Language teachers are expected to engage in classroom assessment practices and report on learners' progress aligned with proficiency standards, as well as prepare learners for external examinations. The term "language assessment literacy" (LAL) describes what the constituency of language instructors needs to know about assessment…

This study examined how mode of input affects the learning of pronunciation and form-meaning connection of second language (L2) words. Seventy-five Japanese learners of English were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions (reading while listening, reading only, listening only), studied 40 low-frequency words while viewing their corresponding…

Because scaffolded feedback is a key component of dynamic assessment (DA) and is present in some forms of corrective feedback (CF), it can be unclear how the 2 frameworks differ. Further complicating the distinction, many second language (L2) DA studies have focused on how a teacher provides mediation as a series of prompts, usually in reaction to…

This article summarizes some of the main issues, concerns, and debates that have ensued over the years in the field of L2 assessment and shows how past concerns have shaped contemporary L2 assessment research and practice. The article first describes what L2 assessment is and what it entails, arguing that notions of L2 assessment have been…

This study investigated second language fluency development over a nearly 2-year period which included an academic year abroad and the year immediately following the participants' return to their home university. Data from 24 L1 English learners of Spanish were collected 6 times: once before, 3 times during, and 2 times after a 9-month stay…

Achievement of advanced literacy as a goal of foreign language (FL) study within the available amount of time requires that FL departments construct a well-articulated program and optimize student learning at each stage of the curriculum. One essential element of such optimization is the development of assessment procedures to place students into…

This article presents a quasi-experimental study into the effects of a course offered to subject matter student teachers that focused on Socratic Dialogue as a way to enhance their interactional scaffolding of advanced second language learning. Within the framework of the sociocultural theory of learning and second language acquisition, the study…

This introduction will provide a thematic overview of the major issues raised by Grosse and Voght (1991), "The Evolution of Languages for Specific Purposes in the United States," and the contributions in this Focus Issue that address those issues from a 2011 perspective. It will also explore contemporary (largely praxis-oriented) languages for…

Portfolio assessment as developed in Europe presents a learner-empowering alternative to computer-based testing. The authors present the European Language Portfolio (ELP) and its American adaptations, LinguaFolio and the Global Language Portfolio, as tools to be used with the Common European Framework of Reference for languages and the American…

Within the framework of sociocultural theory, learning is conceptualized as participation rather than acquisition (Donato, 2000). Given the governing metaphor of changing participation as learning (Young & Miller, 2004), an important contribution conversation analysis can make to the study of second language acquisition is to detail the…

Examines the use the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), and provides evidence that the OPI can be used comfortably for such purposes as assigning oral skill grades, especially if examiners are trained to differentiate within levels and if scores are calibrated using a graduated scale. (GLR)

Reviews research on language-learning styles and strategies, and explains regularities in the preferred learning strategies associated with each of the 8 psychological type preferences. Also described are how all of these characteristics of psychological type, in various combinations, were expressed by 20 real learners at the Foreign Service…

Investigated two potential sources of the anxiety of college learners of Japanese in oral practice: an individual student's fear of negative evaluation and self-perceived speaking ability. A survey was administered to 212 students in Japanese courses at two major universities. Results are discussed. (Author/VWL)

Explored an alternative approach to short essay writing on language assessment tasks. Thirty-nine intermediate learners of French performed two essay writing tasks: writing directly in French and writing in the first language and then translating into French. Two-thirds of students did better on the direct writing task across all rating scales;…

Identified issues for change in the national foreign language (FL) education agenda: evaluating language competency; articulating instruction across educational levels; increasing the range of languages taught and studied; achieving higher levels of language skills; promoting language competency and use among adults; expanding research and…