When English is taught as a second language in grade 4 in Israeli schools, the emphasis is on listening and speaking. Efforts are made to include varied and interesting activities using games, songs, plays, and records. (Available from English Inspectorate, Ministry of Education and Culture, P. O. Box 292, Jerusalem, Israel.) (CHK)

"Englisch in Uebungen 1," by Schlecht, contains reinforcement and review exercises aimed at developing speaking ability. It covers: word order, negation, tenses, perfect forms, "be going to" plus infinitive, passives, and question-tags. Class use (as a supplement) and private use are discussed. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Patterns of foreign language retention among young children who have been removed from a language contact situation for a period of time are studied. (PP)

The pervasive notion of communicative competence has all too often been translated in terms of an instructional goal as minimum communicative competence. The second language learner who is actually preparing to function at a relatively high level of sophistication in the target language culture is not benefitted by reliance on paralinguistic…

Adult native speakers of Hebrew, English-speaking learners of Hebrew, and an additional group of native English speakers were administered a discourse-completion test. Results indicate that to some extent speech-act realization in interlanguage benefits from the activation of a non language-specific pragmatic competence. Conformity to the…

The following papers relevant to second language instruction are compiled here: (1) "The Three Most Critical Issues in Foreign-Language Education Today," by Lorraine A. Strasheim; (2) "A Bird's Eye View of Bilingualism in Canada," by Chavarche Tchalekian; (3) "'...To Educate the Multi-Faceted and Harmoniously Developed…

This text contains 65 lessons in Twi for the student of Twi as a second language. The principal emphasis of the lessons is in developing skills in the spoken language, and study is preferable with a native speaker of the language. The use of English is to be avoided except when absolutely necessary. Because of the attention given to oral skills,…

Introduces an activity that simultaneously teaches oral expression and auditory comprehension. Groups in a class listen to an audio text that gives only incomplete information. The gaps are filled in by the group. Students are given worksheets. Presenting topics and work materials provides an integration of aural and oral skills. (IFS/WGA)

Finds that text material in final (end-of-school) French oral examinations in Germany do not correspond with the accomplishment to be expected of the students, in both appropriateness and degree of difficulty. Offers criteria, sample texts, and suggestions regarding reasonable requirements. (IFS/WGA)

A technique is outlined which simultaneously checks students' aural and oral control of sounds and prosodies. Intended for intermediate and advanced students, the test consists of a number of minimal pairs which are read by different people while the others listen and note which of the alternatives they hear. (SW)

A teacher describes an intensive Spanish course and the methods used to create the kind of exposure to total culture a student would have visiting a Spanish country. Pronunciation and speaking are practiced through use of songs, records, tapes, and poetry; students write essays; and language and culture are interrelated. (CHK)

Examines typical French telephone conversations for high-frequency expressions. Two classifications are used: intimate and non-intimate. Presents a typical course syllabus and forms for checking achievement. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Presents research rating the speaking proficiency on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language Oral Proficiency Interview of 40 college French students at four different levels of study. The data show a significant, positive relationship between level of proficiency and level of study. (Author/CB)

An experimental "oral survival" French course is described. Role playing, discussions of reading assignments, a taped mystery thriller and educational games were used to force students to speak French and to lose their inhibitions against speaking. Testing showed students' French speaking ability to be much improved. (CHK)

Outlines a "post office" lesson used in foreign language teaching. Students write postcards to each other and class conversation becomes a realistic exercise in asking directions to the Post Office, price of postage, methods of mailing, etc. (CHK)