American and Canadian research is reviewed concerning the language needs of native primary students entering English schools from homes where a language other than English is spoken, and a study is reported that contrasted the language performance of children entering school from homes where only English is spoken and from homes where a language…

Discusses differences between A'' level and O'' level foreign language examinations currently administered in English schools. (RL)

This bibliography on testing in English as a second language (ESL) is divided into four sections. Section 1, Second Language Testing, includes texts and articles that treat the general and overall aspects of second language testing. Many of the theories, techniques, and tests discussed in these works also apply to ESL. The items in the second…

Discusses a system for evaluating student performance in the language laboratory, grading for comprehension and correctness, with four categories: complete, limited, severely limited, unsatisfactory. Evaluation of laboratory performance is more objective, being based on what has been taught and learned under stable conditions. (Text is in German.)…

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a rewriting instrument in French that would be a valid indicator of the level of syntactic development of American students in French. Vocabulary is limited to those words found in the first level of "Ecouter et Parler;" only the present tense was used in the tests. The theory on which the tests…

Methods of assessing children's oral language ability are explored in this paper. Following a discussion of problems involved in the formal assessment of oral language ability, a study is described that revealed that the evaluation of the oral language of 12 kindergarten children in the social context of the natural classroom environment,…

Efforts to better the school Leaving Exams in English of a large African state lead to the belief that schools should do away with them completely. Where this cannot be done, a thorough, systematic evaluation of reading comprehension, structure, and usage should be combined with productive integrative evaluation. (SCC)

The compositions or essay tests of second language learners are difficult to mark and evaluate. It has been suggested that the only way to achieve objectivity is to abolish all criteria except formal correctness, as it is the only one that can be measured and statistically evaluated. Attempts have been made to establish other criteria. A varied…

A STUDY WAS MADE OF THE LEVELS OF PROFICIENCY ATTAINED BY FOREIGN LANGUAGE MAJORS IN U.S. COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, AND OF THE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ATTAINMENTS OF THESE LEVELS. THE MLA FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TESTS FOR TEACHERS AND ADVANCED STUDENTS WERE ADMINISTERED IN 1965 TO 2,775 SENIORS MAJORING IN FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN,…

This combination curriculum guide and handbook contains suggestions on methods, techniques, and content in the teaching of modern and classical languages. An introduction defining foreign language study and its various phases is followed by a chapter on FLES, chapters on the initial, the intermediate, and the advanced phases of study, and one on…

The introduction of a listening comprehension component in the Israeli Matriculation examination of English as a Foreign Language has necessitated research into more effective methods of testing listening comprehension. Oral proficiency has been part of the examination for some time, but more reliable methods of evaluating the test are needed. An…

This guide first points out the difficulty and the lack of reliability involved in using tests to evaluate the abilities of children from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. Suggestions are then given for using existing evaluation techniques to test the English language proficiency of children at kindergarten level. The following…

EFL (English as a foreign language) and ESL (English as a second language) are taught in various types of learning environments. In considering types of learning success, the learning environment must be kept in mind. The typical immigrant (a second language learner) has to cope with "difficult" English almost immediately, and is judged…

Selected papers of a conference dealing with development and use of language laboratories in the early 1960's are presented in this publication. Selections include: (1) F. R. Morton's "Recent Developments in Language Laboratory Equipment for Teaching and Research", (2) Pierre Delattre's "Testing the Oral Production of Language Students", (3)…