This report describes a teaching development grant (TDG) project that adopted a design-based research approach to enhance the language assessment literacy of preservice English teachers. In small groups, 92 preservice teachers engaged in test development projects, during which they developed tailor-made language tests for collaborating schools,…

The studies documented in the four articles in this special issue uniquely exemplify principles of design-based research as follows: by taking innovative approaches to significant problems in the contexts of real educational practices; by addressing fundamental pedagogical and policy issues related to language, learning, and teaching; and, in the…

The Entry Survey is a 22-item, individually administered test assessing kindergarten children's language skills. Sixteen of the items address the semantic development of the following pairs of polar opposites: before-after, large-small, tall-short, and thick-thin. The remaining six items address letter identification ("c,""m,"…

While much has been done in the application of communicative principles to second language instruction, their application to language testing has been less fruitful. Experience with language testing projects in England and other countries suggests that communicative language test design should be based on the following issues and considerations:…

This bibliography is part of a series summarizing the activities carried out under Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965. These research and development activities include: surveys of status, needs, and priorities; specialized research and studies; development of instructional and research materials; research in language teaching methods;…

A discussion of bilingual education analyzes current issues, reviews related research, describes innovative and exemplary program formats for dual-language programming, and examines issues in bilingual education for both limited-English-proficient (LEP) students and monolingual native-English-speakers. The first chapter provides an overview of…

The paper discusses some issues that language variation creates for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction, identifies research strands relevant to program development, and describes two dialect program exemplars. It also suggests considerations for educational policy formation with respect to dialects. The introductory section gives…

The series of ten instructional modules is designed for the training of graduate teaching assistants (TAs) in college-level second language instruction. The modules are written by authors with a professional interest in the professional preparation of teachers who are experienced in the design and preparation of materials for language teaching.…