This report discusses some of the factors that account for students' failure to understand everyday spoken language. Classroom language may be misleading when compared to everyday language. Pace of delivery is an obvious but ignored barrier to comprehension. Students should, therefore, be exposed to uncontrolled language data in the classroom.…

This paper discusses an ongoing experiment in teaching the communicative values of intonation to second-year students in an English department at a French university. The communication needs of the learners are described in terms of academic activities (e.g., formal discussion) and social contact. A basic three-term structure -- opening,…

Reviews theoretical models which can serve to analyze speech, especially on the level of "phonostylistics." (AM)

Discusses the use of corrective phonetics in the teaching of French as a second language and examines its relationship to various teaching methods. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

The first "missing link is that between the linguist's rules and the rule component of performance; the second is between a student's competence as expressed in correct performance in the controlled language learning situation and spontaneous performance where selection of language is involved. (Author/FWB)

The historical changes in the teaching methods of modern languages are discussed, with emphasis on the modern principle that language, before anything, is a means of oral communication. (Text is in Spanish.) (NCR)

Speci&3 issue devoted to the second conference on structuro-global-audio-visual methodology, at Mons, Belgium, 1971; text of talks which formed the basis of discussion during the conference. (VM)

This article discusses the relationship in language instruction between the verbo-tonal system of phonetic correction and a structuro-global audio-visual method which takes the communication aspects of language learning into account. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

A teaching strategy is outlined for coping with the phonological variability inherent in the nature of an ever-changing language. The basis for the strategy is an understanding of sound change in language and of the language level (as opposed to dialect level) goal of the student. (Author/RM)

Understanding spoken English is often difficult for students of English as a second language because words are run together. Some of the common types of word blendings are: final consonant sounds, links with beginning vowel sound, same consonant is shared across word borders, and similar consonants blend. (SW)

This basic Olof course consists of a series of dialogues with drills, questions and improvised situations based on the real life experiences of Peace Corps volunteers in the Gambia. The teaching method is structured around choral repetition. backward build-up for difficult sequences, individual repetition, precise explanations of vocabulary, and…

This paper attempts to identify some of the reasons for problems in American-British communication, particularly in the use of intonational contours by male and female speakers. One major contrast between British and American speech is found in the use of heads. Rising heads seem to be more frequent in British English, whereas a neutral head is…

The purpose of this text is to teach present-day spoken Urdu to foreigners who need the language for their everyday activities. While drawing from the results of modern linguistic science, an attempt has been made to approach the problem of learning Urdu in a practical way. The "spiral approach" is used. After the sounds of Urdu are introduced in…

Language students at the intermediate level can often read and write but cannot speak the target language. This hinders the student from developing what is usually the most sought-after skill: the ability to speak a foreign language. Students in the third and fourth years of language study are capable of speaking as well as they read and write.…