The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) was administered to 26 deaf students (approximately 18 years of age) to determine (1) whether deaf children of deaf parents (DP), as users of American Sign Language and as possessors of a shared code, would outperform deaf children of hearing parents (HP); (2) whether the performance of DP…

This study investigated the hypothesis that an employer's hiring decisions are influenced by certain speech characteristics of prospective employees. Simulated job interviews of four different speakers were played for 62 employers involved in actual hiring. Sets of semantic differential scales were used to measure employer's attitudes towards the…

A group of 18 children from 5 to 12 years old in a FLES course in Mandarin Chinese were graded by three native speakers on their ability to repeat Mandarin Chinese sentences with which they were already familiar and on their ability to produce appropriate sentences to describe posters used in the Chinese class. These grades in Chinese were…

Discusses the facets of "communication capacity" most important in foreign language teaching. Paralinguistic means of communication are particularly emphasized. The main goal is application ("transfer"). These observations are based on an instructional model from beginning courses in French. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Discusses the assumptions underlying content-area reading instruction for native speakers of English, which also apply to students of English as a second language. This includes the need for providing guidance for students acquiring the concepts inherent in the content. (Author/HP)

Describes a 5-hour-weekly course in French as a third foreign language, for Grades 11-13--in particular, the students' motives in choosing the course, methodology, and the rapid transition from textbook work to work with supplementary materials to work with original texts. The course was judged successful. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Analyzes of the Australian linguistic scene, from the theoretical viewpoint of humanistic sociology and on the basis of empirical data collected from a number of surveys of ethnic groups. (Author/HP)

This summary of two dissertations involves a comparison of two procedures for measuring speaking and writing proficiency in French and German. Both studies used the MLA Cooperative Foreign Language Proficiency Tests. Findings indicated a strong relationship between native-rater speaking scores and scores on the MLA speaking test. (CHK)

A brief history of foreign language study in the U.S. is given and several popular language teaching theories described. Emphasizing the importance of learning communicative skills in the foreign language, various procedures for stimulating communication in the classroom are suggested. (CHK)

A system of grouping children by language ability was adopted by English as a second language teachers at an elementary school in Vancouver. Advantages of the level system are discussed. (SW)

The current approach in teaching Japanese as a second language is questioned as inefficient. The forward-looking approach does not condition students to expect that they must learn all the items of a set before being able to learn anything else. (HP)

This report discusses the findings of an evaluation of the bilingual education program in the schools of the Niagara South Board of Education (Ontario). (DB)

Describes the rationale and design of the Zepeda/Saldate Spanish Language Proficiency Exam developed at the University of Arizona for use in evaluating the language proficiency of applicants for bilingual/bicultural teacher education programs. (JG)

In an effort to find an index of development for second language acquisition, compositions written by non-native speakers of English were classified into proficiency levels and analyzed. Measures that seemed most suitable as an index of development were average length of the T-unit and number of error-free T-units. (CHK)

Discusses the schedule, curriculum, participant interviews, and results of the Texas Oral Proficiency Certification Project, which works toward the implementation of proficiency standards (established by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) for the certification of foreign language teachers. (CB)