Differences between the academic (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) and government (Foreign Service Institute) versions of the oral proficiency interview test are examined, and data from two studies of interrater reliability are presented and discussed. (MSE)

Contends that the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) has some very serious defects. First, it does not test either the ability to speak or to write English. Second, it has strong cultural biases. Third, a relatively large number of right answers can be obtained by guesswork. (SED)

U.S. educational policies reflect an economic need to socialize immigrants and minority group members to fill undesirable, low-status jobs. Transitional bilingual education programs prevent immigrant children from attaining academic fluency in either their own language or English. (JOW)

A longitudinal study measuring language, academic achievement, and social functioning was conducted of four groups of hearing-impaired children (N=23 per group). Those who had received home intervention were found to perform better in most areas than no-intervention children, with slight advantages found in those receiving earlier intervention and…

Reports on a longitudinal study of young immigrants' spoken Danish during the first months of their stay, focusing on the Albanian-, Vietnamese-, and English-speaking adolescents' syntactic development from a functional perspective. Changes in early syntax are seen as being rooted in cognitive as well as interactional dimensions of language use.…

Preliminary results of an extensive study of 50 native Yugoslav students who migrated to Denmark but still attended mother-tongue classes indicated that most had mastered the Danish language and used it with their peers and most learned their native language from their parents and continued to use it with them. (Author/CB)

Describes and assesses the general direction of French immersion research and establishes the need for more qualitative and theoretical approaches to research in this field. The areas of particular interest include (1)language learning environment; (2) children's language learning strategies; (3) classroom communication; (4) effective teaching…

Investigates the relationship between bilingualism and metalinguistic awareness in Puerto Rican Spanish- and English-speaking children. Findings indicate that native language proficiency, as well as the degree of bilingualism, affect metalinguistic awareness, and that these effects interacted with the types of items in the metalinguistic tasks.…

A study exploring the relationship between language-related attitudes of English-speaking immigrants in Israel and their choice of their native language or Hebrew for communication with their Israeli-born children showed that lack of proficiency in Hebrew just as often encouraged parents to choose that language as their child's native language.…

Because research strongly suggests that the requirements made for foreign language instructors are simply not supported by the product, instructors themselves should work toward (1) educating students in the important areas of world culture and the phenomenon of human language; and (2) producing foreign language proficient citizens equal to the…

This study tested the validity and applicability of the Standards for Evaluation of Education Programs, Projects and Materials (Joint Committee, 1981) by applying them to four alternative methods of testing oral proficiency in English as a Foreign Language. (BS)

Current ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Oral Language Proficiency Guidelines are based on an overly narrow view of communicative language proficiency. However, the guidelines do provide a basis for the development of effective teaching and testing methods. (CB)

Voices concern over widening gap between preferred educational directions of the educational establishment and the public-at-large. Details how Ontario's policy regarding English education illustrates this trend. Concludes that schools and educators should be free to choose their own methods of instruction but be accountable for their results.…

Compares two different types of bilingual education programs--the Canadian immersion programs, designed primarily for foreign language enrichment, and the European School bilingual education program, designed primarily for language maintenance. Achievement scores for both approaches were comparable, pointing to the importance of environment and…

A group of Chinese native speakers listened to recordings of six Americans speaking Chinese as a second language and rated them on several personality traits. Two groups of traits were identified: those the judges somehow associated with language proficiency, and others, nonproficiency related (such as honesty, friendliness, and attractiveness).…