Speech presented at the Sixth Annual Whitewater Language Conference, Whitewater, Wisconsin, March 1970. Many of the ideas presented have more relevance for the United States than Canada. (DS)

Suggests that second language learners could benefit from being made aware of the semantic components that unify verbs that display a certain syntactic behavior and the semantic components that exclude other verbs from participating in this behavior. Findings of a study in which production and judgment data on the behavior of "change of state" and…

Addresses the challenges faced in developing a task-based language assessment instrument for adult immigrants in Canada that is accountable to the needs of diverse groups of stakeholders, including learners, teachers, and administrators. The test, the Canadian Language Benchmarks Assessment (CLBA), is designed to place adult newcomers in language…

Presents a model for testing in individualized adult programs which includes aptitude, placement, achievement, and proficiency measurements. The model calls for measurement of discrete-point knowledge as well as the communicative ability and cultural insights of students. The kind and detail of record-keeping are discussed. (Author/AMH)

Examines the background factors that may be related to the French proficiency development of candidates applying for the foreign and second language teaching option at the University of Ottawa. Candidates have to pass tests of oral and written French, and this study sought to determine what makes a candidate successful on the test. (Author/VWL)

Describes a school in Quebec, in which students enrolled in an intensive English-as-a-Second-Language program (ESL) use English in a variety of communicative interactions inside and outside the ESL classroom. Assessment of students' performance indicates that they achieve higher levels of English than comparable students in other intensive ESL…