This retrospective study examined L1 achievement, intelligence, L2 aptitude, and L2 proficiency profiles of 208 students completing two years of high school L2 courses. A cluster analysis was performed to determine whether distinct cognitive and achievement profiles of more and less successful L2 learners would emerge. The results of…

Authors examined the relationship between individual differences in L1 print exposure and differences in early L1 skills and later L2 aptitude, L2 proficiency, and L2 classroom achievement. Participants were administered measures of L1 word decoding, spelling, phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, receptive vocabulary, and listening…

Research Findings: This study investigated the effects of full- and half-day kindergarten programs on classroom instructional quality and children's academic achievement. Considerations were given for how the length of the school day, language status (English language learner [ELL] and non-ELL), and children's attendance patterns influenced…

The relationship between the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) and the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Revised (CELF-R) was investigated in 53 third graders from students in the 15 educational cooperatives across Arkansas. Additional information regarding race, academic achievement, and aptitude was gathered for…

"Linguistic ability" is a widely misused term in foreign language literature. This confusion prompted an investigation into language aptitude testing, the specific goals of which included determining: the distribution of language aptitude across ability range; the validity of Pimsleur's suggestions of combined verbal and auditory scores;…

This set of 82 summaries is based on papers written between 1963 and 1982 concerning the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). TOEFL is currently required by more than 2,500 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada to determine the English proficiency of applicants whose native language is not English. It is also required…

This study examined the characteristics of declared education majors and compared them to students who majored in other fields. Specific comparisons were made between the two groups: (1) biographical characteristics (age and sex) and academic abilities (grade point average and English competency); (2) psychological characteristics; (3) university…

Examines the effects of aptitude, field independence, attitude, and strategy use upon four areas of language achievement: formal/oral, formal/written, functional/oral, and functional/written. Test results indicated that aptitude and field independence are related, as are strategy use and attitude; only aptitude and strategy use, however, affect…

The existence of a global language proficiency factor is discussed. This factor, cognitive/academic language proficiency (CALP), is directly related to IQ and to other aspects of academic achievement. It accounts for the bulk of reliable variance in a wide variety of language learning measures. Three propositions concerning CALP are reviewed. (1)…

To prepare for the national norming of El Circo (the Spanish-language equivalent of the Circus Assessment Battery) three research questions were posed. First, will the presentation of test instructions in both English and Spanish significantly increase achievement? Second, what level of language competency is necessary for valid use of the various…

The research effort reported in this document addresses the important national need for determining the validity of large-scale content assessments in English with students who are in the process of acquiring English as a second language. Often these students have been excluded from such assessments, but there have been recent, growing efforts to…

A two-year research project was conducted to investigate factors that promote second language acquisition and to monitor changes in these factors associated with increased training and proficiency in the second language. Two French programs in London, Ontario second language program beginning in grade 7 and the secondary school French program in…

A study examined variability in learner progress through a pre-university intensive English-as-a-Second-Language program as it relates to 36 language learning background variables (e.g., formal English training and exposure, motivation, etc.) and four entry-level proficiency variables. Subjects were 201 Indiana University students. Success was…

This study, one of several examining a decline in the predictive validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and high school grades between 1975 and 1988, asks whether the criterion, freshman grade point average (FGPA), has changed. College Board tests usually thought of as predictors were used as proxies for the concurrent academic…

A return to basic inductive research methods is recommended. Specifically, the scientific method of "strong inference" ought to be applied in attempts to prove hypotheses concerning the relationship that may exist between attitude variables and the learning of a second or foreign language. These hypotheses, drawn from the literature and discussed…