Associating a clear function with verb forms will minimize difficulties for ESL learners. One important function in most learning situations is description. An area of "core description" pivoting on the stem and stem plus "s" verb forms can be established and learners can express most concepts in core terms. (CHK)

Revised version of a paper presented at the Association of Teachers of English as a Second Language section of the National Association for Foreign Students Affairs Convention, Detroit, Michigan, May 1973. (DD)

Basic to composition skill is control of sentence structure and accuracy in mechanics. Although it is often said that a student should not write what he has not first heard and practiced orally, it might equally well be said that he should not be expected to write grammatical patterns that he has not read, inasmuch as there is a difference in the…

An effective approach to minimizing the difficulties ESL learners have with the English verb phrase is to associate a clear function with each form. Three main contexts for teaching and lines of development are discussed. (Author/ND)

The traditional approach to grammar teaching provides learners with opportunities to produce specific grammatical structures. This article explores an alternative approach, one based on interpreting input. The rationale for the approach is discussed, as are the principles for designing interpretation tasks for grammar teaching. (Contains 35…