Aim: To identify the use and utility of language comprehension tests for unintelligible or non-speaking children with severe cerebral palsy (CP). Method: Severe CP was defined as severe dysarthria (unintelligible speech) or anarthria (absence of speech) combined with severe limited mobility, corresponding to Gross Motor Function Classification…

The "Versant Spanish[TM] Test" applies state-of-the-art technology to language assessment in a quick and efficient tool designed for the purpose of "assessing an individual's ability to speak and understand spoken Spanish". According to the developers, the Pearson Education Group, the test is equally useful in academic as well as professional…

A test of paralinguistic features of English that can be observed by listening is recommended for testing listening comprehension, especially at the advanced level, in students of English as a second language. (MSE)

If sociolinguistics involves the specification and analysis of sociological, interpersonal, and pragmatic variables at issue in given language-use situations, and discourse anaysis is the observation and analysis of both linguistic and paralinguistic features of speech events within these situations, there are at least three areas in these…

The oral proficiency scale of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) and the Educational Testing Service is reviewed as an instrument for measuring the levels of language proficiency for college undergraduates and high school students. The scale is a modification of the U.S. Government's Foreign Service Institute Scale,…

The IDEA Oral Language Proficiency Test (IPT II), an individually-administered measure of speaking and listening proficiency in English as a Second Language designed for secondary school students, is described and discussed. The test consists of 91 items and requires 5-25 minutes to administer. Raw scores are converted to one of seven proficiency…

Sketches some of the dilemmas in language assessment and presents exemplary practical approaches to assessment in the language arts areas of listening, oral language, reading, and writing. (SD)

The Preschool IDEA Oral Language Proficiency Test: Spanish (Pre-IPT:Spanish) developed by W. Williams and E. Dalton (1989) purports to determine the level of oral language proficiency for preschool children, aged 3 to 5 years. The instrument is designed to identify the dominant language of bilingual or primarily Spanish-speaking children, and the…

The aim of this study is to explore the possibility of creating positive washback by focusing on factors in the background of the test development process and anticipating the conditions most likely to lead to positive wash-back. The article reports on a multiphase empirical study investigating the washback effects of a needs-based test of spoken…