The Department of Foreign Languages at Tarrant County (Texas) Junior College (TCJC) places primary instructional emphasis in elementary and intermediate language courses on the development of students' oral communication competence. Noting the differences in the oral proficiency of TCJC students and that of area high school graduates seeking…

The aims of the projects described in this paper were to develop and evaluate a new approach to the assessment of English language skills of English as a second language (ESL) students. The approach makes use of optical scanning equipment in scoring cloze-elide test exercises, thereby providing a rapid, relatively inexpensive and objective measure…

This study attempted to determine the effectiveness of cloze procedures as norm-referenced instruments by comparing the differential responses of four groups of college students of English as a second language on two identical cloze passages. The responses were scored using both exact-answer and acceptable-word methods. The results indicate that…

An integrated model of instruction in language and culture uses a sequential method of discovering sensation, perception, concept, and principle to develop self-analysis skills in students. When planning activities for learning a language and developing cultural understanding, teachers might follow a sequence such as the following: introduce…

Presented in this volumer are selected convention papers on topics in teaching English as a second language (ESL). Topics include literacy vs. literate skills; ESL development among preschool children in Singapore; language proficiency and comprehension of anaphoric subject pronouns in bilingual and monolingual children; the ESL noise test and…

A study of the characteristics of Hispanic elementary school children in bilingual education programs attempted to identify those education and acculturation characteristics which distinguished children who had been referred to special education from nonreferred children. The sample consisted of 95 Hispanic children, of whom 51 had never been…

A survey was made of graduate programs for foreign students at three law schools with different missions and characteristics. The survey focused on the following points: (1) students' backgrounds (cultural, linguistic, geographic, educational, and professional); (2) student reasons for attending a graduate law program in the United States; (3)…

As part of an examination required by the Alberta (Canada) Department of Education in order for 12th grade students to receive a diploma in French, this booklet contains the reading selections portion of Part B, the language and literature component of the January 1988 tests. Representing the genres of poetry, short story, novel, and drama, the…

As part of an examination required by the Alberta (Canada) Department of Education in order for 12th grade students to receive a diploma in French, this booklet contains the 80 multiple choice questions portion of Part B, the language and literature component of the January 1988 tests. Representing the genres of poetry, short story, novel, and…

This Title VII program completed its second year of a 3 year continuation project to provide students with limited English proficiency instruction designed to help them achieve English language proficiency. The program also included a staff development component. Students were in Lau categories A, B, and C (non-English speaking, English as a…

A study compared the English language proficiency levels of three groups of non-native English-speakers who teach English as a second language (ESL) in Egypt. The three groups were: (1) graduates of a department that was not an English department; (2) graduates of English departments; and (3) seniors in one Egyptian university's English…

Instructional sensitivity indices are compared from four perspectives: (1) criterion-referenced testing; (2) classical test theory; (3) item response theory; and (4) Bayesian theory. Instructional sensitivity is defined as the tendency of a test item to vary in difficulty as a function of instruction. The instructional sensitivity of the items in…

Results of a survey of students of the University of Dublin concerning their language learning experiences and attitudes are reported. The study was undertaken within a larger study of self-directed language learning. The questionnaire had seven sections. The first and largest covered these topics related to students' language background: (1) the…

The research described in this report identifies the major health, education, and welfare-related needs of Cuban Americans as defined by directors of Cuban community service organizations and Cuban beneficiary populations in the selected urban areas of Miami/Dade County, Union City/West New York, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Data from…

This report examines the situation of the Haitians in Miami who were formerly incarcerated at the Krome Detention Center or other Federal detention centers in the United States or Puerto Rico. The report is based upon a 1983 survey of 150 "Krome Haitians"; intensive anthropological fieldwork results are also included. The socioeconomic…