methods…

The author discusses the reasons for using the language laboratory in foreign language instruction now that the functional approach has replaced the audiolingual method and gives examples of possible lab exercises. (CFM)

A notional-functional syllabus is a set of materials to be learned by students of a second language. While learning to perform communicative activities, students practice language structures that refer to certain situations and ideas (notions). The language structures are organized to express different interactions (functions) that are possible…

The author traces the development of speech act theory from Wittgenstein and Austin through Searle to Grice and shows how their work led to the notional functional approach to language teaching, which is based on the learner and his/her communicative needs. (CFM)

Since linguistics and foreign language education meet in the domain of contrastive analysis, it should be possible for these two professional areas to cooperate in the development of pedagogically useful grammars. Such grammars should concentrate on traits of particular languages and on functional linguistic style. (JB)

A discussion of second-language learning looks at the role of functional French in the acquisition of French as a second or foreign language. The choice and implementation of a Vygotskian approach using the study of electricity is described. (MSE)

English for native speakers is compared and contrasted with English for non-native speakers by examining the influence of Moffett's (1968) structural curriculum for native speakers and the notional functional syllabus approach for second language learners. Both approaches are more rhetorical and less grammatical then the approaches that preceded…

It is proposed that while the sciences have progressed steadily, language teaching methods have swung like a pendulum between two broad approaches: formal and functional. The history of this pattern is outlined, current practices are discussed, and the possibility of escaping from this polarizing cycle is examined. (MSE)

Discusses the development of a notional functional syllabus for university second language classes. (EKN)

Discusses five directions for integrating the notion of communicative competence in foreign-language instruction: functional orientation, focus on semantic notions, cyclical progression, inclusion of rhetorical device and discursive authenticity, and systematic treatment of language variation. (EKN)

Presents use of dialogs as way of implementing functional/notional approach in second language instruction. Steps in methodology include presentation and discussion, oral practice, questions and answers, examination of structure, transfer to oral or written activity, and summary of lesson's purpose. (BK)

Compares Organizing Principle, multi-syllabus, and modular approaches to second language course design and suggests a modular course design that offers the greatest flexibility for both the instructor and for future course planning by allowing the instructor to link various elements of this approach according to methodology and student needs.…

Follows up an article by Brumfit on the Bangalore/Madras Communicational Teaching Project (CTP). Discusses the framework, tests, and results of a 1984 evaluation supporting the claim that grammar construction can take place through a focus on meaning alone. (SED)

Suggests use of a functional/notional syllabus as a means of communicative teaching of second languages. Concept contains propositional and model components and a communicative function. Grammar must also be taught. (BK)

Describes a project whose objectives are to bridge the gap between second language instruction and computer-assisted instruction, explore multimedia combinations, and stress productive language in language learning. (MSE)