The Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) is a semi-direct speaking test that models the format of the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), an oral proficiency test used by government agencies to assess general speaking proficiency in a second language. The SOPI is a tape-recorded test consisting of six parts. It begins with simple, personal…

Explores the general features and some unique usages of West African English, Caribbean English, and Indian English. (EL)

This digest discusses some of the practical implications of using alternative methods of assessing students in foreign or second language classrooms. First, assessment and testing are contrasted, and assessment is defined as an ongoing strategy through which student learning is not only monitored, but by which students are involved in making…

A state of the art report on the development of native and second language reading skills in nonnative English speakers begins with a review of the reading process and the relationship of language to the reading process. The second chapter reviews various levels of language and relates them to reading and learning to read a first and second…

This monograph discusses issues in the design and implementation of two-way immersion, or two-way bilingual education programs, and describes three exemplary programs. An introductory section examines briefly the rationale for two-way immersion and the extent of its use in the United States. Three school program profiles follow: (1) Francis Scott…

This document focuses on assessing Adult English-as-a-Second-language (ESL) literacy skills. Implementing and developing sound assessments for ESL literacy has become a big challenge--a task made even more difficult because a framework for assessments that provide useful data for ESL literacy programs has not yet been developed. To help clarify…

The use of contextualized learning environments with learners who are at risk of school failure arises from the recognition that students who are introduced to concepts and strategies out of a meaningful context will view them as irrelevant to daily life. Contexts created by teachers using videotape and random access videodisc technologies have…

This digest investigates seven of the most prevalent and damaging myths about literacy in the United States. In response to various claims about American elementary and secondary students' test score declines in reading achievement, the author interprets data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the International…