Three papers intended as preliminary studies to bilingual professional curriculum development are included. "Speech Acts and Discourse Analysis," by Terry McCoy, represents an introduction to discourse analysis as a tool for the language teacher. The notion of a typology of speech acts is set forth, and models of discourse analysis by Sinclair/Coulthard and Candlin are discussed. In "Developing the Ability to Communicate in Work Situations," Giles Bilodeau discusses the relationship between linguistic competence and communicative competence. The goal of occupational language training for professionals is deemed to be the ability to handle office situations in a second language with the same ease as in the first language. The development of such competence is outlined in a structured series of considerations and recommended class activities. Finally, in "Approximative Systems, Communicative Competence and the Speaker's Freedom," Michel Lange deals with the instructional implications of approximative systems used by learners. Constraints on the speaker's freedom that are related to linguistic competence, error acceptability, and sociocultural factors are discussed. (JB)