To measure the development of formal thought, as defined by Piaget and Peel, separate tests on judgment, creativity, concept formation and concept attainment were administered to 1,710 subjects, ages eight to adult. (CP)

Reports on a translation exercise undertaken by Polish learners of English which revealed how metaphorical expressions vary between the two languages and how this variation confuses learners. Suggests that group discussion and comparison of metaphors in both languages will increase students' comprehension and use of metaphors. (nine references)…

Questions the removal of a link between reading and writing tasks in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examinations on two grounds: that this removal is prejudicial to those students whose native cultures may not provide the appropriate schemata to effectively write; and that it is unrealistic in terms of the measurement of…

Examines methodology used to determine a hierarchy of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students' written error gravity and describes a new error substitution methodology for identifying the communicative interference effect of ESL errors on naive native speakers of English. Findings indicate that lexical and verb-related errors interfered with…

Focuses on how second language (L2) readers go about decoding word forms. The article describes a psycholinguistic experiment investigating how advanced Finnish speakers of English as a foreign language pronounced monosyllabic pseudo-words based on common real-word orthographic patterns in English. Results indicate that even advanced L2 readers'…

Shows that underlying first language (L1) and second language (L2) lexical similarities between typologically unrelated languages can benefit L2 vocabulary learning. The article's comparison of the use of motion verbs in English by Chinese- and Japanese-speaking learners indicates an advantage for Chinese speakers, whose L1 lexicalizes motion in a…

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…

Overviews three experiments exploring the value of extensive reading in English as a foreign language for college students in Japan. Notes that in extensive reading, students do self-selected reading with minimal accountability, i.e. writing brief summaries or comments on what they have read. Findings reveal extensive reading to be superior to…

Examines the variable realization of the third person singular -s by Shona learners of English in Zimbabwe. Results reveal little morphological variability among elementary learners and a grammatical variability among intermediate learners that is sensitive to linguistic context and indicative of a tendency to inflect verbs to mark the third…

Investigates the relative influences of medium and context variables by comparing seven- and eight-year-old children's spoken and written explanations in varying contexts: a story task, a question task, a sentence completion task, and a whole sentence production task. Findings reveal the significant influence of context as compared to medium on…

Discusses the design of oral assessment measures to test the language proficiency of incoming Hispanic students into community colleges. The article emphasizes that focusing on oral skills has helped nontraditional English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students realize that they can master English. (nine references) (Author/CK)

This study examined effects of frequent quizzes on dental student performance in a course on introductory radiology. Results indicated the group (N=36) with frequent quizzes performed significantly better than the control group (n=35) on midterm and final examinations (but not post-tests), and assessed course content and instructor more…

Reports a series of ethnographic studies of student behavior concerning examinations, conducted in a Canadian university since the mid-1980s. Describes techniques of data gathering and the link between methodology and theory. Examines implications for higher education, including dealing with students' exam-related stress, factors influencing…

Compares the empirical performance of C-tests with other representatives of the family of reduced redundancy tests--classical cloze, cloze-elide, multiple-choice cloze--using the Duisburg English Language Test for Advanced Students as the criterion for empirical validity. Findings reveal that the C-Test emerges as the most economical and reliable…

Elucidates the concepts of evaluation, and maintains that evaluation is an integral part of music education, at all levels. Expounds on the functions of evaluation in music education, dividing the discussion into the following categories: achievement, diagnostic, aptitude, and attitude functions. Addresses the concerns and criticisms of…