The assessment of language endangerment requires accurate estimates of speaker populations, including information about the proficiency of different groups within those populations. Typically, this information is based on self-assessments, a methodology whose reliability is open to question. We outline an approach that seeks to improve the…

This article reports the findings of a study in which we investigated the possible effects of word order on the acquisition of case marking. In linguistic typology (e.g. Greenberg, 1963) a very strong correlation has been shown between dominant SOV (subject object verb) word order and case marking. No such correlation exists for SVO (subject verb…

The predicted widespread use of English as a lingua franca following ASEAN's 2015 integration mushroomed intelligibility studies between and among Asean nationals including Bruneians, Burmese, Cambodians, Filipinos, Indonesians, Laotians, Malaysians, Singaporeans, Thais and Vietnamese. Previous studies regarding ASEAN nationals' intelligibility…

Noting weaknesses in "standard" methods of measuring listening skills, developes a five-factor model utilizing three different kinds of memory and adding tasks requiring interpretation and concentration. Varying subscales--with the exception of the interpretive task--are found to be sufficiently reliable for research purposes. (NH)

A study investigated the effectiveness of structured viewing of television news on listening comprehension in English as a Second Language (ESL), as compared with the effectiveness of standard listening comprehension materials. Subjects were 66 students aged 18-22 in diverse disciplines, 34 in the experimental group and 32 in a control group.…

Mexican university students enrolled in a general English course were administered a battery of tests including a reading comprehension test based on a Spanish text, one based on an English text, and the TEAL test battery of English language proficiency for adult students. Half the students were given an easy English text and a difficult Spanish…

A study investigated the reliability and validity of the partial dictation test, a combination of dictation and cloze procedure, to measure foreign language listening comprehension. Subjects were 78 students of English as a Foreign Language in the second year of high school in Spain. Students listened to a passage from a commercial reader three…

Two tests were administered to 87 students at the third through fifth levels of English as a second language (with emphasis on scientific education) at the Center for the Teaching of Foreign Languages of the Autonomous Metropolitan University. Test I consisted of 25 multiple choice and true/false reading comprehension questions based on a…

An Indonesian study on prereading strategies for reading in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is reported. Three areas were examined: (1) differences in the reading achievement of groups receiving AO ("advance organizer" or meaningful verbal learning, based on the learning theory of David Ausubel) techniques or "Daftar Kata-Kata…