A review of research was conducted on the possibility of a sensitive period for the acquisition of native-like pronunciation in a second language, as well as on related questions concerning the universality of this phenomenon, age factors, biological versus cultural origins, and developmental psychology. The review showed variation in studies and…

A case study addressed (1) the relationship between language ability and the use of top-level organizational strategies that focus on the macrostructure of written text, and (2) the comparative use of these strategies when reading expository texts in native language (L1) and second language (L2). Subjects were five Hispanic English as a second…

The debate over the past decade about the pedagogical effectiveness of bilingual education and the research evidence are reviewed. The case for bilingual education rests on the assumption that because children cannot learn in a language they do not understand, they will fall behind academically in programs taught only in that language. Against…

The status and priorities of the teaching of East Asian languages were discussed in eight papers presented at a 1981 conference. The topics addressed include: (1) the need to give language teaching a higher priority as a national concern; (2) the role of the federal government in East Asian language study; (3) the teaching of Japanese, Korean, and…

"Skill-using" in second-language learning is often given less priority than "skill-getting" activities. The first and second year of language instruction should concentrate on longer and more varied sequences of tasks in which the learner is communicating and using "real" language. In addition, the learner's focus should be shifted from his errors…

This paper presents a brief overview of the functioning of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics: how documents are acquired and processed, how the microfiche collection is formed, and what services are available to language teachers. Two topics where ERIC has materials to offer classroom language instructors are discussed: career…

This study examined the conditions for the selection of certain communication strategies in terms of the inferencing ability of the learner, the formal proficiency level attained, and the features of the communicative situation (task requirements). Two groups of 17-year-olds--one studying advanced French and the other French as part of a "core"…

ALTHOUGH THE LINGUISTS, PSYCHOLOGISTS, AND TEACHERS WHO HAVE STRESSED THE HABITUAL ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE HAVE MADE MANY USEFUL CONTRIBUTIONS TO LINGUISTIC RESEARCH AND LANGUAGE TEACHING, THERE STILL REMAIN SOME BASIC PROBLEMS. WITH THE PSYCHOLOGIST, PEDAGOGUE, SOCIOLOGIST, AND ANTHROPOLOGIST, THE LINGUIST MUST ATTACK THE GROUP OF PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED…

The following articles appear in this issue of a journal devoted to teaching English for science and technology in Kuwait: (1) "An Approach to the Implementation of Dr. J.L. Munby's 'Communicative Syllabus Design'" by Bill Robinson, (2) "Une experience d'elaboration de materiel pedagogique" (An Experiment in Developing Teaching…

THE PLACEMENT BATTERY CONSISTS OF TWO TESTS FROM THE COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION BOARD (READING AND LISTENING), A GRAMMAR PROFICIENCY TEST, AND AN ORAL INTERVIEW. FRESHMEN WHO SCORE WITHIN A CERTAIN RANGE ON THESE TESTS ARE PLACED IN SECOND YEAR INTENSIVE FRENCH (TWO CLASS PERIODS A DAY). PREREQUISITE FOR THE THIRD YEAR COURSE IS NOT THE…

THE NEED IN LANGUAGE STUDY FOR CULTURAL CONTENT, IN THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SENSE (I.E., FOR CULTURAL REFERENTS OF LINGUISTIC UNITS), HAS GROWN WITH THE INCREASED EMPHASIS ON ORAL PROFICIENCY AND THE ABILITY TO FUNCTION IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE. INCORPORATING CULTURE INTO THE LANGUAGE PROGRAM CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED ON THE SECONDARY LEVEL BY HAVING THE…

The school performance of pupils in grades 2-4 of the French immersion program in operation in the Ottawa-Carleton public schools is evaluated in comparison with the performance of those in the regular English program. The results indicate that by the end of grade 2, pupils in the immersion program show the same level of cognitive development as…

This guide was written to help teachers make students aware of the multilingual and multi-ethnic nature of New York City in order to experience and explore different languages and customs. New York is a center for variety in language and culture in the areas of diplomacy, international commerce, media and communications, foods and fashion, the…

Elicited imitation occurs in an experimental situation during which subjects are requested to repeat a model sentence constructed so as to include specific desired grammatical structures. Elicited translation involves giving subjects a sentence in one language, and asking them to say the same thing, but in another language; elicited translation…

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of bilingual and monolingual school on the production of Spanish syntactic structures. The main hypothesis to be tested was that there was no significant difference in the development of Spanish syntactic structures between those children schooled bilingually and those children schooled…