Reports research in Sierra Leone investigating whether the study of English Literature influences secondary school pupils' competence in English language. Grades of 663 pupils who took both courses were compared with those of 490 who took only language. Results indicate that literature did not aid in language study. (JT)

The French language competence of two groups of English-speaking pupils who are educated via French was investigated. Third and fifth grade English-speaking pupils were compared with French-speaking children of the same age. Results of the study are discussed. (Author/RM)

Contrastive analysis a priori predicts facts of possible errors in learning a second language that contrastive analysis a posteriori cannot explain. In a study of relative clause formation, the latter approach shows that students have no trouble, whereas the former approach shows the task to be so difficult that they avoid it. (AG)

Classifies idoms from various points of view, e.g., phrasal versus lexical idioms, and according to their grammatical structure. Fraser's frozenness hierarchy is recommended to help students because it groups together idioms with similar peculiarities. (Author/KM)

In this study of ability to learn Japanese, six extra-linguistic factors were investigated: multi-linguality, semantic space sensitivity, formal education, Japanophilia, musical training and the introduction of Kanji (ideographs used in Japanese writing). (CK)

A brief analysis is made of the teaching of Italian literature in the United States with special reference to course work and language proficiency in the doctoral program. Mention is made of the choice of texts in undergraduate language courses. (Text is in Italian.) (AM)

This digest discusses the assessment of proficiency in a foreign language for credit in higher education. This refers to the process of awarding academic credit for tested proficiency in a foreign language rather than for the number of years a student has spent studying a particular language. The Proficiency Guidelines of the American Council for…

The oral interview (OI) is a testing procedure that measures a wide range of speaking abilities in a foreign language. Although somewhat different versions are used in different testing situations, the OI always consists of a structured, face-to-face conversation on a variety of topics between a student and one or two testers. The resulting speech…

The paper, originally given at a 1986 Ethnic and Multicultural Symposium, reviews the language demands of schools and difficulties with conventional language proficiency measures in predicting the academic achievement of language minority children. It is suggested that language assessment include the assessment of syntactic competencies as well as…

Some of the issues involved in proficiency-oriented testing of foreign language listening, reading, and writing skills-- language modalities paid less attention currently than oral skills-- are examined. These general issues are discussed: What is proficiency?; the relationship of the four modalities and proficiency testing; proficiency testing v.…

A study examined the characteristics of 14 students entering the American school system as non-English-speaking adolescents, yet achieving the level of academic content learning and English language proficiency to earn a high school diploma. The subjects of the study were classified in grade 12 as speaking a language other than English at home and…

This teacher training monograph considers the development of functional proficiency for limited English proficient (LEP) students. The topics dealt with include: (1) second language learning in the school context, including requirements for successful student participation in the classroom; (2) specific strategies for developing functional…

Recently there has been a renewed international interest in direct oral proficiency measures such as the oral interview. There has also been a growing awareness among some language testing specialists that all proficiency tests must be subjected to construct validation. It seems that the high face validity of oral interviews tends to cloud and…

The notional-functional or communicative approach to foreign language teaching as practiced in East Germany is described. The purpose of communicative foreign language teaching is to prepare the learner to communicate in real-life situations. Classroom and real-life situations differ in several respects, most notably in communicative intention.…

A study of the processing of morphophonology by native speakers and second language learners focused on the processing of the Japanese potential suffix. The subjects were 13 Japanese adults (mean age 27.1) and 13 advanced learners of Japanese as a second language (mean age 26.6). The production of the potential inflection by the two subject groups…