THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT CENTER WAS CREATED TO INITIATE AND EXPERIMENT WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHING MATERIALS THAT WOULD MAKE USE OF UNTRIED, BUT SIGNIFICANT, LANGUAGE TEACHING CONCEPTS. THESE CONCEPTS WERE APPLIED IN A PROJECT FOR PRODUCING AND TRYING OUT INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DESIGNED FOR THE FIRST 3 YEEARS OF SCHOOL AND INTENDED AS A COMMON CORE OF MATERIALS FOR A WIDE RANGE OF LANGUAGE BACKGROUNDS. THE UNDERLYING ASSUMPTION USED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE MATERIALS WAS THAT NONPREDICTABLE, PURPOSEFUL COMMUNICATION CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR THE EARLY STAGES OF SECOND OR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING, WHICH IS A DEPARTURE FROM THE USUAL PATTERN-PRACTICE FORM OF INSTRUCTION. THE NONPREDICTABLE, PURPOSEFUL COMMUNICATION WAS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED BY HAVING HE STUDENT PARTICIPATE IN A SITUATION THAT HAS A MORE DEMANDING PURPOSE THAN LANGUAGE PRACTICE AND THAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED ONLY BY THE APPLICATION OF NEWLY LEARNED LANGUAGE FORMS IN WAYS THAT ARE NOT PREDICTABLE BY HIS HEARERS. THE HEARERS ARE REQUIRED TO RESPOND OVERTLY TO THE SPEAKER'S LINGUISTIC SIGNALS BY SELECTING ONE OF A RANGE OF POTENTIAL RESPONSES. THE FOUR APPENDIXES TO THE REPORT CONTAIN 150 COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES, PLAYLETS AND IMPROVISATIONS, SONGS, AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES. AS A RESULT OF INTERNAL APPRAISAL OF THE DEVELOPED MATERIALS AND TRYOUTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN OTHER COUNTRIES, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT NONPREDICTABLE, PURPOSEFUL COMMUNICATION CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AT PRIMARY GRADE LEVELS AND THAT TAKING CHILDREN INTO EARLY FUNCTIONAL USE OF THE LANGUAGE CAN BE PEDAGOGICALLY USEFUL. THE REPORT, INCLUDING THE FOUR APPENDIXES, WAS PREVIOUSLY CITED AS ED 012 362. (AL)