Drawing on the 1982 English Language Proficiency Survey, where the English skills of students from language-minority households were compared with the skills of students from homes where only English was spoken, and on special tabulations of the 1980 census, this report presents estimates of national and state levels of the English proficiency of…

The Cree and Cherokee syllabary systems were designed by gifted amateurs, such as Sequoyah, who received no funding or significant institutional support. Although he had influential kinsmen in his matrilineage, his project encountered active, widespread opposition from his contemporaries prior to its validation in 1821. Sequoyah found it necessary…

An experimental study investigating the interaction of linguistic complexity and performance in child language acquisition tests the hypothesis that children learning a first language acquire relatively complex sentences somewhat later than less complex sentences. In one of three tests, the subjects, 44 children aged 3.6 to 6 years, were presented…

This handbook is directed toward those who have to deal with spoken mathematics, yet have insufficient background to know the correct verbal expression for the written symbolic one. It compiles consistent and well-defined ways of uttering mathematical expressions so listeners will receive clear, unambiguous, and well-pronounced representations.…

A study investigated the effect of pausing, a component of speech speed, on the listening comprehension of second language learners. Groups of subjects at two ability levels listened to taped versions of two brief lectures recorded with four different combinations of speed and pausing conditions. Comprehension was measured by means of cloze tests…

A survey among Indochinese refugee household heads in Illinois investigated (1) relationships among indicators of socioeconomic, psychosocial, and sociocultural dimensions of adjustment; and (2) the effect of length of residence in the United States on these indicators. The indicators included measures of feelings of alienation and self concept in…

This paper describes the development of a new language laboratory program for advanced students at the English Language Center on the Michigan State University campus, which is designed to bridge the gap between manipulative classroom drills and the demands of the lecture halls. (Author)

Presents the methodology and organization of a course in scientific and technical French. (Text is in French.) (PP)

Report of an investigation which examined the relationship between measured English-language proficiency, years of English-language study and the use of English as a medium of instruction for samples of Arabic-speaking Egyptian and Lebanese university students. (Author)

Presents empirical data concerning the use of the cloze test as a measure of proficiency in English as a second language. (Author/PMP)

Describes a research study into this pronunciation problem. It was found that: (1) the subjects tended to substitute stops and affricates more readily than sibilants and fricatives; (2) there was considerable /s z/ substitution, but no/f v/ substitutions; (3) the pattern of subsitutions proved independent of the level of English proficiency. (RM)

The Language Proficiency Assessment Committees (LPACs) authorized by Congress were given the responsibility of assessing limited-English-speaking students within a school district and making placement recommendations regarding these students to the local school board. This manual provides guidelines and procedures for the establishment of tasks,…

Features of connected discourse that have been identified by discourse analysis may be applied to the evaluation of oral proficiency in a second language. For example, in the area of semantics, a speaker's control of the cause-result relationship involves, among other things, the ability to produce the different grammatical and lexical…

A case is made for the use of "banding" as a method of assessing language progress. In a banding system, the range of language proficiency from beginner to native speaker is divided into bands, each one representing a distinct, discernible, and describable level of ability. Banding seems to be most useful in circumstances when the specific purpose…

The Australian Second Language Proficiency Ratings Scale (ASPLR), a performance-based instrument, is described. The origins of and rationale behind the Scale are discussed. The construction and use of the Scale are detailed. It is hoped that the usefulness of the ASPLR extends beyond the "on-arrival" English as a second language program…