Discusses new understanding of the nature of language and of the importance of training teachers in the use of materials and equipment which have developed from this understanding. Language is basically patterns of sound, constantly changing in time, place and situation; patterns of sound appropriate to patterned social behaviour. (RB)

Surveys the main results obtained in a study of syntactic ambiguities in English, and discusses their most important implications for general and applied linguistics. Concludes that awareness of the linguistic treatments of ambiguity can be of great help to the teacher in developing students' competence. (MES)

For spot-dictation purposes, song lyrics can be duplicated with blanks for the words or structures that are desirable to emphasize. Lyrics quite often have repetitious structures and vocabulary, and lend themselves to reinforcing new forms or concepts. This procedure can encourage general listening comprehension while highlighting one particular…

Presents a novel approach, relying on linguistic principles of semantics, to teach grammatical usage in Spanish as a second language. (AM)

This study investigated the performance of native and non native speakers of Modern Greek language on morphology and syntax tasks. Non-native speakers of Greek whose native language was English, which is a language with strict word order and simple morphology, made more errors and answered more slowly than native speakers on morphology but not…

This study compares quantitative and qualitative results for task-based second language (L2) grammar instruction conducted as whole-class, teacher-led discourse (TLD) versus small-group, learner-led discourse (LLD). Participants included 78 English-speaking adults from six university classes of beginning L2 Spanish, with two assigned to each…

Current linguistic research in syntax and morphology may have positive results for language teaching, but caution is required as linguistic theory grows more abstract. (CHK)

Instead of teaching three divisions (when-type clauses, conditional clauses, and wish-clauses), two units may be used (possible situations and contrary-to-fact situations). Suggestions are made for interesting class practice. (MSE)

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if training in syntactic structures would increase reading performance of junior high school students. A total of 46 students in a predominately white middle class suburban school district who were reading at least two years below grade placement were divided into two groups: 24 students were…

Shows the advantages of using visual representations of certain systematic aspects of a grammar. Simplified diagrams prove useful as mnemonic and explanation devices in the foreign language classroom. Two examples are given for teaching German to speakers of English. (TL)

One hundred eighty-eight congenitally deaf high school students were given sentence comprehension tests in order to determine which if any of four possible hypotheses--developmental lag, the method of sentence presentation, teaching methodology and acquisitional modality--explained the observed syntactic deficit in the deaf language user. (PHR)

Many examples of the present perfect tense are proposed. These are accompanied by simple rules to help the student get a clear idea and better grasp of the use of the present perfect in British English. The article is designed for teachers of English to Francophones. (Text is in French.) (AMH)