Innovative programs have been undertaken at several reservation schools to meet the special needs of Indian students. Often, however, the cultural background of the student is neglected, and he is forced to adapt to an alien school system. This creates an especially difficult problem set for the student with a poor grasp of the English language.…

Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title I, Mexican American migrant programs in the state of Iowa stressed low pupil-teacher ratio, establishment of students' educational attainment, and use of ungraded curriculum. Since the language barrier was identified as a major obstacle to information transmission in the classroom, oral language…

This volume on the language education of minority children is divided into three sections: (1) Multilingualism in the United States, (2) Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, and (3) Language Education in Practice. Following an introductory essay, "The Language Education of Minority Children," by Bernard Spolsky, the articles in the first section…

Teaching French can be a rewarding experience, yet this has not always been the case in Canada, where French is one of the official languages. There is a general misunderstanding of the average child's life at school and of the time and effort needed to develop any control of a second language. Departments of Education, publishers, politicians,…

A college-level course is described that is designed to increase oral proficiency and comprehension in Spanish and to introduce students to the culture of the Hispanic world. The course is taught in Spanish, and faculty members from other disciplines serve as guest lecturers to provide reinforcement of material learned in the areas of history,…

This collection resulting from a workshop on language teaching methodology contains the following papers: (1) "Current Views and Principles on Unlocking the FL Treasure Chest," by R. Lado; (2) "Effective Ways of Teaching First-Year French," by J.G. Nicholas; (3) "Teaching Conversation and Comprehension Skills in Elementary…

Instructional materials, bilingual programs, and developments in second language learning research and methodology are discussed, primarily in terms of their implications for ethnic schools. The rationale is given for an ongoing analysis of instructional materials for ethnic bias, and a few examples of positive treatment of ethnicity from current…

A study was conducted to determine the extent to which listening comprehension is impaired when students are confronted with the colloquial use of French, as opposed to its formal use. It was found that amoung 128 prospective French teachers who participated in the study, there existed a low comprehension level of colloquial French, a discrepancy…

A summary report is presented of interviews with 28 bilingual teacher aides who work in ten elementary Schools Austin Independent School District. The interviews were conducted to provide data to assist the project staff in assessing ongoing activities of the aides as well as specific process objectives. They were designed, therefore, with a…

A summary report is presented of the first of two interviews with a random sample of parents of kindergarten, third and sixth grade students in the project. Undertaken as part of the evaluation of the Parental Involvement Component of the Title VII Bilingual Project, the interviews had a twofold objective: (1) to measure the degree of home support…

The purpose of this text is to develop elementary conversational skills in Telugu. The language materials consist of four types of language learning activities. The first, and most predominant, is the unit microwave cycle. These cycles divide the learning process into two basic phases, the first of which involves mimicry, memorization, and…

This article describes an attempt to give university students of English as a second language instruction in writing literary essays. The students were given literary commentaries to listen to in the language laboratory, and then were asked to summarize these commentaries, using, as much as possible, the structures contained in the original…

This article deals with the issue of gaining proficiency in oral expression in a second language. A functional approach to teaching oral proficiency is outlined, an approach which focuses on the audience as a determining factor in the speaker's linguistic output. Claims in the article are based on an experiment in the teaching of oral proficiency…

This article considers the issue of the application of linguistic theory and knowledge about the way language functions to second language teaching. It is suggested that this application should be carried out by taking into account educational factors, such as the intended audience, the teaching methods, and the educational objectives. The choice…

This paper questions the purpose of testing in second language instruction. Comments are based on an examination of tests used by the Defense Language Institute for students of English as a second language. Two kinds of tests are used: the English Comprehension Level (ECL), used primarily as a basis for setting exit requirements, and "Book…