To determine the extent to which the perceived English language performance of employed bilingual Mexican-Americans influenced or handicapped them in performing job duties as proficiently as their monolingual counterparts, personal interviews were conducted with equal numbers of Mexican-Americans, their non-Mexican-American occupational peers, and…

The article shows six ways in which communicative competence can be increased. The six sections show how the foreign language student can acquire competence in expressing (as an example) the concept "irritation". For each definition of "irritation," many examples are given. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Archaic literature, no matter how great, should not be imposed on secondary students who are not equipped to comprehend it. (JH)

Examines: (1) correlations between attitudes of Japanese students toward various variables, and their proficiency in English; and (2) the validity of attitude measures. (Author/AM)

A writing exercise consisting of a description of an automobile accident was carried out by two groups, one consisting of skilled workers, the other of professionals. The results were compared in terms of clarity, length, grammar, vocabulary, and tone. (AM)

A survey was conducted of 51 universities to determine the English standards for foreign graduate students. Information is presented on English examinations and required test scores, use and acceptability of interviews for determining English proficiency, standards within English departments, English requirements for teaching assistants, and…

Language educators need to consider whether the goal for learning English as a foreign language is to be bookish "correctness" or something approaching the competence and performance of at least moderately well-educated native speakers. Grammatical usages and pronunciations are considered and comparisons with other languages are made. (SW)

Educators concerned with how children learn language cannot allow inadequate measures like standardized tests to interfere with students' learning experiences. The school environment must support teachers who develop the ability to observe children and who understand the dynamics of language development. (Author)

Effective programs of foreign language instruction can be planned by accounting for the important factors relative to student achievement, including adequate time for learning, foreign language aptitude, and motivation. Instruction must be given by well-qualified teachers who can use the language liberally in the classroom. (Author/MV)

Account of an experiment reported in "Bulletin de Psychologie." The results indicate a correlation between practice using a wide variety of semantic elements and better retention and use of correct syntax. This experiment indicates the importance of insuring growth in inductive capacity of learners. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

This article discusses the "threshold level" approach to the teaching of second languages to adults, as introduced by Van Ek. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Description of a French course whose objective was to teach students the four skills as effectively and agreeably as possible. Topics covered are: general description of the materials, students and facilities; teacher preparation; detailed lesson plan of an article from "Quoi de Neuf". (Text is in French.) (AMH)

It is recommended that the scores obtained on achievement tests in different subject areas after the same number of years of study should be more nearly comparable. In addition, new forms of the Latin Achievement Test (LAT) should be developed and the spring test date for the LAT should be restored. (HP)

Validates an instrument for measuring non-natives' English-speaking proficiency, using Filipinos in the U.S. Navy. Shows significant correlations between test scores, the age at which English was first spoken, and military rank, suggesting an interaction between English-speaking proficiency and occupational advancement. (RL)

An investigation was conducted of the use of cloze tests in measuring native English speakers' achievement in four foreign languages, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. The study sought to determine whether the cloze tests separate the achievement scores of students at different levels. (SW)