Some of the major studies by the proponents of the Derivational Theory of Complexity are reviewed in this paper, and the results of a study to determine the adequacy of the theory as an account of message processing difficulty are included. The subjects for the study were students selected from five sections of the introductory communication class…

The student manual contains no grammatical explanation or other commentary. The Aymara material is presented in a pedagogical manner for ease in reading the dialogues and reviews and for structural clarity in the exercises. The translations are provided in both Spanish and English, making the volume ready for use with students whose first language…

The teacher's manual for the Aymara materials includes: phonology exercises, for use in improving pronunciation when needed; indexes of all volumes, including cross-indexes; grammatical, pedagogical, and cultural notes for each unit; supplementary exercises, concentrating on verb forms and material essential to the mastery of these forms; answer…

Although Aymara is the native language of more than one million people, there has been up to now very little material available in Aymara. The Aymara Language Materials Project, begun formally in 1969, has concentrated on providing simultaneously a culturally accurate set of materials for learning the Aymara language and an introduction to the…

The standard of mechanical literacy of any publication should be very high, both for one's own information and for education in and outside classrooms. On this count, too many smalltime local papers are good only for "negative teaching" of socially accepted language. The influence of any newspaper on the language depends upon how much of it is…

Designed to analyze and describe the transformational operations in sentences in written compositions, this test contains a list of 27 possible transformations, all variations of four basic transformational operations: addition, deletion, reordering, and combining. The developer reports an interrater reliability coefficient of .94. [This document…

The question of standards of language and attitudes toward language is discussed in this set of conference papers. In the initial paper, a short review of language teaching practices in the United States since 1900 is presented. At that time, both grammar texts and books on language written for the general public displayed a rigid and unyielding…

A rhetorical question is an interrogative statement made under circumstances indicating that the speaker or writer does not seek a reply. It is used as a persuasive device or occasionally as a transitional phrase, but there has been little attention paid to the manner in which listeners perceive or categorize rhetorical questions. In an…

Two environmental learning conditions based on generative linguistics were tested to determine whether they could induce in children (in grades 1-3) the acquisition of the rules of metaphors and the subsequent generation of metaphors based on the acquired rules. The first modeling condition (MC-1) emphasized the verbal-interaction effect: the…

This text, an introduction to the advanced phase of the course, focuses on instruction of the geography and history of Brazil, the development of reading and writing skills, and the expanded use of audiolingual skills in diverse and student-selected situations. Lessons consist of a grammar review topic, a narrative, and a list of new vocabulary.…

A detailed view of the various uses in Russian of the conjunction "poka" is developed in this article. Frequent examples illustrate clausal relationships, negative constructions, aspect, and tense in typical "poka" constructions. The principal function of "poka" is related to the linguistic concept of simultaneity, and the standard dictionary…

The first of three syllabuses for a three-year Russian course designed for students beginning in grade 9 outlines general objectives of the program and of the 15 lessons which comprise the first year's instruction. The lessons are organized around reading exercises which focus on development of common expressions, vocabulary, and grammar. For the…

The second of three syllabuses for a three-year Russian course designed for students in secondary school outlines general objectives of the program and lessons 16 through 30. The approach to the second year course emphasizes language development through the use of the dialogue, vocabulary expansion, and structure drills. Principal objectives…

This final syllabus for a three-year Russian course designed for students at the secondary school level outlines general objectives of the program and of the year's 12 lessons. Major objectives of the third year emphasize expansion of conversational ability, expansion of vocabulary and idioms, grammar review, and culture study. Materials to be…

This paper cites the inadequacy of transformational generative grammar theories in their attempts to describe the meaning of a given sentence. The author sees the specification of meaning involving the recovery of the particular section or sections of the world model communicated or represented by the sentence. As a corollary, the author argues…