Elementary school students (n=11) were pretested and then given daily formal instruction for 2 weeks in use of past tense and plural noun forms and then posttested. A significant difference was found between these students and control group in detection and correction of noun plural forms, but not in similar test of past tense forms. (49…

Content-based language instruction has become a widely adopted pedagogical approach to EAP. This paper reports the results of a study of the effects of content-based ESL instruction on students' future academic performance. The study used college academic records to evaluate the academic performance of two groups of ESL students who enrolled as…

This article discusses some of the challenges that researchers working in the fields of bilingualism and second-language acquisition (SLA) and in the field of language testing face in developing comparable and culturally and cognitively appropriate data collection and language assessment tools for bilingual children from rural minority-language…

The notion of language dominance is often defined in terms of proficiency. We distinguish dominance, as a property of the bilingual mind and a concept of language knowledge, from proficiency, as a concept of language use. We discuss ways in which language dominance may be assessed, with a focus on measures of mean length of utterance (MLU).…

Recently a number of quasi-experimental studies have investigated the potential of a cross-modality transfer of second language competency between real-time, conversational exchange via text and speech (Abrams, 2003; Beauvious, 1998; Kost, 2004; Payne & Whitney, 2002). Payne and Whitney employed Levelt's (1989) model of language production and…

This study tracks the development of cognitive academic language proficiency of 47 academically competent high school ESL learners of differing age on arrival (AOA) who received instructed ESL support and one comparison group of six young arrivals who received little if any ESL support during their educational experiences. Although intake and…

Variations in the amount and nature of early language to which children are exposed have been linked to their subsequent ability (e.g. Huttenlocher, Haight, Bryk, Seltzer & Lyons, 1991; Hart & Risley, 1995). In three computational simulations, we explore how differences in linguistic experience can explain differences in word learning ability due…

Success at university depends to a large extent on students' ability to read expository texts effectively in order to access and understand information, and study it for exam purposes. An important component of the comprehension process is the reader's ability to connect current information with information mentioned previously. One aspect of this…

The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent the characteristics of constructivist learning environment existed in English Language Teaching (ELT) Methodology II courses and whether students' perception of the learning environment differed according to certain variables. The subjects of the study were 410 students taking ELT…

This article examines evidence provided by quantitative and qualitative measurement of second language (L2) proficiency by elementary-level learners of French, following participation in a school foreign exchange visit. Based on a study consisting of a controlled analysis of test results from 68 pupils studying French at three secondary schools in…

This article reports on a study of pre-service French immersion teachers who were required to compile second language (L2) portfolios as part of their professional development. Documents included a brief biography of the students' lives as speakers and learners of French; an action plan in which students assessed their L2 proficiency and set…

This research examines three tests commonly used to assess the English oral-language proficiency of students who are English language learners (ELLs): the Language Assessment Scales--Oral, the Woodcock-Munoz Language Survey, and the IDEA Proficiency Test. These tests were given to native English-speaking non-Hispanic White and Hispanic students…

The aim of this study is to explore the possibility of creating positive washback by focusing on factors in the background of the test development process and anticipating the conditions most likely to lead to positive wash-back. The article reports on a multiphase empirical study investigating the washback effects of a needs-based test of spoken…

This manual has been prepared for all New Mexico Statewide Assessment Program (NMSAP) assessment administrators, teachers, school specialists, and principals. It includes information about the following topics: PED contacts, New Mexico Standards Based Assessments (SBA), Grades 3-8 and 11; New Mexico High School Competency Examination (NMHSCE);…

The number of English language learners (ELLs) in early childhood regular and special education services has increased dramatically in the past decade. A survey was conducted with 141 early childhood administrators and teachers to examine their beliefs and practices concerning the special education referral, evaluation, and placement process for…