One of the collaborators on the Mannheim Rating (of teaching texts for German as a foreign language) answers criticisms (in particular, the assertion that the ratings are based on purely theoretical considerations) and criticism of the evaluation criteria. It is hoped that a new version will profit from the criticisms. (IFS/WGA)

Describes the use of the Cloze Test measuring the difficulty of textbooks. After testing six English textbooks, a ranking for difficulty is given, the progression of difficulty within the text is described, and the relation between basic and supplementary texts is discussed. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, November 27, 1971, in Chicago, Illinois. (DS)

Ninety-three French textbooks were examined to produce this overview of content and methodology; the analysis indicates the books have introduced few innovations and follow traditional modes of presentation. (CK)

Referring to contributions by P. Mohr and H. G. Hoffmann, six authors discuss the problem of the content of textbooks and reading texts. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Described here is a pilot development of a method for analyzing the structural content of a set of teaching materials, underwritten by the Committee for Cooperation on English in Japan and conducted in cooperation with the Fulbright Program in Japan and the English Language Education Department of the Faculty of Education at Hiroshima University.…

The new edition of Eckermann's and Piert's textbook: "English" (Klette, Stuttgart, 1974) is analyzed in regard to topics such as problem-oriented texts and linguistic requirements for the college diploma. (Text is in German.) (IFS/MS)

Examines validity of claims made for the Mannheim Rating (of teaching texts for German as a foreign language), as well as its criteria for judging textbooks. The nonexistence of a comprehensive grammar of contemporary German makes it difficult to discuss grammar; therefore, some ratings are seen as too harsh. (IFS/WGA)

Finds that teaching textbooks are becoming more complex and difficult, and less interesting. A procedure is suggested for measuring these qualities in a textbook, based on the "Reading Ease" and "Human Interest" indices of R. Flesh, in Volume 6 of his work "The Good Companion". Two samples from texts are appended. (IFS/WGA)

Sentences in a high school French I textbook were examined to determine the extent to which the writers controlled French syntactic surface structures in terms of their differences with English equivalents. Results show students were exposed to L1-L2 syntactic differences without explanation, and such sentences could cause future difficulties.…

This paper summarizes two Russian textbooks' presentations of stress patterns of the Russian noun and offers an alternative that aims to be simpler and pedagogically more attractive. The proposed system presents stress information by means of a base form, written by means of symbols appearing over the appropriate syllable. (CHK)