Advertisements can be used in many ways to facilitate the teaching of a commercial language. If reproduced as slides or other visual aids, they serve as a visual warm-up exercise for each class period, either reinforcing previously discussed topics or introducing new ones. Catchy headlines in commercials promote rapid expansion of vocabulary and are often excellent examples of difficult grammatical structures, convincing students of the usefulness of such structures. Idioms and cultural idiosyncracies are easily illustrated with advertising. Advertisements can be given a broader function when organized according to themes and general topics, such as banking, insurance, transportation, and categories of consumer goods. A variety of classroom activities can be derived from advertisements: fine print can be used for translation exercises, testing of reading skills, or discussion; students can guess concealed headlines or fill in words, phrases, or text segments from overhead projections; and students can compare American and foreign advertising or provide comparable wording in the target language for American advertisements. (MSE)