&dquo; The project at present has no independent funding, and is implemented. mainly through two channels: 1 ) Research Fellowships for scholars from SEAMEO countries to undertake research in the SONOL area; 2) guidance in the selection of project or dissertation topics by RELC course members, particularly in the specialized four-month (200-series) courses and in the ten-month postmasteral Course ~.01, but to some extent in the other courses as well. ' Project SONOL was originally conceived in 1976, and was approved for implementation by the RELC Governing Board in the first year of the present five-year planning period, 1977. The original rationale for the project still stands: it is a response to the recognition of the importance of social and cultural factors in language leaming and of the relevance of information on such factors to language planning and language teaching.The most relevant kind of information to be gathered would include, for example, data on the process through which children become gradually socialized into the adult speech community, as they develop a) linguistic skills in various speech varieties, b) knowledge about their use in appropriate contexts, and c) affective reactions to speech and its use. The term &dquo;communicative competence&dquo; in the project title has been chosen advisedly. Although this concept has become very familiar to teachers,and curriculum developers in the field of second or foreign language teaching, its application to the field of national and official language teaching is perhaps even more vital a concern of modern SEAMEO countries.Studies of sociocultural factors will not only help language teachers understand important and perplexing problems encountered by slow learners and repeaters in their classes; such studies will also suggest innovative approaches to the improvement of curricula, the design of syllabuses, the training of teachers, the preparation of instructional materials, and language teaching methodology in general. In addition, the studies can have wide implications in areas outside the school, such as in the mass media and nonformal education.The general objective of Project SONOL is thus to study the sociocultural factors which centrally affect communicative competence, with special reference to the use of national and official languages. At present, the relevant national and official languages of the actively participating at UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS on April 12, 2015 rel.sagepub.com Downloaded from
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