Teacher training in gender differences can help prevent schools from failing AYP. Teachers who understand how the learning style of boys differs from the learning style of girls can leverage that knowledge to boost test scores by applying it across all four subgroups, which are defined by race/ethnicity, income, disability, or English-speaking…

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing segment of the K-12 student population in the United States, and they are settling in areas that have never before seen such diversity. This article discusses how rural and suburban districts across the United States are moving to keep pace with their rapidly growing English language learner…

This contrastive study is concerned with relations between rhetoric and ethnicity in second language (L2) writing. It investigates the influence of Chinese rhetoric on expository writing in English by three groups: the majority Chinese Han group, and two ethnic minorities, Tibetan and Mongolian. Relying on a contrastive text analysis of 30…

This study analyses the effects of learning contexts on proficiency development as well as attitudinal and behavioral changes. At a Japanese high school where content-based L2 instruction in global studies is a feature of education, TOEFL scores, international posture, L2 WTC, and frequency of communication in L2 were assessed in the participants'…

The present study investigates the relationships among motivational factors, cultural correlates and second language proficiency. The participants, from both Western and Asian backgrounds, were learning Chinese at university level in the People's Republic of China. 115 students (35 Western students and 80 Asian students) ranging from beginning to…

This report on language testing research focuses on lessons applied to limited English proficient (LEP) students and programs. First, a review of the history of primary and non-primary language testing is provided. The question of why there is no field of primary language testing is then discussed. The second major section of the report is a…

The traditional model of linguistic proficiency has been a monolingual one that ignores the worth of communicating in two languages in a single speech situation. An alternative view is explored in which the two languages are components of a single skill, communication. Segments of a Spanish language interview with a bilingual Mexican-American…

To evaluate the effectiveness of a traditional college English program, 100 incoming freshmen (Group A) were requested to postpone freshman English to their sophomore year; another 100 (Group B) were asked to postpone the first term to their sophomore year; another 100 (Group C) were asked to postpone their second term to the sophomore year; and…

An error analysis was conducted with materials published in Spanish in connection with an election in the U.S. Southwest. Most improprieties in the Spanish texts were found to be the result of an inadequate command of Spanish and lack of proficiency in translation skills. (Author/RM)

Children with language disorders experience problems in three dimensions of semantics: (1) content of content (reference, referents, concepts); (2) form of content (structural units of meaning); (3) use of content (functional variation in meaning). Teacher intervention strategies in each area (e.g., for problems of reference, sentence meaning,…

Reports on a study done to test the validity of the Test of Spoken English (TSE) in evaluating foreign nursing graduates. Results show that the TSE is a valid measure of oral proficiency in the nursing profession and that it is possible to establish professionally-based standards of proficiency. (SED)

Cautions against adapting the Interagency Language Roundtable and the ACTFL/ETS guidelines for specific purposes. Defines "hothouse special" as a second language learner who can impressively speak on one or two higher topics but fails to transfer this level of vocabulary and grammar to other topics. Proposes new definitions of proficiency,…

Discusses using redundancy in language as a means of facilitating second-language learning. (EKN)

Reports on study in which students of Hebrew as a second language took four versions of oral proficiency test. Results indicate that different speech styles and topics significantly affected students' scores, and correlational analyses between pairs pointed to low reliability and lack of stability of the test. Urges caution in making decisions…

This survey was developed in 1991 by Marilyn Gillespie, David Spener, and JoAnn Crandall at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), and was used for a 2-year project with funding from the National Center for Adult Literacy, established at the University of Pennsylvania by the U.S. Department of Education. The survey was used to collect…