This study examined the effectiveness of Flashlight360 by continuing a retrospective, mixed-methods quasi-experimental design of ELLs in Grades 1-12 during the 2023-24 school year in a large western state school district. Outcome measures included composite, speaking, and writing achievement gains on the WIDA ACCESS assessment administered to…

This study was primarily aimed at developing an English-speaking proficiency test and analytic rubrics designed to measure speaking proficiency of Malaysian undergraduates. On the basis of Littlewood's Methodological Framework and Long's Interaction Hypothesis, the researchers derived three speaking tasks from four sources: (a) syllabus of the…

Gives an overview of the development and testing of an interview instrument used by teachers of English as a second language to assess the oral proficiency of nonnative speakers. (The actual instrument is reprinted in the article that follows this one). (SK)

The problem of determining relative weights for quantity and quality in scoring foreign language speaking and writing fluency tests is studied. French speaking and writing fluency tests were administered to students of French in several schools in England. Data from these tests was analyzed to support the suggestion that scoring formulas should…

An attempt to test students objectively in a five-part, French, speaking proficiency test is described and discussed. Concrete nouns, abstract words, pronunciation, syntax, and fluency are tested with a combination of tape and picture stimuli. Reliability, validity, and practical questions are raised; and previous aural-oral testing procedures are…

The Functional Language Assessment (FLA) is a screening test which, when used in combination with teacher ratings and English achievement test scores, helps identify students, aged 5 through 13 from non-English speaking backgrounds, in need of bilingual programs. The language proficiency test can be administered by school staff who do not speak…

Experience and research on the appropriateness and reliability of various criteria used in oral language tests are discussed. It is concluded that global marking schemes, which are less detailed, may enable the scorer to better evaluate communicative effectiveness, which includes both linguistic and paralinguistic factors. (MSE)

A study was conducted that was designed to determine if experienced ESL (English as a second language) teachers, working in pairs, can reach the same judgments regarding the oral proficiency of non-native speakers of English and to determine the reliability of such judgments. In addition, the question of whether different sets of judges rate…