This article offers teachers a comprehensive set of questions to ask themselves in evaluating their instructional materials and offers proposals for the adaptation and design of materials. These suggestions are postulated on a definition of language as communication and language teaching as a communicative process. The following are discussed: (1)…

A functional syllabus for post-intermediate study of English as a second language (ESL) that was developed for the provincial high schools in Papua New Guinea is described. The framework necessary to analyze student needs and define learning objectives is based on languages uses. A "language use" is a semantic unit identifying the…

This annotated bibliography on the teaching of modern foreign languages is the product of a West German information dissemination system that is similar to ERIC. The bibliography is published quarterly and lists items compiled in conjunction with the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics as well as with a number of institutions all over…

Recent research that has attempted to define the good language learner can also yield information about the good language teacher. While it remains clear that there is much variation among learners, the following characteristics have been distinguished as identifying the good language learner: (1) field independence in classroom or tutored…

Turn-taking in language classroom discourse is analyzed in order to discover patterns of instructional teacher-pupil exchange. It is concluded that traditional modes of second language instruction (especially in English as a second language) tend to stifle student initiative. Since students rarely have the opportunity to open an exchange, it is…

This study evaluates the micro-teaching program in use at Universite Bar-Ilan in Israel. Two factors influence this study: (1) the psycho-pedagogical factor, that is, a search for the best procedures for the practical formation of language teachers; and (2) the didactic factor, that is, ways to give the future teachers experience in choosing…

DESPITE THE GENERAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE IDEA THAT LINGUISTIC BEHAVIOR AND COMMUNICATION ARE FIRST OF ALL SPOKEN, LANGUAGES ARE NOT ALWAYS TAUGHT ON THAT BASIS, AND CONFUSION STILL EXISTS ABOUT THE NATURE OF SPEECH AND WRITING. THE GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION METHOD WAS THE BASIC SYSTEM UNTIL WORLD WAR II, WHEN IT BECAME NECESSARY TO TRAIN MANY PEOPLE TO…

THIS ADDRESS, GIVEN AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING (BERLIN, SEPTEMBER 1964), PRESENTS A GENERAL DISCUSSION OF THE PRESENT SCOPE, ROLE, AND POTENTIAL USE OF RESEARCH IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY, AND MAINTAINS THAT THE BEST RESEARCH IS THAT WHICH IS CLOSELY ALLIED WITH THEORY, AND THE HARDEST TO…

Dictations are not sufficient as exercises for developing listening comprehension skills. Other techniques and exercises which have been used in English for Special Purposes classes include practice in note taking, cloze-testing on lectures, mock formal interviews and informal conversations, and discourse analyses of sample lectures. Such analyses…

The recent development of the communicative approach to foreign language instruction has been accompanied by many methodological applications, most of which have revolved around an authentic use of discourse. This evolution in language instruction presents some problems, especially when communicative competence is interpreted too narrowly. Some…

Language educators are beginning to realize the need for merging affective-cognitive learning endeavors in the classroom. Language is seen as a vehicle for self-learning and expression and the language class is viewed as an appropriate environment wherein self-reflection can lead to meaningful interpersonal sharing. Confluent language programs…

The applicability of a programmed methodology to a non-programmed text can result in a new approach to and definition of programmed learning. In seeking to resolve the present conflict between grammar and foreign language instruction by making the grammatical elements implicit to both student and teacher through a logically ordered program of…

Community Language Learning (CLL) is a humanistic approach to learning which emphasizes the learner and learning rather than the teacher and teaching. In some situations where the teacher is not fluent in the various languages spoken by the students, such as in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom, advanced students may serve as…

This booklet is a guideline to those interested in the Ohio Modern Language Teachers Association Workshops. Outlined are the membership policies, responsibilities of the local workshop director, guidelines for selecting consultants, site selection, publicity guidelines, and OMLTA workshops and consultants. A complete description of each workshop…

Radio commercials, used as supplementary materials in the English as a second language class, have the following advantages: (1) they correspond closely to everyday spoken English; (2) they are clear; (3) they are short enough to sustain student interest; (4) the many redundancies in the message enable even the slower student to understand; (5)…