Want a quick way to get your students happily conversing more in the target language? This practical book shows you how to use formative assessments to gain immediate and lasting improvement in your students' fluency. You'll learn how to: (1) Imbed the 3-minute formative assessment into every lesson with ease; (2) Engage students in peer formative…

Successful listening is a critical element of learning and performing in a new language. Second language teachers should include more listening activities in their class routines, and should consider a greater variety of formats and class organizational styles for those activities. The small-group format, not often used for listening activities,…

Some aural activities are described that can help language students with their listening comprehension. They include dictation, a "who am I?" exercise, sketch-drawing, chart completion, a comparison exercise, and a flow diagram. (LB)

This booklet, developed by England's Department for Education and Employment, provides information and teaching strategies to support the teaching of speaking and listening skills and develop confidence as speakers and listeners, by providing models, carefully planned activities and tasks that promote different kinds of talk and listening, and…

Proposes a method to be used in the language laboratory to develop audiolingual skills and at the same time give the student an active role in the use of the laboratory. (AM)

The authors cite reasons for the poor standard of spoken French in British secondary schools and put forward some practical ideas for oral activities. (SJL)

The oral proficiency interview should be administered infrequently, but there are other measures than can be used between interviews to maintain oral proficiency and achievement as the organizing principles of instruction while placing fewer demands on the teacher/tester. One such measure is a semi-direct procedure that has two steps. First,…

A technique using dialogues and realistic prose passages from the works of Georges Simenon and Simone de Beauvoir to teach French conversational skills at the college level is explained and illustrated. (MSE)

Uses of slides in the French language classroom for vocabulary development, enhancement of listening comprehension, stimulation of speech, and grammar review are discussed. (MSE)

A syllabus intended to prepare high school students for college level library research and to provide students with skills for lifelong learning is being created by a committee of high school and college librarians and classroom teachers. The syllabus is designed to be taught by a team consisting of a library media specialist, English teacher(s),…

Three ways of using video cassettes in second language instruction include: commercially produced culture capsules, the "Speakeasy" series from the British Broadcasting Corporation, and videos locally recorded off-air. The advantages of using each of these materials types are outlined, and specific techniques for integrating them into…

Special emphases in language instruction for career purposes include relevant vocabulary, speaking and listening skills, dialog, pronunciation, and cultural material. Special techniques include role playing, avoiding use of English, and de-emphasis on grammar, reading, and writing. (MSE)

This paper details the content of a one-term course designed to introduce advanced students of English as a second language to the general cultural environment of the United States, especially the university, and to provide them with some intercultural communication skills and awarenesses. Focus is placed on students' needs assessment, the…

The lessons in this teacher's guide are intended to supplement existing taped materials in the French Basic Course. Emphasis is placed on creative activities, realistic situations, and authentic speech variations. The materials can be used for self-study purposes as well as in a language lab under the guidance of an instructor. The seven units in…

An innovative foreign language methodology, " Read-and-Speak," was tried in a year-long pilot section of beginning French. The method involves: (1) massive easy readings assigned from the outset; (2) speaking the foreign language from the start; (3) delaying formal grammar instruction until April, when an entire introductory text is…