A study conducted in the intensive English language program at Indiana University investigated: (1) the effects of students' language learning background (formal learning of English, exposure to and use of English in class, and extracurricular exposure to and use of English) on their performance on the Test of English as a Foreign Language…

THE PLACEMENT BATTERY CONSISTS OF TWO TESTS FROM THE COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION BOARD (READING AND LISTENING), A GRAMMAR PROFICIENCY TEST, AND AN ORAL INTERVIEW. FRESHMEN WHO SCORE WITHIN A CERTAIN RANGE ON THESE TESTS ARE PLACED IN SECOND YEAR INTENSIVE FRENCH (TWO CLASS PERIODS A DAY). PREREQUISITE FOR THE THIRD YEAR COURSE IS NOT THE…

The language training program for Peace Corps participants is investigated. The objectives were: to investigate the validity of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) for predicting end-of-training Foreign Service Institute (FSI) language proficiency; to discover the relative difficulty of various target languages; to develop tentative…

Reports a study which examined the ability of adult immigrants to communicate as they were completing a 30-week, 900-hour second language program and then again six months later. Two cohorts of learners were interviewed: one comprised of immigrants from Southeast Asia and the other of Poles and Latin Americans. (Author/SED)

This paper describes two different English programs for international students at the American Language Institute in San Diego, California. One is English for Academic Purposes (EAP), and the other is Intensive English for Communication (IEC). The paper focuses on one teacher's experiences teaching IEC writing after 2 years of teaching EAP…

Explores ways of measuring implicit and explicit second language (L2) knowledge and examines the relationship between these measures and measures of general language proficiency. Factor analysis revealed a two-factor solution, reflecting a clear distinction between measures that incorporated a time constraint and those that did not. (Author/VWL)

Random parallel reading comprehension tests in Japanese and English were administered to a sample of native Japanese students enrolled in intensive English instruction. The students had been placed at three different levels of English language proficiency based on an independent proficiency assessment measure. Evidence for a threshold competency…

This report discusses specific findings of a review of language training and requirements in the Department of Defense. It contains: (1) a letter to the Secretary of Defense from the Office of the Comptroller General of the U.S.; (2) an Appendix giving a description of the Defense Language Institute and an outline of areas that need improvement;…

This study investigated the extent to which various factors play a part in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students' ability to resolve pronoun-antecedent connections in reading. The subjects were 97 ESL learners with four different native languages (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Spanish) enrolled in the University of Illinois's Intensive English…

This instructor's handbook of ten listening comprehension exercises, each consisting of 30 unrelated paragraphs, is part of the basic course in Indonesian. Beginning with the 36th week of instruction, the exercises are introduced at the rate of one per week. After hearing each paragraph, listeners have 10 seconds to indicate which of four English…

The effects of a language versus a dialogue emphasis and a structured versus an unstructured follow-up in intensive language instruction were assessed using eighty-three students destined for missionary work in Spanish-speaking countries. A 2 X 2 analysis of variance design was employed, with students assigned to one of four treatments: language…

Reports on a study designed to investigate the second language development of francophone children in an experimental intensive English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program in Quebec. Results indicated that subjects outperformed students in regular ESL programs on listening and reading comprehension tests and in oral fluency and had more positive…

The 5-week French Business Language and Environment Program at the Nantes Graduate School of Business is intended for overseas students of any country with at least a good intermediate level of general French language proficiency, or for language faculty wishing to acquire French business language and concepts and gain exposure to the case method…

Many intensive advanced English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes become boring for advanced ESL learners because the courses offer little opportunity for them to experience the interplay between language proficiency and background knowledge. The implementation of a sourcebook project can provide a renewing input into the curriculum for advanced…

Describes a school in Quebec, in which students enrolled in an intensive English-as-a-Second-Language program (ESL) use English in a variety of communicative interactions inside and outside the ESL classroom. Assessment of students' performance indicates that they achieve higher levels of English than comparable students in other intensive ESL…