Discusses goals of teaching French as a foreign language as set forth in the "Recommended Statement of 16+ National Criteria for French" and compares them to the goals of Ontario's bilingual immersion program. Discusses the feasibility of accomplishing these goals within the framework of the compulsory education system in Great Britain. (SED)

Discusses the foreign language program of the British educational system and the problems that arise when a teacher wants to use innovative teaching techniques while at the same time preparing students for the traditional language and literature A level examinations. Suggests ways in which the problem can be resolved. (SED)

Suggests that there are three phases in the foreign language teaching/learning process through which the learner progresses from dependence on the teacher to independence in utterance. These phases are: (1) presentation, (2) precommunicative activity, and (3) communicative activity. The second phase, which is often passed over, is discussed in…

Describes a project in which experimental national support services for adults were set up as a follow-up to the British Broadcasting Corporation's beginning French series. These services were: (1) a course-linked magazine, (2) a national network of study and self-help groups, and (3) a postal and telephone question-and-answer service. (SED)

Describes a series of courses, held at the Oxford University Language Teaching Centre, which were designed to improve the spoken English of overseas members of the University in academic seminars. The courses used a series of cassette recordings that featured authentic unscripted interviews with contemporary specialists and writers. (SED)

Describes the development of the Clwyd Graded Objectives Scheme in French. Tests were developed in which the context of the questions and the language used were authentic and covered the skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Discusses each of these test components and the way in which they were graded. (SED)

Discusses the history, framework, and psychological basis of contrastive analysis. Presents three main points of view of contrastive analysis: (1) predictive (strong), (2) retrospective (weak), and (3) intralingual error analysis (a rejection of the contrastive analysis hypothesis). Suggests that the second viewpoint is more applicable and useful…

Suggests that the English-as-a-foreign-language field would benefit by using the same types of tests as those of "Graded Objectives in Modern Languages," which are used in British schools to test foreign language learning. Presents test items which are typical of the British tests. (SED)

Discusses how children get to the point where they can, in the school setting, begin to learn languages effectively. Argues that language awareness needs to be related to the aim of improving language learning and examines how language awareness might be incorporated into both elementary and secondary school curriculums. (SED)

Suggests that classifications of French verbs derived uncritically from Latin are not useful and are confusing because verb classes are defined according to their infinitives. It is suggested that verbs be grouped according to other criteria which are more useful to the learner. (SED)

Presents arguments against the practice of requiring long answers from students in the second-language class. The argument falls under two headings: (1) such long sentences are unnatural in the context in which they are being asked for and (2) they are usually inefficient. (SED)

Summarizes and critiques the elements of Krashen's Monitor Theory, points out the major implications, and applies them to classes in Great Britain. The elements of Krashen's theory are: (1) the acquisition-learning hypothesis, (2) the monitor hypothesis, (3) the natural order hypothesis, (4) the input hypothesis, and (5) the affective filter…

Speculates on the language teaching scene in 10 years' time. Suggests that the fundamental description of language in terms of functions and notions will not be replaced by any new concept and that innovation, therefore, will come more in the form in which this description of language is presented to the learner. (SED)

Pursues the argument that grammar teaching in a second-year university degree French course should be in line with the functional/notional communicative aims of the "Lyon a la une" project. Discusses the study of the pragmatic dimension of language as an essential prerequisite to the functional skills fostered by the project. (SED)

The principle of oral fluency instruction concerns the teacher's role, which is to monitor the spread, balance, and flow of the conversation. Techniques have to do with the constituents and mode of oral activity, material resources, and the year abroad. (SED)