The nature and development of the recently released International English Language Testing System (IELTS) instrument are described. The test is the result of a joint Australian-British project to develop a new test for use with foreign students planning to study in English-speaking countries. It is expected that the modular instrument will become…

A study investigated the disparity between the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) competence of South African black children and the competence required to comprehend content subject textbooks. Two ESL schemes and two fifth-year general science textbooks were analyzed for differences in vocabulary, syntax, speech acts, cohesion and coherence.…

This curriculum guide for Indiana's foreign language education (1) establishes what proficiency is at the end of each of four instructional levels, through sets of competencies, or learning outcomes, to be achieved throughout that level; (2) defines progress throughout the sequence of levels in terms that can be readily understood; and (3)…

This manual presents activities designed to encourage speaking in elementary and secondary school Spanish language classes at the novice and intermediate proficiency levels. Following guidelines outlined in the Utah "Foreign Language Mastery Curriculum Guide," each of the activities is identified according to the topic, level, and…

A discussion of language testing looks at the relationship between the processes of language learning and language testing, particularly from the point of view of pragmatics theory. It outlines some of the theory of Charles Sanders Pierce and its role in the evolution of linguistic theory, as well as the work of other theorists concerning the…

This study examined the loss of proficiency in English as a Second Language (ESL) by Japanese children returning to Japan after a period of time in the United States. Three children who lived in the United States with their families for between 4 and 7 years were interviewed on a monthly basis after their return to Japan. The interviewer engaged…

This study examined 412 college students' essay performance on two prompt types, a traditional prose essay and a type incorporating graphics, modeled on those from English Language Challenge Examination (ELCE) developed for the University of Southern California (USC). The majority of the participants were international students at USC. Each…

This study sought to address three questions related to the pronunciation of Spanish by non-native speakers: (1) does the pronunciation of upper-intermediate become "fossilized?"; (2) is their a relationship between quality of pronunciation and amount of improvement?; and (3) when judging degrees of "foreignness," are…

Kuwait University initially developed a new English placement test for students to help upgrade English language instruction throughout the country's educational system, through diagnosis of relative English proficiency levels of all secondary school graduates, determination of suitable admissions criteria for all higher education institutions,…

French teachers need to realize and convince their supervisors that more time must be given to development of acceptable pronunciation and comprehension skills in the initial stages of French language study. Phonetics offers the technique and tools for perfecting pronunciation. The method for college French instruction described is adapted from…

An attempt is made is this paper to examine the validity of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale through a comparison of the scaling of speaking tasks and speech performances by the scale and by a Rasch analysis of judgments made by "naive" persons. The results of the multi-faceted Rasch analysis seem…

One theory of second language acquisition argues that children's competence in a second language is a function of the amount of "comprehensible input" acquirers receive and understand, without formal instruction in reading or grammar. To examine this hypothesis, this study analyzes whether comprehensible input in the form of captioned television…

Although most educators agree in theory that labeling linguistically and culturally different students as "low I.Q." can adversely affect their academic progress, in practice a disproportionate number of bilingual students are still being "deported" into special education and vocational classes as a combined result of…

Research into language acquisition is reviewed and implications for practice are discussed. The research stemmed from the State of California's mandate to use specific oral language instruments for identifying students who are limited English speakers. The development of a test to identify and place English as a second language students in…

The Language Profile of Bilingual Students in California was undertaken to determine: (1) students' range of performance on specific language tasks across four age groups in both Spanish and English; (2) the relationship of this performance to proficiency on two tests currently used in California; (3) how the development of the two languages…