This research deals with the students' error in using conjunction (because, since, as, in case) in the sentences. Conjunction is very important for the learners to develop a skill in grammar. And grammar is the most important part of language for anyone. Should be first understood before being able to construct sentences, rules based on the…

The present study investigates integrated writing assessment performances with regard to the linguistic features of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). Given the increasing presence of integrated tasks in large-scale and classroom assessments, validity evidence is needed for the claim that their scores reflect targeted language abilities.…

Han's (2009, 2013) selective fossilization hypothesis (SFH) claims that L1 markedness and L2 input robustness determine the fossilizability (and learnability) of an L2 feature. To test the validity of the model, a pseudo-longitudinal study was designed in which the errors in the argumentative essays of 52 Iranian EFL learners were identified and…

The process and results of error marking in EFL written work are studied. Common errors were classified and presented to native and non-native EFL teachers to mark and to indicate seriousness of errors. Non-natives judged more severely; individuals were consistent in their judgment; differing views of error gravity are noted. (CHK)

In an effort to comply with bilingual instruction requirements, school districts throughout California will soon be involved in testing vast numbers of children to determine language proficiency and language dominance. Many language tests will require a child to repeat a sentence or a phrase in exactly the same manner that is stated by an examiner…

Pronunciation is an important subskill in second language learning, therefore worth evaluating. Its quality is commonly assessed in a global, impressionistic way by having learners read aloud. While this allows comparison of examinees' skills, ability to read aloud is a possible confounding variable. An alternative method is to have learners read…

Hunt and O'Donnell's Aluminum Paragraph was administered to sixty Canadian college students enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. The students were asked to re-write and to improve a paragraph consisting of 32 short, single-clause sentences. The students were identified as low intermediate, high intermediate, and advanced in…

Some empirical data are presented concerning the use of cloze tests to measure children's proficiency in a bilingual educational program. The subjects were grade five students in their sixth year of a primary French immersion program. (Author/CFM)

Outlines an application of theoretical understandings of institutionalized or nativized varieties of English to the practical concern of English-as-a-Second-Language programs, including testing, placement, and pedagogy. (29 references) (Author/OD)

This paper presents some reasons for reconsidering the use of discrete structure-point tests of language proficiency, and suggests an alternative basis for designing proficiency tests. Discrete point tests are one of the primary tools of the audio-lingual method of teaching a foreign language and are based on certain assumptions, including the…

To meet the instructional needs of the hundreds of children who speak the Ladin and Surselvan Raeto-Romance dialects of Switzerland, spelling categories pertinent to the two dialects were established based on the spelling test concept of Rudolf Mueller. Following classic test analysis procedures, three diagnostic dictation tests (one in Ladin, two…

Distractors, the incorrect responses to an item on a multiple-choice test, should be designed to create confusion in the minds of some students and to permit a competent student to be able to see that they are wrong. It is possible, by close scrutiny, to isolate the sources of this confusion and, by looking at a statistical analysis, to find out…

These proceedings on language testing include the following papers: (1) "The Style Test," by H. Bonheim; (2) "Testing between the Cultures: A Case Study of ESP Testing in Non-idealized Situations," by R. Brunt; (3) "Graded Objectives and Tests in British Schools," by M. Buckby; (4) "The Spanish Attributive Construction SER/ESTAR + Adjective: Real…

The paper reports some of the results of a preliminary survey of the language proficiency of matriculation students of French in Britain and Australia. The technique used (especially the use of Chief Examiners' reports) is justified and the deficiencies that exist in current matriculation examinations are noted. In particular, the examinations are…

This is a report of the results of an investigation of a test of plurality and past tense in standard English (SE). This research replicated Gleason's 1957-58 study in Boston. The subjects were 27 speakers of Hawaiian Creole English (HCE) in a kindergarten class in Honolulu. The results showed that the children produced very few SE plural and past…