A study investigated the relationship between language contacts made outside of the classroom by Japanese foreign students and how those contacts affect their participation within the classroom and their overall academic performance. Subjects were 32 university students from Japan enrolled in an intensive language program. All of the students had…

In the two major sections of this paper the influence of John B. Carroll and Robert Lado on the teaching and testing of listening comprehension since 1961 is examined. The first section reviews the literature of that field and outlines four major periods roughly corresponding to the methodological orientation dominating professional thinking at…

The content characteristics of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) are examined from a communicative viewpoint, based on current theory in applied linguistics and language proficiency assessment. The study employed a four-part operational framework. The first component analyzed the communicative characteristics of a language…

A study investigated which experiences helped Japanese learners of English as a second language acquire native-like politeness strategies and how Japanese businessmen perceive the relationship between degrees of indirectness and politeness in Japanese and in English. Subjects were 22 adult males, including 17 native speakers of Japanese working…

This report describes the administrators, teachers, and students involved in the Los Angeles (California) Unified School District's programs for students whose primary language is not English. The students were in elementary, secondary, and special education programs. Survey results are summarized at the beginning of the paper, followed by a more…

Problem areas for the Mexican American female (Chicana) in higher education were investigated and compared to those of the Mexican American male (Chicano). A specific objective was to document the heterogeneity and complexity of the Chicana population and the corresponding variation in educational experiences. An executive summary and full report…

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.…

High School and Beyond is a national longitudinal study of the cohorts of 1980 high school seniors and sophomores in the United States, intended to provide information through the early adulthood of these students. The machine-readable data file (MRDF) Language File contains data on each student who responded that he or she had experience in a…

Six American universities were studied to assess the predictive validity of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and other admissions data and of student language background relative to college grades for Hispanic students. Sample sizes at the universities ranged from 76 to 686 for Hispanic subjects and from 924 to 4,919 for White students. The…

This study investigated the role of language factors as potential determinants of Hispanics' educational progress. Language background factors included exposure to, use of, and proficiency in both Spanish and English, and the students' perceptions of those factors. They were studied in relation to standardized measures of college aptitude and…

A statewide Indiana study designed to pilot selected learning outcomes in foreign language programs is reported. It investigated the usefulness of the state's "Guide to Proficiency-Based Instruction in Modern Foreign Languages for Indiana Schools." The report outlines the project's background, the need for proficiency-based goals, the…

The development, administration, and evaluation of a national survey to determine college students' understanding of world affairs are described in 12 articles that focus on survey measures, procedures, and results. Stephen F. Klein and Sheila M. Ager describe the issues examined by an assessment committee, their choice of an issues framework for…

This volume contains the appendices to a study to determine which patterns of classroom interaction and student characteristics were related to students' acquisition of oral proficiency in English. Participants were the English as a second language teachers and students at the West New York (New Jersey) Adult Learning Center. Student measures, a…

The Education Evaluation and Planning Package provides a performance statement check list approach to the comprehensive educational evaluation required by Massachusetts law for special education students. The vocational area of this package is intended to be used to assess various skills necessary to hold a job. There are four components of this…

In June of 1998, Proposition 227 was passed by 61 percent of the California electorate. The initiative was intended to significantly alter the ways in which the state's English learners (ELs) are taught. Proposition 227 requires that ELs be taught "overwhelmingly in English" through sheltered/structured English immersion (SEI) programs…