Candidates taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) are currently asked to supply several items of background information: birth date, sex, number of times TOEFL has been taken before, whether they are seeking status as undergraduate or graduate students, their native country and native language, and (for prospective graduate…

A study investigated the thinking processes of 14 Anglophone students of French performing challenging reading and summarizing tasks in their first and second languages. Individuals proved to use equivalent higher-order problem-solving strategies while writing and reading in both languages. Strategies varied with the individuals' levels of…

A year-long study of the writing development of 27 first through third graders in an English/Spanish bilingual program was conducted during the 1980-81 school year. Samples of the children's writing were collected at four intervals, coded for computer tallying, and analyzed in terms of code-switching, spelling, punctuation and segmentation,…

This digest considers the problems of foreign language instruction in small high schools and discusses possible solutions. A critical challenge for American education, pointed out by reform reports of the 1980's, is improvement of instruction in foreign languages to instill language proficiency. These national concerns have been translated into…

The importance of assessing language proficiency levels and the relationship of this priority to the teaching of Russian at the university level are discussed. Serious concerns about the value of language-specific proficiency guidelines are raised, and an argument is presented suggesting that language-specific guidelines may lead to undue emphasis…

A study investigated the relationship between native language (NL) listening skills and foreign language (FL) learning. Research questions addressed: (1) whether a relationship exists between NL listening ability and overall FL proficiency, between NL listening ability and FL listening comprehension skills, and between NL listening ability and FL…

Oral language has primacy both developmentally and by virtue of use for most individuals in our society; however, the development of oral language for many children is left to chance. Although English education journals have resounded with exhortations to teachers about the importance of encouraging children to talk, the recent limited research…

A study was carried on to analyze a data set in order to determine whether evidence can be found to support or refute the unitary factor hypothesis of language proficiency, which asserts that there is a single language dimension or factor underlying different language tests. The subjects were 50 advanced adult learners of English as a second…

Proficiency in a foreign language combined with knowledge and skills in another professional area is highly desirable in the marketplace. Business places the greatest emphasis on this combination, although language skills rank well below other selection factors. Most employers provide language training when necessary, but the amount of time…

The writing development of 27 first through third graders in an English/Spanish bilingual program was investigated. Samples of the children's writing were collected at four intervals during the school year, coded for computer tallying, and analyzed in terms of code-switching, spelling, punctuation and segmentation, structural features, stylistic…

The fact that early immersion in a second language has led to bilingualism and academic success among majority language children has been used as an argument against mother tongue instruction for minority language children. However, for minority language children, immersion in a second language has often led to language loss and academic failure.…

This participant's handbook for a workshop on selecting evaluation designs for bilingual programs presents group activities to facilitate learning about the selection process. The objectives of the workshop are to (1) identify the implied comparisons associated with frequently encountered evaluation questions, (2) select the most appropriate…

Practical and technical aspects of language testing research are considered in 23 articles. Topical areas include: testing of general proficiency; the hypothesis of a single unitary factor accounting for reliable variance in tests; the structure of language proficiency; pros and cons of cloze testing; a new functional testing approach; and…

Findings from an interdisciplinary research project, Methods of Analyzing Samples of Elicited Discourse in English and Spanish for Determining Student Language Proficiency, are presented. The research project was designed to develop a unified framework for the analysis of audiotaped discourse samples elicited from Spanish/English bilingual…

Studies of age differences in second language learning ability are collected along with commentary on the results. The 12 papers describe long and short term studies of children and adults that focus on the optimal age for second language acquisition, the effect of different teaching methods and environments on age differences, and theories that…