The study described here sought to identify and define "learning behaviors" characteristic of those adult students who were highly successful in acquiring listening and speaking fluency in French in an intensive language training program. Data were collected from behavioral observation of students in the classroom, in-depth interviews with them,…

Pilot, field, and final tests in listening and in speaking knowledge, skills, and attitudes for Alberta (Canada) students in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 were constructed, using the following steps: (1) selection and validation of high-priority measurable objectives; (2) review of existing tests and related literature; (3) pilot test construction,…

Teaching functional French is discussed with instructors of groups of foreign workers in mind. It takes as its starting point two "modules" for teaching French ("the highway code at driving school" and "starting and keeping small talk going") and uses them to exemplify some of the difficulties involved in the development and classroom use of…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 21 titles deal with the following topics: the language, communicative styles, and speech patterns of blacks and non-blacks; the prereading concept acquisition of Spanish-dominant kindergarten children; the self-concept and…

TO EXTEND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND SERVICES TO EVERYBODY BECOMES INCREASINGLY MORE IMPORTANT, AND CORRESPONDENCE TEACHING CAN CARRY EDUCATION TO THOSE OTHERWISE OUT OF REACH. CORRESPONDENCE COURSES, WHATEVER THE SUBJECT, MUST GUIDE, AID, TRAIN, AND TEST THE STUDENT. ALTHOUGH THE INSTRUCTOR AND THE STUDENT DO NOT MEET, THEIR WRITTEN EXCHANGE…

To extend educational opportunities and services to everybody becomes increasingly more important, and correspondence teaching can carry education to those otherwise out of reach. Correspondence courses, whatever the subject, must guide, aid, train, and test the student. Although the instructor and the student do not meet, their written exchange…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 18 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: a comparison of mother/child and father/child interactions; state anxiety responses in high and low speech anxious subjects; variables that predict listening…

Oral language development in early childhood education is concerned with conceptual development as well as with skill formation. There seems to be an order in which most children learn to verbalize basic concepts. This guide lists classroom activities that may be used to facilitate and enhance the conceptual development of kindergarten children in…

This paper discusses a series of oral proficiency tests in six languages developed under the auspices of the Center for Applied Linguistics and the Seattle Public Schools District. The prototype is an English test, totally oral, for use in grades K-4, designed to: (a) determine the child's ability to (1) understand and produce the distinctive…

This fifth booklet included in the second of a two-volume cross-national study of educational attainment is a compilation of cognitive tests prepared for four fundamental student groupings in the areas of French as a foreign language, English as a foreign language, and civic education. Test booklets, pertinent scripts of taped material, test…

To reemphasize the dangers inherent in the misuse of testing instruments, a study of language and cognitive development in poverty preschoolers investigated 1) whether the interpretation of Peabody scores could be applied to this population, and 2) the contribution of the linguistic form of the Peabody to performance. (MS)

One of the main tenets of the audio-lingual theory which has dominated most of our thinking in foreign language teaching methodology for the last fifteen years is that students should never be put in the situation of having to say something for which they have not already learned the patterns. Is the language laboratory really useful, however, in…

This paper gives practical suggestions for the ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher who must prepare adult foreign students for academic life in the United States. The paper is based on activities carried out at the English Language Institute of the University of Pittsburgh. It is divided into three sections, according to language skills:…

This book consists of ten papers presented at the 1976 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Three major trends in foreign language instruction were identified as themes for the conference: (1) the growing emphasis on developing communication skills in the language learning experience; (2) the concern for the individual…

The Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers Union of Canada assessed literacy learning needs. In focus group discussions, members were asked their perception of such needs in the face of changes in the workplace and society; local union officers (LUOs) were asked how they saw the role of unions in supporting members' literacy learning; employers…