This paper presents a brief overview of the functioning of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics: how documents are acquired and processed, how the microfiche collection is formed, and what services are available to language teachers. Two topics where ERIC has materials to offer classroom language instructors are discussed: career…

Most U.S. institutions require international students to meet a minimum English proficiency test requirement for admission to the institution. The language requirements for admission appear to be the same for technical and for academic students. Standardized English proficiency tests purport to be non-specific; yet an analysis of the items on a…

This paper presents research on the contribution of the amount of schooling to performance in French as a second language, assessed by newly developed measures of communicative competence. Test items addressed three components of communicative competence: grammatical, sociolinguistic, and strategic. Aware of the relationship of context to…

The following position papers on evaluation are presented: (1) "Curricular and Comprehensive Program Evaluation," by Ray Clifford; (2) Evaluation--Proficiency Goals, CBTE National Assessment: How Do They Interrelate?" by Randall L. Jones; and (3) "Priorities in Classroom Testing for the 1980s," by Alice C. Omaggio. The first paper describes an…

This study examined the conditions for the selection of certain communication strategies in terms of the inferencing ability of the learner, the formal proficiency level attained, and the features of the communicative situation (task requirements). Two groups of 17-year-olds--one studying advanced French and the other French as part of a "core"…

This issue of the Journal contains the following articles and features: (1) "Information for English Teachers"; (2) "The Group-Oral Test: An Experiment," by T. Reves; (3) "Finding a New Method for Testing Oral Proficiency," by L. Taharlev; (4) "The Experimental Oral Examination," by Y. Lapushin; (5) "One Vote for the Group Oral Test," by E.…

The design of a dynamic processing model for teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is discussed in this book. The model starts with the learner and ends with the learner's target communicative competence in the particular area needed. In this communicative approach to syllabus design, the first chapter is a discussion of theories of…

The Functional Language Assessment (FLA) is a screening test which, when used in combination with teacher ratings and English achievement test scores, helps identify students, aged 5 through 13 from non-English speaking backgrounds, in need of bilingual programs. The language proficiency test can be administered by school staff who do not speak…

This study explores how children indicate that a new character or object is being introduced into a written text and how they tell their readers that a particular word refers to something which has appeared in the text before. In particular, the study focuses on information represented by noun phrases in written narrative texts. To investigate how…

ALTHOUGH THE LINGUISTS, PSYCHOLOGISTS, AND TEACHERS WHO HAVE STRESSED THE HABITUAL ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE HAVE MADE MANY USEFUL CONTRIBUTIONS TO LINGUISTIC RESEARCH AND LANGUAGE TEACHING, THERE STILL REMAIN SOME BASIC PROBLEMS. WITH THE PSYCHOLOGIST, PEDAGOGUE, SOCIOLOGIST, AND ANTHROPOLOGIST, THE LINGUIST MUST ATTACK THE GROUP OF PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED…

THIS STUDY, CONDUCTED BY THE WISCONSIN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE-ARTS CURRICULUM PROJECT, DESCRIBES, ANALYZES, AND EVALUATES 16 STANDARDIZED ENGLISH TESTS OF USAGE AND COMPOSITION. THE TESTS CHOSEN WERE THOSE FREQUENTLY USED THROUGHOUT WISCONSIN, EXCLUSIVE OF TESTS DESIGNED FOR COLLEGE-PREPARATORY STUDENTS AND TESTS OF READING ABILITY, SPEECH, AND…

THE TRAINING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS HAS FAILED TO KEEP PACE WITH THE CHANGE FROM TRADITIONAL TO MODERN METHODS OF LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN THE SCHOOLS. TO MAKE COLLEGE PROFESSORS AWARE OF THE QUALIFICATIONS NOW NECESSARY FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS AND THE NEED TO REDESIGN COLLEGE PROGRAMS, ATTENTION HAS BEEN CALLED TO THE RECENT PROGRESS THE…

PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH IS A REQUIREMENT IN SWEDEN FOR VOCATIONAL SCHOOL TEACHERS. TEACHING BY TELEPHONE WAS EXPERIMENTED WITH IN AN ATTEMPT TO CREATE A RESERVE OF THESE TEACHERS WHO WOULD MEET THE REQUIRED PROFICIENCY LEVEL. CANDIDATES WHO PASSED AN INITIAL PROFICIENCY TEST FOLLOWED A COURSE FOR FOUR MONTHS IN WHICH SELF-INSTRUCTIONAL BOOKS WITH…

This study explores the relationship between different home and school variables and reading achievement in bilingual children. The subjects of the study are 130 first- and third-grade children attending bilingual programs. Language proficiency and dominance tests were administered to the children and a questionnaire was sent to their parents. The…

The bulk of this guide is devoted to the detailed description of 18 tests of English as a second language (ESL). Most of the tests were produced in Great Britain, the remainder in the United States. Each description provides information on the source, aims, and administration of the test; outlines the content of the test; and, where pertinent,…