The language-through-content movement of the past decade has promoted the use of authentic texts for language-learning purposes. Content-based instruction, however, has had the effect of emphasizing content as the driver of curriculum rather than language-learning objectives in the language-through-content equation. Longitudinal studies of ESL…

The assessment of sign language proficiency is essential for evaluating the outcomes of sign bilingual education. This paper reports an attempt to assess the sign language proficiency of children in a self-described sign bilingual program in Sydney by adapting a British Sign Language (BSL) test to Australian Sign Language (Auslan). The test…

The study presented in this paper was conducted within the theoretical framework of the three-dimensional global-trait model of lexical knowledge proposed by [Henrikson, B. 1999. Three dimensions of vocabulary development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 21, pp. 303-317], consisting of "breadth," "depth," and "receptive-productive"…

The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines (ACTFL, 1982; 1986; Breiner-Sanders et al.,2000) and the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) derived from them have stimulated abundant and sustained professional engagement by foreign language teachers at all levels and in all languages, as well as intense and equally sustained criticism by specialists in foreign…

This article contends that the necessary links between constructs and test scores/decisions in language assessment must be established through principled design procedures that align three models: (1) a theoretical construct model; (2) a test development model; and (3) a psychometric scoring model. The theoretical construct model articulates the…

This appendix focuses on the descriptive statistics of the middle study schools that participated in the "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better. A Large-Scale Study of Middle Grades Practices and Student Outcomes. Initial Research." This appendix contains the following figures: (1) Student…

In its recent report, the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence proposes a major restructuring of California's school finance system, replacing most of the separate programs through which revenue now flows from the state to local school districts with a base program and a targeted program. The base program would serve the educational needs…

This article reports on findings obtained from an online survey answered by 97 foreign language department chairs. The Web survey was pilot tested for validity and reliability and obtained a Cronbach's reliability coefficient of .80. The results suggest that student learning outcomes assessment in American undergraduate foreign language education…

This paper explores the influence of symbolic or representational learning materials on pupil engagement or learning outcomes, when 14-16 year old pupils use common types of science simulations. The project pilot phase involved three (15-16 year old) male pupils and a main phase involved twenty-one (14-15 year old) pupils. A retrospective accounts…

Background: There is limited research on the FL/SL reading comprehension of Non-native speakers of English at the post-graduate level at university. Purpose: This study investigated the knowledge of and the attitude towards FL/SL reading comprehension through (1) the effect of (a) post-graduate specialization, and (b) nationality, (2) the…

The aim of this paper is two-fold: (a) to investigate scaffolding strategies employed by two EFL teachers in the process of instructing more and less proficient learners, and (b) to explore the most effective strategies used by teachers with students. Two elementary school English teachers were invited to take part in this study. Both were asked…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study designed to assess the progress made by UK foreign language undergraduate students during the residence abroad (RA) component of their degree. The article first of all places the study within the international research context, and then describes the data collation procedures and methodology employed. It…

This study examined the association between English language proficiency and health outcomes in a regional probability sample (n = 205) of elderly Chinese and Korean immigrants. Data support that these two Asian ethnic subgroups differ in English proficiency and health-related quality of life. Chinese and Korean elders had poorer health than the…

The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) has recently moved from norm-referenced to standards-referenced assessment, including the incorporation of a substantial school-based summative oral assessment component into the compulsory English language subject in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE). Starting in…

The Hispanic population of the United States is quite diverse and with each passing year, due to (im)migration patterns, more and more students are entering language classrooms with some degree of familiarity with the language. However, because of the tendency toward intergenerational loss of Spanish, the linguistic proficiency covers the…