This paper describes accounts of two kindergarten-aged children learning English as a second language (ESL) to demonstrate that exposure is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for acquiring a second language. The 10-month histories of "L," a quick and highly successful learner, and "M," a less successful, much slower…

This leader's manual for a workshop on planning bilingual student assessment describes the workshop, presents information necessary to provide instruction leading to workshop exercises, and provides step-by-step instructions for conducting the workshop. The workshop leader should become familiar with this manual as well as with the workshop text…

This participant's handbook is designed to be used in conjunction with a workshop for planning bilingual student assessment. The following materials are included: (1) simulation materials, including descriptions of simulated programs, tests, test manuals, and printouts; (2) checklists, diagrams, and charts illustrating important points of the…

English proficiency of Thai university students studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) was studied in relation to attitudinal scores on social, economic, travel, or prestige scales. Secondarily, the subjects' attitudes toward their native group and toward the target language group, and their motives for learning English were studied in…

The use of language proficiency rating scales in Australian school language programs is discussed, focusing primarily on the Australian Second Language Proficiency Ratings (ASLPR), the only direct instrument developed in Australia that is in widespread use and that has been extensively tested. It is also the only one developed for use with a…

A study was undertaken to investigate the variation in the speech of child second language learners as a function of the different discourse constraints imposed by three participant structures: narrator-audience, child-adult conversation, and child-child conversation. The subjects were 18 children aged 7 to 12, temporary residents in the United…

A description of the use of flowcharts in teaching students of English as a second language (ESL) to "map" dialogue for conversation begins with a review of the literature concerning the flowchart form and content. Conversational form and logic and the discourse chart designed by Mohr and adapted for this study are discussed. The classroom…

As an introduction to two models for teaching teachers to assess bilingual and limited-English-speaking students' language proficiency, legislative and educational perspectives on the need for development of language assessment procedures for this group are outlined and strategies for implementing such procedures are discussed, including community…

The descriptions of 200 tests for a variety of language groups are designed for use with the test file maintained by the Evaluation, Dissemination, and Assessment Center for Bilingual Education (EDAC). The content areas covered include reading, mathematics, self-concept, language dominance, language proficiency, and intelligence. Tests are…

A sample of 75 teacher education students participating in a speech proficiency test was used to investigate the relationship between speech proficiency and self-concept. The students took the Tennessee Self Concept Scale after being divided into the following three groups: students judged satisfactory on the speech proficiency test, students…

The belief that bilinguals are an asset to their country is not held by most bilinguals today, much less the general public. This paper describes on-going research into the discovery that many bilinguals conceal their linguistic skill in the home language when in an English-speaking environment, passing as English-speaking monolinguals. Data are…

This paper describes an experiment in which the Developmental Sentence Scoring procedure, which has been used successfully for scoring sentence complexity in child language, was examined for its usefulness when applied to adult learners of English as a Second Language. The technique is based upon a developmental scale of syntax acquisition within…

Public hearings were held to assess citizens' views about providing bilingual education for preschool children in California. Contents of this report, consisting of six brief papers, discuss the value of early bilingual education, the assessment of bilingual proficiency in young children, and preschool curriculum design. Parent participation,…

This paper reports on a study comparing oral English proficiency as conventionally measured by instruments currently used in many school districts throughout the United States, with Spanish language abilities of individuals with Spanish language background. Oral language proficiency is defined as the results of a quantitative measure applied to a…

An in-progress research project evaluating the first phase of two-year bilingual exchange programs is described. The exchange programs being evaluated are a summer exchange between groups of school children from schools in Quebec and Ontario and a school-year exchange between groups of children from schools in the same provinces. The objectives of…