Through a three-part method (class presentation, quiz, and written summary), reading texts can be used to promote conversational and writing skills as well as reading. Variations on traditional techniques of oral presentation and written summary provide a basis for student dialog, an individualized approach to grammar review, and language…

Sees the blackboard as perhaps the most versatile of all teaching aids and illustrates the art of expressing ideas with as few strokes as possible. Illustrations include figures, diagrams, and printing gimmicks with sample applications to various phonological and structural problems. (MES)

Presents study conducted in France to determine which errors typically made by French-speaking Americans (errors in pronunciation, vocabulary, or grammar) are most objectionable to the French ear. Concludes grammatical errors were rated least tolerable. (Author/BK)

Traces the reasons for a de-emphasis on grammar instruction in the English curriculum to the social upheavals of the 1960s. Suggests that grammar instruction should be an integral, necessary part of writing instruction. (RL)

A classification of students according to their written explanations as to why they enrolled in an English class on writing research reports. (RL)

Analyzes errors that characterize French utterances produced by native speakers of English to determine the degree to which various categories of errors interfere with oral communcation. Error analysis is based on the spontaneous reactions of French speakers to correct and incorrect versions of the same utterances. Pedagogical implications are…

Writing samples were analyzed for syntactic maturity, productivity and word selection; for conventions such as tense and number markers and number agreement; and for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Only spelling performance proved significantly different in favor of low achievers. (Author)

Discusses problems connected with grammar presentation in elementary German textbooks, focusing especially on the still widespread use of paradigms and on terminological inadequacies. Suggests some simplifying formulas to collapse and summarize the morphological system of German for descriptive and pedagogical purposes. (MES)

Describes a strategy for guessing meanings from context and suggests ways of practicing this strategy. The strategy involves four steps: (1) determining the part of speech of the word, (2) looking at the immediate grammar, (3) studying the wider context (usually the conjunction relationships), and (4) guessing the word and checking the guess.…

Discusses the ellipsis of major sentential elements as a pervasive grammatical phenomenon in Japanese conversation and demonstrates its relevance for current theories of discourse or text analysis. (FL)

Five educational leaders--John Downing, Richard E. Hodges, Charlton Laird, Pose Lamb, and Roy C. O'Donnell--offer reflections on significant developments in research on language development during the 1970s and on their hopes for language research and instruction in the 1980s. (GT)

Reber found that subjects given neutral instructions to memorize letter strings from a synthetic language learned more about the underlying grammar than those instructed to try discovering the rules for letter order. Two experiments explored the relationship between implicit and explicit processes in the acquisition of complex knowledge.…

In a study of advanced shorthand students, the following were the most frequent transcription errors: punctuation errors, substitutions, spelling or English usage errors, poor corrections, omission in notes, and incorrectly written figures. Constant reviewing, testing, and drills in these areas were recommended. (CT)

Presents an exercise in which the aim is to practice question-forming in a game context, and to show students how to make well-formed questions. Students are broken down into groups. One member reads a story silently. The others, provided with vague clues, must ask "yes-no" questions and reconstruct the story. (Author/PJM)

Fifteen teaching suggestions are offered for elementary language skills activities. The focus is on developing proficiency in sentence completion, alphabetizing, story telling, writing, describing, listening creatively, spelling, and expanding language comprehension. (JD)