This look at the interview technique in small groups shows how students can be better involved in the questioning process itself by emphasizing skill-getting and skill-using in a natural setting. (Author/RM)

A discussion of the adaptation of audiovisual methods to respond to various specific needs in Mexico City. Some of the topics discussed are: meeting needs of people involved in special fields, particularly science, technology and economics; and the use of television for functional French instruction. (AMH)

Surveys some of the research evidence citing the positive effects on language students of foreign visits. A program in Leicestershire, England, in which students visit foreign countries, is briefly described. (KM)

Describes a program at the University of Kent in which UHF broadcasts on French television are taped on video cassettes for use in a variety of courses, including French language classes. Instructional uses of the video cassettes are discussed. (KM)

Two prose passeges (one English, one Yoruba) were used as reading texts in a study of 29 undergraduates in the University of Ibadan to determine whether native speakers of Yoruba read English texts faster and more efficiently than they read equivalent texts in Yoruba. Most read Yoruba more slowly than in English. (LBH)

Shows that picture stimuli are superior to word stimuli in paired-associate learning of foreign language responses. (RL)

The longitudinal pilot study described here shows that immigrant children, trained prior to school entry and untrained, have great difficulties in language, though the groups are better able to cope. Results suggest some support for the assumption about the importance of the first language in the acquisition of the second. (Author/HP)

Discussed the individualization of vocabulary teaching in the ESL (English as a second language) classroom: (1) indirectly, through extensive reading, and (2) directly, through suitable vocabulary exercises. An experiment involving word frequencies is described that assessed the probable effectiveness of an indirect approach.

Recommends the use of recorded passages in the source language, English, for translation into the target language, Spanish. Oral comments about linguistic difficulties are in Spanish. (MLA)

The article compares the use of pattern drills to contextualized practice and suggests that although the second is a more personally meaningful approach, the pattern drills can provide a means through which the operations of many language features will be made more apparent to the learner. (NCR)

A description of the revised baccalaureate examination. The performance objectives for modern languages in oral and written expression, especially for French, comprehension and critical judgment of a text are discussed. Results of the inter-ministerial study and sample sections from examinations are given. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

A technique is outlined which simultaneously checks students' aural and oral control of sounds and prosodies. Intended for intermediate and advanced students, the test consists of a number of minimal pairs which are read by different people while the others listen and note which of the alternatives they hear. (SW)

Quotes passages from the publication "Mock Examination," showing test samples from sections of the new People's University Certificate Examination in English. The sections are on listening comprehension, oral production, reading comprehension, letter writing, structures, and vocabulary, which show differences from the traditional examination.…

Role-playing develops communicative competence on the pupil-to-pupil level. This activity deserves more study, particularly in regard to demands on the teacher, preparation and performance, correcting the learners' efforts, and certain psychological aspects. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Research has disclosed several misconceptions regarding language goals and related messages, the relationship between second language acquisition and cultural identification, and what "linguistic ability" is, or who the "average" language learner is. This article discusses these misconceptions and provides examples of a strategy for "understanding…