This article discusses the history of the St. Lambert bilingual education experiment in Montreal, Canada, and bilingual education in general. The experimental project was begun because parents did not feel that the traditional language classes were successful in teaching their children French. The belief that native language skills would suffer,…

This paper first addresses the issue of the contradictory nature of informed opinion and advice in the foreign language field today. It goes on to consider such controversial topics as the introduction of the written symbol, teaching the language versus teaching about it, teaching culture, the usefulness of FLES, and individualization. The…

This is a three-year study of social adjustment patterns in the francophone and anglophone student populations of New Brunswick, Canada. After a brief economic sketch of New Brunswick's francophone North and anglophone South, there is a description of research objectives and methodology. In the investigation, three new elements were found to be…

The classroom practice of promoting glib recitation, on cue, of the surface structures of a foreign language is criticized. This practice has been based on the belief that it equates with, or leads to, communicative performance but the author claims that the attempt to simplify language learning into a sequence of skills beginning with listening…

The importance of incorporating aural comprehension activities in the second language classroom is discussed. In addition, both the theoretical models upon which the listening comprehension research is based and the operational definitions employed by the researchers are examined. It is suggested that research demonstrates the value of emphasizing…

While the Official Languages Act of Canada mandates the governmental use of English and French, it is up to regions, localities, and individuals to develop the attitudes and policies which will safeguard the rights of language minorities (including English speakers in francophone areas) and discourage the cultural isolation of language groups. A…

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 primary objective of foreign language learning, social communication, requires that experiences be simulated in the classroom. Before such simulations can be constructed, the teacher has to know what is involved when people communicate, in other words, the nature of the language act. This paper analyzes the situational, syntactical, and…

The official endorsement given to second languages by both the provincial and federal governments in Canada is reviewed, and reasons why second languages may be an important component of a basic education program are proposed. The question of which second language might be taught in schools is also addressed. The agreement to cooperate with the…

The value of language learning theory and research is discussed, and the need for content-related linguistic, sociolinguistic and cultural research, as well as treatment-related research on language teaching and learning, is emphasized. It has been only gradually, from about the mid-sixties and increasingly from the early seventies, that second…

This article discusses a study undertaken by the British Ministry of Education to determine the effect of offering French to a much wider age and ability range at the elementary level than had been the case in the past. The study is based on the Nuffield project, a pilot project in French instruction carried out in selected primary schools in…

Following a brief review of the literature on cognates, and a discussion of six arguments in favor of using cognates as a vocabulary acquisition device, a study is described which was designed to determine whether students were able to utilize English-French cognates in listening and reading comprehension in French. Seventy-four tenth grade…

This paper is concerned with the role of speech in the development of control of cognitive processes, with particular attention paid to the nature of bilingualism. It is stated that exposure to a second language provides a way of overcoming the encapsulation of the mind that develops when an individual is exposed to only one language. In order to…

The implementation of the Federal-Provincial Program of Cooperation for Bilingualism in Education, in 1970, in Canada, has resulted in a number of myths regarding the amount and the utilization of monies available through the program. The intent of this document is to provide information about the facets of this program that impinge on the area of…

This article discusses three types of films and their use in the second language classroom. The description film is objective and static, and elicits adjectives and adverbs. This kind of film should be presented three times, each time followed by a different set of learning exercises. The culture film - characterized by descriptions, scenes from…