Article surveys the special theories and empirical studies of language acquisition carried out by Soviet psychologists, especially in the period since 1950. The basic principles of materialism, historicism and social reference characteristic of Soviet Marxist psychology are placed in contrast to certain current tendencies in American linguistics.…

In Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, foreign language tests have been used rarely in schools, because more traditional oral and written examinations are preferred. However, recent changes in socialist pedagogical theory support a trend toward increasing efficiency in the instructional process, increased use of diagnostics, development of more…