A compilation of statistics with extensive comment and interpretation on marriage in France. The engagement, the wedding in all its aspects, as well as opinions on numerous topics related to marriage are considered. Several suggestions on the use of the material in the classroom are given. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Four classroom language activities aimed at different audiences and developed for honing different skills are described. These activities include an exercise in art appreciation, reconstruction of a fragmented text, a verb use exercise, and study of street art and slogans. (MSE)

Points out that traditional teaching methods, which have been replaced by more effective methods for the majority of students, are still used for low-ability students. Argues that these students need the best materials available and teachers who are knowledgeable about current educational theories. (SRT)

Shows that fingerspelling makes learning the task of separating the word into its parts fun as well as easier for some students. (FL)

Longitudinal observation of 12 infants, including measures of child behavior and maternal language and child language, revealed that most subjects acquired a balanced distribution of object labels and social-centered words and phrases. (Author/CB)

Explores the relative contributions of global vocabulary and specific attribute knowledge to the metaphorical comprehension of fluent and less fluent adult users of English. Results indicate that, for both groups, specific attribute knowledge was a better predictor of metaphorical interpretation than global vocabulary knowledge. (Author/CB)

A case study investigating the effect of grammar instruction on formal accuracy in spontaneous and monitored second language performance indicated that formal instruction appeared to have very little effect on spontaneous production but was very beneficial for controlled performance. (CB)

Four activities for language learning are presented, including: class completion of incomplete dialogues excerpted from major literary works; games for learning vocabulary and civilization using words beginning with the same letter; a lesson using cartoons to elicit description and dialogues; and a unit on appropriate and inappropriate…

A four-part experiment testing Lozanov's suggestopedic method of teaching vocabulary uses a literary text as well as a list of discreet words. It was found that certain variations of the method are effective and appropriate for teaching vocabulary and reading comprehension. (MSE)

Analysis of interviews with underachieving English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners revealed that these learners used strategies similar to those of good language learners. Activities are suggested to help weaker learners investigate their own strategies and become aware of others for more effective learning. (Author/LMO)

Recommends a method of teaching Russian vocabulary that focuses on new words in context and on their structure: root, prefix, suffix, sound changes, and borrowings. Sources for teachers are given in the bibliography. (LMO)

A local California school developed a program to meet language needs of first graders (70 percent of whom were from minority groups.) The program stresses basic concepts, vocabulary development through categorization and sensory experiences, and many opportunities to practice verbal skills with peers. (DB)

Contributors (1) offer suggestions about using the newspaper for vocabulary development and involving students in problem solving activities, (2) describe a course designed for parents who want to help their children with reading, and (3) discuss the names of diacritical marks. (FL)

Transformational mnemonic strategies have been effectively used to enhance associative and serial list learning of borderline subjects classified as mentally retarded. Recent applications have involved concrete and abstract native-language vocabulary, numbered or ordered information, and digit span recall. (CB)

Outlines an approach to vocabulary selection for computer-assisted language instruction that presents target language lexical items not as individual entities but as elements in a variety of semantic, morphological, morphosemantic, pragmatic, and interlinguistic relationships. (Author/MSE)