Topics are: aspects in the systematic acquisition of firm, lasting and ready-to-use knowledge and skill as a basis of instruction; nature of language knowledge; the dialectic of knowledge acquisition and the development of skill; intensive learning; and the design of vocabulary drill units. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

In order to design an English reading course for Indonesian students, particular problems of reading English for foreigners were examined. Some problems and solutions are detailed here. (CK)

This oral language program, designed for children ages 3 to 5, is divided into 11 sections covering the themes of self and senses; family, home, and friends; teddy bears; school and community; colors; food; animals; clothes; summer fun; holidays; and vehicles. Numerous cutouts are provided to prepare for the activities in this book, and each…

The adoption of proficiency-based principles in second language teaching does not mean using a new method of instruction, but rather providing maximum opportunities for students to perform communicative linguistic tasks in a variety of contexts and with a given degree of accuracy. This definition has implications for the learning and teaching…

A 35-day applied behavior analysis involving a repeated measure multiple-baseline design across subjects was employed to determine if there was a functional relationship between enriched sociodramatic play and three kindergarten children's language performance. The strategy of the design was to apply the same treatment in sequence across matched…

Two studies were performed to determine the process used by young children to figure out the meaning of a new word. It was hypothesized that the children would use one of two strategies: (1) ignore the word and wait for more information, or learn only what is unambiguous about it, or (2) make a reasonable but uncertain guess, quickly setting up…

A study examined whether there were any differences in the concepts about print, writing vocabulary, and prereading performance of selected kindergarten children who were provided with (1) independent writing time and exposure to a writing model in the school environment, (2) independent writing time without the writing role model, and (3) neither…

Intended for administrators and policymakers as well as teachers, this digest explores the nature of vocabulary and its implications for classroom instruction. After defining vocabulary and discussing some of the sources of English vocabulary, the digest examines how children's vocabularies develop. It then discusses the role of vocabulary…

Two interventions were studied in this project: a drama program presented by three visiting drama consultants in five classes and a daily story-reading period presented by the teacher in three classes and by the co-investigator in another three classes. The interventions lasted for 12 weeks. Subjects were 325 first grade pupils from 21 classrooms…

Five units of instruction for teaching vocabulary and higher order thinking skills in foreign language classes are presented. Introductory material considers the differences between language fluency and communication, and lists higher order thinking skills as: (1) classifying, verifying, hypothesizing; (2) making associations and generalizing; (3)…

This paper synthesizes research on vocabulary learning and vocabulary instruction to provide teachers with a basis for using different techniques of vocabulary instruction to improve reading comprehension. The limitations of traditional definition and context-based instruction are discussed in the paper, and principles are outlined which explain…

A technique for "warming up" a class in English as a second language involves writing a non-threatening, noncontroversial but thought-provoking word related to the day's general topic on the board and giving students time to write down as many related words as they can think of. Students are asked to volunteer their words, one at a time, to be…

Although knowledge of multimeaning words is important for reading comprehension, deaf readers may know only the most common meanings or nuances of high-frequency multimeaning words. Results of a study are reported in which 33 profoundly hearing impaired students stratified into three equal age groups (ages 10, 11, and 12) were administered a…

A study looks at young children's responses to tough movement structures, focusing on complements to "easy." The study examines the development of the two major types of rule usage: primitive and adult, and focuses on the inconsistent fluctuations between the primitive and adult levels. It is proposed that the source of complexity in…

Four classroom exercises for second language instruction are described. In the first exercise, the teacher tells a story from a skeleton outline. Then the teacher pairs the students, provides them with a series of questions about the story, and invites them to cross out the ones they do not like and then to ask their preferred questions of another…