Recent research in experimental phonetics seems to provide evidence for a clear division between language units and speech units. Many researchers have suggested that the consonant-vowel (CV) syllable may be a universal unit of speech production and perception, while language units become criterial only at higher levels of processing. In second language learning, the language units and speech units may interfere with one another and produce a disorganized type of speech rhythm. Even before grammar rules and language units are introduced, it would seem profitable to introduce students to the syllabic patterning and rhythmic structure of the target language and to teach them to imitate orally the sounds and rhythms of the target language before they understand the meaning of the utterances. (Author/VM)