This essay deals with the use of cartoons and comic strips to teach English as a second language. It illustrates, through past professional literature written on the subject and through specific lessons, the various instructional uses to which cartoons and comic strips lend themselves. Cartoons and comic strips can be applied to the following…

Current research on adult second language learning suggests that study is necessary to separate interference variables from intralinguistic variables and to determine the relative difficulty of structures in each group. This research on the acquisition of the English relative clause was specifically designed to test the transfer hypothesis…

Foreigner talk (FT) is the term used to characterize possible adjustments in the speech of a native speaker (NS) when he or she is in conversation with a non-native speaker (NNS). The paper examines conversations between 6 native speakers and 3 non-native speakers and characterizes the speech of the native-speakers involved. The data were…

This measure is designed to identify, assess, and diagnose the oral language capability of English and Spanish speakers, and to prescribe corrective or improvement activities. Part One provides minimum criteria to identify children who might need training in a second language. Part Two is designed to assess the child's primary or home language and…

Some of the problems facing undergraduates learning Russian can be dealt with effectively by using an online computer. A Russian numerals drill program (RUNEX) is described which aims to help the student in tackling the morphological arbitrariness and some aspects of the syntax of the Russian numerals. Paradigms are given for the numerals five,…

English grammar testing practices from the middle school level to the first two years of the bachelor's degree in India are examined, and suggestions for change are presented. Ten to thirty percent of the total marks allotted to question papers in English are set aside for the testing of grammar and usage. It is argued that syllabuses at present…

This booklet is a guide to the various aspects of bilingual education. It consists of the following chapters: (1) "Sink or Swim Educational Approach" (which discusses the practice of ignoring the linguistic problems of non-English-speaking children in American schools), (2) "Bilingual Instruction" (the two methods of teaching English to linguistic…

The marked increase in the number of Hispanic bicultural students entering American colleges and universities has created new dilemmas for teachers of beginning and intermediate Spanish. In addition to the difficulties occasioned by new cultural perspectives, both student and teacher are faced with the problem of remodeling the classroom program…

Talk is proposed as the subject matter of foreign language courses. The key to acquiring liberated expression lies in the assimilation of the learner to the target culture. Once he/she is assimilated, the learner's involvement in a situation matches the involvement of natives of the target culture. For example, faced with some life circumstance…

The teaching of foreign languages, like other subjects in the curriculum, must change to incorporate the strategies and technologies which evolve from a new perspective of materials and methods. Accordingly, several reasons are suggested for a systematic approach to constructive chanqe. Needs assessment, a process comprised of a series of…

This is an investigation of the notion of language for special purposes and a discussion of the topic from the point of view of reading comprehension and its pedagogical implications. The meanings, connotations, and inadequacies of the terms "langue de specialite" and "Language for special purposes" are discussed. A distinction is made between…

This longitudinal study of bilingual language acquisition analyzes the order of acquisition of English grammatical morphemes in a child bilingual in English and Chichewa (a Bantu lanugage of East Central Africa). The order of acquisition obtained is compared to that obtained by Brown (1973) for monolingual English speaking children and that…

A report is presented on the joint evaluation session of intensive overseas language programs. The evaluation session was attended by representatives of the following federally-funded programs: American Institute of Indian Studies, Berkeley Urdu Language Program in Pakistan, Center for Arabic Study Abroad (Cairo), Cooperative Russian Language…

This children's story in the Chugach Sugcestun Aleut language is for elementary school children with a good grasp of the language. The story is about the activities of an Alaskan boy. Pen-and-ink sketches illustrate the text and an English translation is appended. (NCR)

Regulations adopted in 1977 by the Alaska State Board of Education governing bilingual-bicultural education in Alaska are presented. The procedure for the initial identification of language dominance in students is set forth. Obligations of school districts toward their non-English-speaking students are detailed. Parental and community involvement…