This article looks into why infants learn to talk, using a series of illustrative proposals as to the short- and long-term consequences to the infant behaviors that lead to linguistic competence. The goal of the article is to encourage investigation of behavioral dispositions that nudge the child toward proficiency in the use of the spoken…

Examined whether the current entry requirement at the National University of Lesotho of a Cambridge Overseas School Certificate (COSC) credit in English helps in the selection of the most promising students. Found that performance in school-level English is hardly correlated with academic performance, when controlling for overall school…

Summarizes relevant research on bilingual language development and discusses implications for bilingual language assessment. Also discusses limitations in current language ability testing practices for bilinguals and proposed future directions for the development of assessment tools and practices with bilinguals. (SLD)

Studied the extent to which first language and second language (l2) writing proficiency can predict performance in L2 writing. Findings suggest that writing in a foreign or second language context is necessarily a language problem, not a writing problem. (Author/VWL)

Examines the impact of topic familiarity, second language (L2) reading proficiency, and L2 passage sight vocabulary on incidental vocabulary acquisition. Analyses reveal robust effects of reading proficiency, differential effects of topic familiarity, and isolated effects of passage sight vocabulary. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on logical connectives as catalysts for interactive reading. Clarifies how text comprehension can be affected by the types of logical relations and by the levels of proficiency in English as a Second Language, using Japanese university students as the subjects for experimentation and focusing on three logical connectives: "for…

Discusses theoretical and practical issues pertaining to translation or adaptation of educational assessments in the United States. These include the role of language proficiency and academic background in performance on standards-based achievement tests in different languages, factors affecting the decision to translate tests in different…

Probes the developmental process a nonnative English-speaking child experienced in the United states and how his parents and other factors influenced his bilingual language proficiency. (Author/VWL)

Examines recent research on teaching culture in the foreign language classroom. Proposes a model for culture teaching that responds to a clearer definition of cultural proficiency. Focuses on classroom testing and proficiency assessment. (Author/VWL)

Investigates whether it may still be possible to develop a word association test for assessing proficiency in a foreign language. A multiple-response word association test was constructed with careful consideration of prompt words as defining criterion. The test was administered to learners, and scores were correlated with C-test scores. Results…

A first person historical examination is provided of the use of grammar rules (the grammar-translation era) as a means of developing second-language proficiency and its effectiveness on second-language learning and speaking ability. (GLR)

Examines the effect of the (perceived) interactional role in information transfer that exists when individuals from different international backgrounds encounter conflicts in their worlds of reference. The results of a task-related pairing study between outer and expanding circle English-using students are used to address the subject. (GLR)

Argues for a cognitive psychological approach to second-language learning that emphasizes the importance of the development of automaticity and the process of restructuring. It is suggested that language practice can lead to both increased, and occasionally decreased, performance levels, which cognitive psychology may help researchers to…

Reports on a study examining the pattern of question selection by English as a Second Language (ESL) students on a writing competence test and the relationship to performance. Results suggest that ESL students heavily favored first and second questions in each set of four questions, and shorter questions in sets. (CB)

Examines the theoretical underpinnings of the 1986 American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines for reading, covering an historical perspective, the role of background knowledge, the process/product distinction, text types, and hierarchical and interactive reading models. (CB)