This study criticizes current approaches to language test development for their restrictive views of how language should be measured. Language tests are based either on an input component (what goes into a test) or an output component (how should the test be measured). An integration of both components on language tests is advocated. The…

The effects of different variables on second language acquisition, specifically the effect of parental influence, were tested on the Gardner (1979) model of second language acquisition. Data were obtained from 68 anglophone students in grades 7-10 enrolled in a French immersion program and also from their parents. A factor analysis of parental…

A discussion of the preference structure of repair sequences in conversation argues that the structure varies predictably from one context to the next, based on the interpersonal relationship of the interlocutors. In particular, it is said to depend on the asymmetrical distribution of knowledge among the interlocutors, including knowledge of the…

Efforts to expand the generic language proficiency guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to the less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) began when developers realized that the ACTFL guidelines were too Eurocentric; the guidelines included grammatical categories specific to Western European languages and…

The behavior of native English speakers and Japanese English as second language (ESL) learners on word association tasks was investigated. Research has shown that Japanese adults respond in Japanese in an identifiably different way than English speaking adults respond in English, and that native English speaking children demonstrate a…

In this discussion of techniques for teaching and testing listening comprehension according to the Provisional Proficiency Guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, five questions are addressed: (1) the nature of the relationship between listening and speaking; (2) the kinds of listening tasks that should be…

The proceedings of a conference on Asian Americans held in New York City in May 1978 are summarized in this report. The conference consisted of workshops on four issues: employment, voter participation, youth, and the elderly. In the workshop on employment, issues discussed included the participation of Asians in the health system and in the…

THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION PROFICIENCY TESTS PROVIDE THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WITH AN ALTERNATIVE WAY OF JUDGING THE COMPETENCY OF POTENTIAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS WHO MAY LACK COLLEGE CREDIT OR WHO HAVE FOREIGN DEGREES. ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL, THESE TESTS CAN HELP RAISE THE LEVEL OF LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION BY SETTING MINIMUM…

In 1978 a study was initiated to determine the use and importance of foreign language proficiency in Pennsylvania businesses. Two hundred eighty-four respondents represented the commercial, health, and municipal domains. Positive responses (indicating employment of personnel skilled in languages other than English) were received from 41% of…

Three years after a General Accounting Office review found that the Department of State and the U.S. Information Agency were not meeting their overseas language requirements, opportunities were still identifiable for improving this situation. The Department of State met the problem largely by lowering required proficiency levels rather than by…

The Echoic Response Inventory for Children (ERIC) is part of a test battery which includes the Expressive Vocabulary Inventory (EVI) and the Children's Auditory Discrimination Inventory (CADI), designed to assess language skills of disadvantaged children. These tests also seek to provide data that can help determine what changes in language…

An examination of the relationship between high school English grade point average and the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency scores, for a sample of English as second-language (ESL) high school students in American Samoa, indicated the validity of the test with ESL students. (Author/JKS)

Language learning is not maximally efficient without intentional practice following tests that evaluate student achievement of an instructional objective. Post-evaluation practice must be at increasing intervals to maximize student retention, and must sometimes be unscheduled, to achieve automatic language usage. A distribution schedule and types…

Describes proposed oral achievement test for elementary Arabic based on teaching material used at University of Michigan. The rationale for testing oral skills at the elementary level and previous types of oral testing of Arabic are outlined. A test facsimile and sample items are provided, including an exploration of the test's format, scoring…