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…

This digest discusses the simulated oral proficiency interview (SOPI), a performance-based, tape-mediated speaking test. The SOPI follows the general structure of the oral proficiency interview (OPI) used by government agencies and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to measure speaking proficiency. Whereas the OPI is…

Efforts to expand the generic language proficiency guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to the less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) began when developers realized that the ACTFL guidelines were too Eurocentric; the guidelines included grammatical categories specific to Western European languages and…

This digest focuses on the American Council on the Speaking of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Speaking Proficiency Guidelines. The history and development of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines (originally, the ACTFL Provisional Proficiency Guidelines) are reviewed, the generic characteristics of each level of the speaking guidelines are presented in…

This digest discusses the assessment of proficiency in a foreign language for credit in higher education. This refers to the process of awarding academic credit for tested proficiency in a foreign language rather than for the number of years a student has spent studying a particular language. The Proficiency Guidelines of the American Council for…

Modeled after the pioneering French immersion programs developed in Canada in the 1960s, foreign language immersion programs in the United States are designed to enrich the education of native-English-speaking students by teaching them all of their academic subjects in a second language. The goal is for students to become proficient in the second…

The Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) is a semi-direct performance-based speaking test that emulates the face-to-face Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) as closely as practical, using a tape recording and printed test booklet. The prototypical SOPI contains simple personal background questions typical of an initial encounter (warm-up) and…

In describing reading proficiency--the relative difficulty or ease that an individual reader experiences reading a particular text--researchers have recognized the importance of both text- and reader-based factors. This digest focuses on the factor of purpose, as determined by the reader or the instructional context. Having a purpose means having…

Project-based learning is an instructional approach that contextualizes learning by presenting learners with problems to solve or products to develop. For example, learners may research adult education resources in their community and create a handbook to share with other language learners in their program, or they might interview local employers…

This digest discusses the unprecedented U.S. need for individuals with highly developed competencies in English and one or more other languages and the untapped language resource: heritage language speakers. Sections address the range of proficiencies of heritage language speakers, the fragility of heritage languages, the limitations of current…

This digest focuses on the use of children's literature in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. Because high quality children's literature is characterized by an economy of words, stunning illustrations, captivating and quickly moving plots, and universal themes, carefully chosen books can offer educational benefits for adult ESL…

This digest outlines the reasons for and challenges of developing the language skills of heritage language speakers and describes one effort to carry this out, the Heritage Languages Initiative. Specific sections address the following: developing language skills of U.S. residents; the range of language proficiencies of heritage language speakers;…

This digest provides an overview of the methodological foundations underlying the lexical approach to language teaching and the pedagogical implications suggested by them. The lexical approach has received interest in recent years as an alternative to grammar-based approaches. It concentrates on developing learners' proficiency with lexis, or…

This digest discusses a project conducted in the Ysleta Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, that sought to integrate effective practices in literacy education, an empirically based cooperative learning model, and a classroom management model to help teachers develop the English and Spanish language proficiency of their students. The…

This digest considers the problems of foreign language instruction in small high schools and discusses possible solutions. A critical challenge for American education, pointed out by reform reports of the 1980's, is improvement of instruction in foreign languages to instill language proficiency. These national concerns have been translated into…