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The role of learning strategies in independent learning, particularly second language learning, is discussed. It is argued that "learning to learn" is a necessary, although not sufficient, condition for independent learning. It is also not innate, but must be taught. The learner must learn to define his objectives, accomplish them, evaluate progress, and manage learning processes. The objectives may be linguistic knowledge, sociocultural information, or development of specific abilities. "Learning to learn" can occur in a variety of ways: before beginning, after having begun, or parallel with the learning of the language itself; collectively or individually; extensively or intensively. Training in "learning to learn" involves becoming familiar with already internalized understanding, developing metacognitive awareness, and expanding on prior learning. Ten instructional activities designed to develop these skills and cognition in learners are described briefly. (Contains 6 references.) (MSE)

The conference papers from a colloquium on issues in bilingualism and biculturalism include: "Le bilinguisme et biculturalisme: essai de definition" ("Bilingualism and Biculturalism: Attempt at Definition") (Francois Grosjean); "La variation individuelle dans l'acquisition d'une langue seconde" ("Individual Variation in Second Language Acquisition") (Harriet Jisa); "Un bilinguisme particulier: francais/langue des signes" ("A Specific Bilingualism: French/Sign Language") (Claire Dunant-Sauvin, Jean-Francois Chavaillaz); "Identites linguistiques et contacts des cultures: quelques remarques a propos des statuts symboliques" ("Linguistic Identities and Culture Contact: Some Remarks Concerning Symbolic Rules") (Jean Widmer); "Pratiques bilingues d'adolescents issus de l'immigration en France et en Angleterre" ("Bilingual Practices of Adolescents Born to Immigrants in France and England") (Nassira Merabti, Daniele Moore); "Reflexions cliniques autour des difficultes de realisation articulatoire de trois enfant bilingues" ("Clinical Reflections on Articulatory Problems of Three Bilingual Children") (Jacqueline Girard-Fresard); "Comment un pays monolingue voit-il le bilinguisme?" ("How Does a Bilingual Country See Bilingualism?") Angela Veraguth-Joaquim); "Reconnaitre les atouts linguistiques des enfants bilingues pre-lecteurs" ("Recognizing the Linguistic Capabilities of Pre-Reading Bilingual Children") (Christiane Perregaux); "Surdite: deficience sensorielle innee et mutite linguistique acquise--(re)apprentissages langagiers et construction d'un sujet sourd parlant" ("Deafness: Innate Sensory Deficiency and Acquired Linguistic Mutism--Language (Re)learning and Construction of a Speaking Deaf Subject") (Agnes Millet); "'Mon fils a un probleme a la tete'/'Ma fille a une sale tete, un sale charactere' Qu'est-ce que cela a a voir avec l'ethnopsychiatrie?" ("'My Son Has a Problem in His Head'/'My Daughter Has a Bad Mind, a Bad Character' What Does This Have To Do with Ethnopsychiatry?") (Marie-Pierre Maystre); "Multiculturalisme et langage. Quelques aspects de la prise en charge d'une famille migrante presentant un mutisme electif" ("Multiculturalism and Language. Several Aspects of the Treatment of a Migrant Family Presenting with Elective Mutism") (Francine Rosenbaum, Raymond B. Traube); "Construction du soi et langue maternelle" ("Construction of the Self and Native Language") (Marie-Odile Goubier-Boula); and "Logotherapie de groupe et utilisation du genogramme dans un groupe d'enfants migrants: elements de reflexion a propos d'une pratique" (Group Speech Therapy and Use of the Genogram in a Group of Migrant Children: Reflections on Practice") (Valerie Jequier Thiebaud, Francine Rosenbaum). Individual papers contain references. (MSE)

Recent studies on written communication have emphasized the importance of discourse organization and rhetoric for the learning of reading and writing in a foreign language. This paper describes an attempt at a contrastive study of specialized discourse in French and in English. A corpus of medical articles all on the same subject has been analysed at various levels of discourse organization. Visual aspects of the printed page and sequences of discursive and communicative acts are contrasted and it is argued that the differences noted stem largely from a slightly different philosophy of science in the two cultures: whereas the French authors take scientific data as the core of discourse, the English tend to organize it in view of a demonstration. Some consequences for the learning of reading and writing in ESP are suggested. (Author)

