Short-term international experiences (STIE) are becoming a regular, sometimes required, feature of pre-service language teacher education programmes. Often inappropriately termed "immersion programmes", they aim to give teachers the opportunity to improve their language proficiency in the language they will teach, to develop their…

In this longitudinal study, we examined the effects of the use of English as the language of instruction in the first 4 years of secondary education in The Netherlands on the students' language proficiency in English and Dutch, and achievement in subject matters taught through English. Compared to a control group in regular secondary education,…

Simultaneous interpreting is a complex skill in which language comprehension and production take place at the same time in two languages. In this study, we examined performance on basic language and working memory tasks that have been hypothesized to engage cognitive skills important for simultaneous interpreting. The participants were native…

This paper examines the linguistic landscapes of 15 Bangkok neighbourhoods to explore questions of language contact, language mixing and language dominance. It provides a linguistic framework for analysis of types of codemixing. It highlights the importance and influence of English as a global language. It examines the signs from government…

This paper represents part of an ethnographic study conducted in a small college town in the northern United States. Based on Fairclough's conceptualization of language as a site of social meaning construction and power struggle, I conduct critical discourse analyses on data collected at broad, mid, and micro level contexts. I demonstrate how…

Research conducted in the context of the IELTS Research Program indicates that there are recurrent features in the writing under test conditions of candidates from Chinese language backgrounds, particularly in terms of interpersonal tenor. These include a high level of interpersonal reference, combined with a heavily dialogic and hortatory style.…

The paper analyses selected aspects of the codeswitching behaviour in a spoken corpus of the English of 326 people, all of them mother-tongue speakers of Xhosa (a local African language in South Africa), and all of whom would see themselves as Xhosa/English bilinguals. The corpus comprises approximately 550,000 transcribed words of spontaneous,…

This article investigates a group oral test as administered at a university in Japan to find if it is appropriate to use scores for higher stakes decision making. It is one component of an in-house English proficiency test used for placing students, evaluating their progress, and making informed decisions for the development of the English…

A project to field test instruments and procedures for measuring English language proficiency, to be used in a large-scale national household survey, is reported. The major purposes of the field test were to measure the validity of census-type questions for determining language proficiency, using several different bilingual ethnic groups, and to…

The assessment packet presented is a draft of a test designed for use with beginning level students of a second/foreign language in the Columbus (Ohio) public schools. It focuses on speaking skills and attempts to test only what students can be expected to say, realistically. The packet consists of: nine mini-tests for use at regular intervals…

Preliminary data was gathered to guide subsequent research that will shape training procedures and scoring practice for performance assessment activities that integrate multiple content areas. Content area integration is a key feature of many of the tasks in the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP), a large-scale assessment of…

The Arabic Picture Vocabulary Test (APVT) was derived from the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test in order to provide an estimate of a student's acquired verbal ability in Arabic (Modern Standard Arabic) through his or her aural vocabulary. It is an individually administered norm-referenced power test for students aged 5 to 9 plus years. Each item…

A study explored the cognitive processes and social-situational influences underlying students' assessment of their own foreign language proficiency, focusing on process rather than result of self-evaluation. The subjects, 28 college student learners of French at different course levels, were administered a self-assessment questionnaire on the…

Of the four language skills, reading is probably tested most often, and it may seem to be the easiest to test. However, testing reading proficiency has its difficulties, and the test constructor must be aware of several issues. Reading involves a number of skills, and the number and complexity of these must be recognized. Choosing the text to test…

The guide provides a model for Japanese second language curriculum development for teachers and school districts. It advocates an approach that emphasizes language proficiency for daily communication and cultural appreciation. An introductory section offers a rationale for teaching and learning Japanese, outlines the need for the guide, presents a…