The notional-functional or communicative approach to foreign language teaching as practiced in East Germany is described. The purpose of communicative foreign language teaching is to prepare the learner to communicate in real-life situations. Classroom and real-life situations differ in several respects, most notably in communicative intention.…

A study of the processing of morphophonology by native speakers and second language learners focused on the processing of the Japanese potential suffix. The subjects were 13 Japanese adults (mean age 27.1) and 13 advanced learners of Japanese as a second language (mean age 26.6). The production of the potential inflection by the two subject groups…

A collection of selected papers from the March 1981 Language Proficiency Assessment Symposium, a component of the National Institute of Education's Assessment of Language Proficiency of Bilingual Persons project, are presented. Papers include: "An Overview of Communicative Competence" (Cynthia Wallat); "Some Comments on the Terminology of Language…

It is concluded from a review of the literature and consideration of the type and objectives of tests and programs in English as a second language that, just as limiting an instructional program to what is to be tested in standardized tests would be inappropriate, so would constructing such a program without regard for what was to be tested. It is…

Discusses the problems of teaching Russian in American universities. (LG)

The Mat-Sea-Cal Oral Proficiency Tests are a series of comparable grammatical structure tests. They have been developed in six languages: English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Ilokano and Tagalog. Their purpose is to identify linguistic skills and deficiencies of primary school children grades K through 4. This research reported on the…

The lack of oral testing in second language learning and the reasons for this lack are discussed. Examples of oral tests which have been developed are given. (RM)

Oral work is considered the most effective way of laying the foundations for language proficiency. Recognition and production of vowels and consonants, use of a pronouncing dictionary, and practice in accent rhythm and intonation should all be included in a pronunciation course. (SC)

For adults, there is a correlation between the years of formal study of English and English proficiency. Formal instruction in general is more beneficial for second language learning than exposure to the second language in natural situations. The essential contributions of formal instruction are investigated. (Author/ND)

This study sought to determine the extent of the Navy's problem with recruits who have deficiencies in the verbal English comprehension skills necessary to complete recruit training. English language comprehension skills, particularly verbal comprehension, of a cross-section of new recruits were assessed at three training centers--Orlando, Great…

The detrimental effects of anxiety in English as a second language/foreign language (ESL/FL) are investigated. Although empirical research on the subject of ESL/FL test affect is limited, helpful insights on test anxiety exist in the psychological literature. Two constructs in the anxiety literature are considered relevant for this study: trait…

The problem of standard setting on language proficiency tests is often approached by the use of norms derived from the group being tested, a process commonly known as "grading on the curve." One particular problem with this ad hoc method of standard setting is that it will usually result in a fluctuating standard dependent on the particular group…

The paper reports a pilot study of 280 entering first grade students to try to identify potential handicaps, giftedness, or other special needs. During the preregistration program Ss were given measures of visual acuity, auditory acuity, and language functioning. Language test data allowed the identification of six profile types for further…

This paper gives an overview of issues related to language assessment of prospective bilingual education teachers who are enrolled in postsecondary institutions. The review indicates that, generally, little has been done on the establishment of entry/exit level criteria for language assessment. Where criteria exist, they are viewed in terms of the…