This bibliography contains a list of various publications (books, journals, dictionaries, newspapers, magazines) as well as videos, CD-ROMs, Web sites, and the addresses of several French chambers of commerce that would be useful for any English speakers needing to live, do business, or otherwise spend time in France. References are in French or English, and sometimes both. (KFT)

Papers from the Proceedings of the 17th meeting of the AIMAV (Association internationale pour le developpement de la communication interculturelle) are collected in this volume. Conference papers appear either in English, in French, or in Russian. For purposes of this abstract, all titles below have been translated into English. The English-language papers presented here are: "My Method of Studying Russian," (Maria T. Bella); "The Teaching of Russian in the USSR: World-Wide Window for Soviet Non-Russians," (Goldie Blankoff-Scarr); and "Grammatical Interference of the Native Language in Russian Language Learning," (E. Popoff-Bocker). Papers in French are: "A Tentative Analysis of the State of Russian Language Instruction in France," (Irene Commeau); "The Problem of Teaching Russian Literature in Translation," (Claude De Greve); "Ann Attempt at Teaching Some Elementary Structures of Russian: Phonology and Phonetics, Transcription and Orthography," (Danielle Konopnicki-Miot); and "The Semantic Approach of the Russian Culture," (N. Stange-Zhirovova). Papers in Russian are: "The Advancement of Russian Language Teacher Qualifications with Regard to the Communicative Tasks of Instruction," (T. M. Dorofyeeva); "Some Aspects of My Teaching an Advanced Russian Literature Class in a French College," (O. M. Grabovskaya); "On Minimizing Classroom Materials," (Arto Mustajoki); "An Accounting of the Progress of Comparative Literary Criticism in the Teaching of Russian Literature," (Michai Novikov); "Two Intonation Contours in Contemporary Russian Language," (Cecilia Ode);"Teaching Russian Language in the Non-Russian European Parts of the USSR," (Shegun Odunuga); "Comprehension Tests of Russian Texts," (C. Petri); and "The Status of Russian Language Instruction in West German Schools, 1984," (Kai Sieveking). (LMO)

Papers on language difficulties encountered by migrant workers' children include: "Anomie in Bicultural Education" (Hugo Baetens Beardsmore); "An Investigation into Bilingual Education for Children from Favoured Socio-Economic Backgrounds" (Hugo Baetens Beardsmore); "Orientations of Foreign Children Relating to Placement in Special Classes" (in French) (Jean Clevy); "Contribution to Reflection on the 'Training' of Teachers with Foreign Children" (in French) (Jean Clevy); "Bilingual Education for the Children of Migrant Workers: The Adaptation of General Models to a New Specific Challenge" (Joshua A. Fishman); "Prospects for Family Training" (in French) (Jean-Pierre Lagarde); "Contribution to the Understanding of Scholastic Problems of Migrant Workers' Children" (in French) (Xavier Piolle); "An Experiment in Multicultural Education in a Portuguese Migrant Situation" (in French) (Iraci Poleti); "Critical Description of an Experiment on the Teaching of the Native Language to Migrant Children" (in French) (Bernard Py); "Placement of Migrant Children in the Genevan Community and Schools" (in French) (Micheline Rey-Von Allmen); "Migrant Languages: Linguistic Change in Progress" (Mario Saltarelli, Susan Gonzo); "Implications of Recent Sociolinguistic Research for the Problems of Migrant Worker Children" (Roger W. Shuy); "Helping Migrant Children to Communicate: Some Implications of the Council of Europe Work in Language Systems Construction" (J. L. M. Trim); and "Linguistic Problems of Immigration and Proposal for Language Instruction Appropriate to the Level of Children" (in Italian) (Teresa Di Fonzo, Patrick Van Molle). (MSE)