A criticism is made of traditional means of measuring student performance in classics, based on research which has accumulated on assessment in classics and in related subjects. (RM)

Two methods of teaching reading comprehension, one the traditional-frontal approach and the other a self-test approach, were used with university students of English as a second language. The test result at the end of the course revealed little difference between the students taught by the two methods. (CFM)

Although nonverbal behaviors have been shown to be learned, meaningful, systematic, and sometimes culture bound, kinesics, the science of body behavioral communication, has been a neglected factor in second language instruction and research, particularly in the area of academic listening. This paper describes steps taken to develop materials,…

Discusses research into the effect of background knowledge on English for Academic Purposes (EAP) tests and discusses EAP tests in which the content of at least some of the test components is related to students' fields of academic study. Suggests that for international EAP tests, English for specific academic purposes testing be abandoned.…

This paper examines the nature of dictionaries and encyclopedias, focusing on some of the preparation that has gone into the construction of a dictionary of language testing at the University of Melbourne (Australia). It discusses the purpose of such dictionaries, the nature and size of dictionary/encyclopedia entries, and the readability of…

Two experiments suggest that adults and even preschoolers possess interpretive structures--particularly object structure--that are nonclassical in the sense that they can be used to resolve an apparent contradiction. Results further suggest that certain interpretive structures present themselves in reasoning about particular predicate-object…

Investigated whether there were differences in retention of language when both visual and auditory stimuli were employed as opposed to just a visual stimulus. It was found that reading-only resulted in higher scores on tests taken immediately, whereas combined listening and reading resulted in higher tests when tests were delayed. (12 references)…

This study presents evidence for the psychological reality of the Subset Principle as a determinant of the acquisition of Governing Category Parameter settings for English anaphors and pronominals. Prelingual deafness was used as a natural experiment in the acquisition of English in the presence of variably impaired access to English language…

The article explores sign language interpreter training, testing, and accreditation in three major English-speaking countries, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, by providing an overview of the training and assessment of sign language interpreters in each country. The article highlights the reasons these countries can be…

Some of the issues involved in validating two English second-language listening comprehension tests are examined. The tests were two different levels of a listening summary-cloze measure developed for use in a battery of language proficiency tests in the second and fourth years of university-level study in China. In them, students listen to a talk…

The purpose of this research was to compare two different forms of a placement test in French as a second language at the post-secondary level, a conventional test and a computerized test. First, expectations regarding a placement test as a measure of general proficiency are discussed and principles of adaptive testing that have been used to…

This paper examines the relationship between linguistic and communicative competence in terms of the student's acquisition of French as a foreign language and the interface of testing for each competence in the context of achievement testing. Reaching an acceptable level of communicative competence requires practice and guidance in understanding…

This is a bibliography of post-graduate theses on language and linguistics in Irish university libraries, from 1915 to 1976. The 537 entries are listed by author and indexed by subject and language. In addition, each entry contains the following information: degree, year, and university. An appendix contains theses completed outside of Ireland…