Two dimensions of the definition of idiom (the semantic and the structural) that may be relevant to the foreign language learner language learner are abstracted from non-specialist dictionary definitions of the term "idiom." The structural dimension is further subdivided into two aspects: place in a structural hierarchy, and degree of…

Arguing that slot-cards teach the structure of the verb and the grammatical message each slot carries while reducing the number of forms to be learned, the author describes a technique for teaching the tense modes of the present indicative, the present subjunctive, and the perfect indicative in French. A working model of the verb stems "aimer" and…

This study, contrasting grammatical structures in English and Hungarian, considers those areas of grammar in the two languages which would cause the greatest interference for the native English speaker learning Hungarian. The choice of topics is based on the author's personal observation, both of English speakers learning Hungarian and of…

The relation of the linguistic sciences to language teaching and language learning is explored. Part 1 discusses linguistics, phonetics, and their place in the description of language. Relations between language and the people who use it are examined, as well as the place of comparison and translation in the acquisition of a second language. Part…

Noting the drastic, sudden increase in enrollment in the post-Sputnik period in Russian language courses and the resultant difficulty of finding qualified instructors, the author describes a rapid-reading methodology which concentrates on forms and expressions prevalent in technical writing. Description of suggested teaching techniques…

This paper presents a survey of the development of linguistics and the influence of linguistics on second language learning. Emphasis is given to the era beginning with language instruction during World War II to the present day. The influence of structural linguistics is described. The resulting audiolingual approach is also considered and…

Although linguistic analysis is only indirectly useful for language teaching, it is directly useful to the language teacher. What language teachers hope to gain from linguistic studies are insights into the language and how it works and functions, so that they can make use of this information when formulating teaching techniques. With this…

This bibliography, compiled as an aid to linguists working in contrastive structure studies, is an expanded version of one published in March 1960. One hundred and sixty-six studies printed in the roman alphabet are listed, as well as 37 studies printed in the Cyrillic alphabet. The broad scope of subject coverage includes many documents which…

This book discusses the relevance of applied linguistics to foreign language teaching and supports the point of view that linguistics is relevant as the source of assumptions rather than as the source of conclusions. In foreign language teaching, the assumptions based on linguistics must ultimately be evaluated on their ability to explain the…

This article reviews the historical development of applied linguistics in foreign language instruction. Five major principles influencing early applied linguistic theory are summarized, emphasizing the oral nature of language. Central to the article are discussions of: (1) prescriptive or normative grammar, (2) transformational grammar, (3)…

Describes the "Small Valence Lexicon," a dictionary of 461 of the most commonly used German verbs, with information about their morphosyntactic characteristics and the sentence structures in which they occur. Some of the problems faced by the authors of the dictionary in applying the valence theory to their description of verbs is discussed. (MS)

Recent years have seen the decline in popularity of contrastive analysis (CA) and the rise of error analysis (EA) as a method for explaining and predicting errors in second language learning. In CA, it is felt that by comparing the structure of a first language (L1) to that of one being learned (L2), errors can be predicted. These errors are…

A study investigated the ability of socially handicapped Israeli students to determine a word's meaning from its linguistic context. The results and their implications for second language instruction are examined in light of current theories of context. (MSE)

Wagiman is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken in the northern part of the Northern Territory by about ten people. It possesses an unusual open class of words, which are called coverbs. Most frequently coverbs are paired with an inflecting verb from a closed class to form a complex predicate. This book provides a descriptive and analytical…