This paper analyzes spoken usage of English prepositions by two groups of Ontarian elementary students at the Grade 2 and Grade 5 levels. The first group (29 subjects) consists of bilingual Franco-Ontarian students from Welland and Sudbury. The second group (8 subjects) is composed of monolingual English students from Toronto. Examination of the…

Following a brief review of the history of interest in foreign languages in America, facts to be considered when interpreting falling enrollment statistics, such as a drop in the birth rate, are discussed. It is stressed that foreign language teaching cannot be neglected in a world having improved and extensive communication between people…

A method for teaching French oral reading is presented. Prior to the actual oral reading, the student should: (1) read the text attentively for meaning and in order to decide on the appropriate tone; (2) determine the rhythm appropriate to the text; (3) indicate, by means of arrows, the general intonational curve; (4) indicate the "liaisons" to be…

This paper explores the implications of presumed language universals and language particulars for second language teaching and learning. It is felt that an awareness of the universal features of language design builds confidence in the student who can concentrate on features which distinguish the target language from the native language. Examples…

The leadership of the foreign language education profession convened to discuss the major issues for that profession in the 1980s. Several papers each were devoted to the following subjects: (1) curriculum and materials, (2) global education, (3) evaluation, (4) research, and (5) teacher education. Brief reaction papers for each subject are…

Three papers intended as preliminary studies to bilingual professional curriculum development are included. "Speech Acts and Discourse Analysis," by Terry McCoy, represents an introduction to discourse analysis as a tool for the language teacher. The notion of a typology of speech acts is set forth, and models of discourse analysis by…

This business education unit in French was prepared for use in a bilingual education program at the twelfth grade level. The purpose of the unit is to improve typing skills in French. The unit covers the following objectives: (1) the location and typing of French characters on the keyboard; (2) the format of a business letter in French; (3)…

A curriculum is presented as part of a plan for improvinq English language instruction in secondary schools in Nigeria. The current status of English in Nigeria is viewed as ambiguous: the importance of English as a lingua franca and official language is contrasted with the neglect of English instruction and the failure to upgrade language…

In an attempt to answer some of the questions concerning the roles of syntactic vs. semantic cues and the similarities and/or differences between the first (L1) and second (L2) language reading strategies, a pilot study was conducted with 47 English-speaking students enrolled in French as a second language classes at a bilingual, English-French…

Presented here are a series of classroom exercises in cross cultural communication for teachers of English to students whose native language is Spanish. These classroom exercises focus on a variety of topics including: (1) the definition of a culture; (2) stereotypes; (3) cultural conceptions of space and time; (4) societal values; (5)…

A study was conducted to measure the relative degrees of acculturative stress among groups of students at the Brigham Young University Hawaii Campus. Specific ethnic groups included in the study were American-Caucasian, Chinese, Japanese, New Zealand-Maori, Tongan, Samoan, Fijian, Hawaiian, and Filipino. Data were collected from students at the…

These lessons in Chichewa are a continuation of the first volume. As in the first volume, two types of lessons are presented. The "A" lessons present basic grammatical patterns through explicit discussions of the patterns involved. The "B" lessons present language in use. They contain dialogs, monologs, narratives, proverbs,…

This paper examines the parallels between suggestopedia and Soviet sleep-learning for learning foreign languages. Both systems are based on the idea that the acquisition of information can occur in states below the optimal level of consciousness. Hypnopedia makes use of the period of paradoxical or light sleep that usually occurs just as one is…

A recent task force of the Speech Communication Association identified three situations in which native English speaking adults require communicative competence--occupation, citizenship, and maintenance. These situations give rise to five main contexts in which adult learners of English as a second language (ESL) need communicative proficiency:…

The first part of these findings is a report on a study of the characteristics of 120 Spanish-English bilingual children's speech over a two-year period in the classroom, on the playground, and at home. Three types of language measures were used as well as audiotaped speech samples taken in the three communication settings. Preliminary findings…