Examines evidence presented for the validity of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) rating scales in "Foreign Language Annals" (1990), "System" (1992), and "Proficiency Guidelines" (1982, 1986). The article argues that this evidence is insufficient to support a claim for validity. (36…

Explores variation in the performance of one nonnative speaker in three different conversations with friends. The chief difference between the conversations is that the interlocutors use different interactional features that are related to their different levels of proficiency in English. (Author/VWL)

Provides revisions of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) writing guidelines. The proficiency guidelines are presented in a top-down fashion, rather than in a bottom-up order, thereby allowing for more positive descriptive statements for each level and sublevel, stressing what language users can do with the language…

The advent of democracy and the easing of both legal and unauthorised entry to South Africa have made the country a new destination for Black asylum-seekers, long-distance traders, entrepreneurs, students and professionals. As this population continues to grow, its children have begun to experience South African schools in an array of uniquely…

The benefits and advantages of classroom practices incorporating unity-in-diversity and diversity-in-unity are what "Multilevel and Diverse Classrooms" is all about. Multilevel classrooms--also known as mixed-ability or heterogeneous classrooms--are a fact of life in ESOL programs around the world. These classrooms are often not only…

Grounded in state-of-the-art research, this book explores how English language learners develop both the oral language and literacy skills necessary for school success. Chapters examine the cognitive bases of English acquisition, and how the process is different for children from alphabetic (such as Spanish) and nonalphabetic (such as Chinese)…

With the research of the relationship between inter-culture and language teaching development, people are well aware of the necessity of integrating inter-culture into language teaching. While providing the opportunity for the students to improve their intercultural communication competence, here, the research presented on the integration of…

This study examines the implementation and organization of the state mandated curriculum in the 4-hour SEI block in 18 K-12 classrooms in 5 different districts. We focus on the effects of grouping by language proficiency, the delivery of the structure-based ESL curriculum, the provision of resources and limiting of access to grade-level…

This dissertation reports findings from a reading motivation study conducted in an elementary school serving students, all of whom were American Indian, in the southwestern United States. The school claimed to have more than fifty percent of its students scoring proficient or advanced on the state's high-stakes reading assessment and to value the…

Tests of English Language Proficiency are often designed such that each section of the test measures a single latent ability. For instance an English Proficiency Assessment might consist of sections measuring Speaking, Listening, and Reading ability. However, Overall English Proficiency and composite abilities are naturally multidimensional. This…

Children's listening habits and skills are a good predictor of oral language proficiency, reading and writing skills, and later school success. Good listening skills do not simply develop naturally--they must be taught and practiced--yet many teachers do not get training on how to teach children to listen. Using clear language and real-life…

Introduction: English-language proficiency of medical practitioners is an issue attracting increasing attention in medical education. To best provide language education support, it is essential that learning needs are assessed and that useful feedback and advice are provided. We report the outcomes of a language assessment that was embedded within…

Gestures are often used while speaking to aid in the speaker's packaging of the verbal message and/or to aid the listener in decoding the message. The ways in which bilinguals use gestures are reviewed in this article. Researchers have predicted that bilinguals' gesture use is related to bilinguals' language proficiency. However, no clear pattern…

The Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised (Leiter-R) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) scores of 47 English- and 47 Spanish-speaking students were analyzed, and the effects of English language ability on these scores were examined. Leiter-R validity was supported for both language groups. WISC-III…

This study investigates whether or not abstract-level linguistic features, not successfully acquired abroad, will be acquired once the advanced language learner returns from a study abroad program and is exposed to linguistic instruction. The goal of the study was to measure the development of the Spanish subjunctive in adverbial clauses collected…