This paper is based on research that aims to provide evidence of which approach, contrastive analysis (CA) or error analysis (EA), is more adequate in dealing with errors in tense formation and usage made by Greek learners of English. A contrastive analysis of the English and Greek tense systems, providing points of correspondence and divergence…

The need for an index of development by which second language proficiency could be expediently and reliably guaged has been acknowledged by both second language (L2) teachers and researchers. In two previous L2 studies, the search for an index of development centered on an examination of learner written performance. In an attempt to construct an…

This is a teacher's guide for "Poor Simpleton," a language test designed for students of English in bilingual programs. The guide explains the nature of the test, how to administer and score it, and how to analyze test results. The test is a modified version of the cloze procedure. Unlike most cloze tests, which are…

A systematic and explicit approach to evaluation of pronunciation is proposed. Generalizability theory was applied in order to comprise all relevant factors in one psychomotor model. French and German pronunciation tests (in Appendix) were devised and evaluated. Common pronunciation problems for native Dutch speakers were incorporated. (Author/LMO)

Evaluates the writing of Hispanic students in bilingual and submersion programs, comparing it with the writing of native English speakers in regular programs. Five dependent variables are evaluated: rhetorical effectiveness, overall quality of writing, productivity, syntactic maturity, and error frequency. (46 references) (Author/OD)

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)

Describes development of the Rochdale Assessment of Mirpuri Phonology, a phonological assessment for bilingual children that was administered to normally developing bilingual children as well as children suspected of having a speech disorder. Normally developing children showed phonological error patterns in English that are considered atypical of…

Three measure of English language proficiency (a partial dictation [Cloze] test, a text-reading and recollection test, and a story-telling test) were administered to three groups of college-level students (Finns, Swedish-Finns, and Swedes). The results are analyzed in several articles presented here: (1) "The Comprehension of Function Words…

Reports on the progress being made in an attempt to establish a second language acquisition index of development that would gauge a learner's second language proficiency. A project was undertaken involving the analysis of 212 compositions written by university students of English as a second language. (CFM)

Fifty-one adult Spanish speakers at three levels of ESL ability were tested in both their elicited imitation (production) and act-out (comprehension) of complex sentences that were structurally identical. Analysis of variance results indicate that production tests, not comprehension tests, principally evaluate a learner's structural knowledge.…

This study presents a synthesis of major dimensions of the second language teaching-learning process. The first four chapters survey some factors which are considered important in this process and examine what is known and unknown about each one. Subsequent chapters deal with the following problems: (1) language learners' errors, (2)…

This book contains eight papers. (1) "The Uses of Error Analysis and Contrastive Analysis." Use of error linguistics may illuminate normal language processes. This paper outlines procedures and applications of error and contrastive analysis. (2) "The Identification and Evaluation of Errors in Foreign Languages: A Functional Approach." The concern…

Assesses the validity of Language Assessment Scales (LAS) and a cloze test in measuring language proficiency. The LAS and two written cloze passages were administered to 28 Mexican-American third graders enrolled in bilingual classes. The cloze test correlated significantly only with the California Test of Basic Skills. (Author/LMO)

To compare and contrast language development in 22 normal and 22 language handicapped children, aged five to eight, who speak Spanish as a first language, the study focused on differences and similarities in the children's Spanish. Handicapped children performed significantly worse than controls in production of syntactic features, though not in…

Presents a method for classifying errors of second language learners for the purpose of: (1) evaluating information in samples of students' communication, (2) diagnosing individual learner needs, (3) developing individualized instructional materials, and (4) deciding which errors to correct first. Suggests applications of the method in…