Language program evaluation is a pragmatic mode of inquiry that illuminates the complex nature of language-related interventions of various kinds, the factors that foster or constrain them, and the consequences that ensue. Program evaluation enables a variety of evidence-based decisions and actions, from designing programs and implementing…

This is the first collection of research studies to explore the potential for mixed methods to shed light on foreign or second language learning by young learners in instructed contexts. It brings together recent studies undertaken in Cameroon, China, Croatia, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania and…

AN INTRODUCTION WHICH STATES THE PURPOSES OF AN EVALUATION OF FLES PROGRAMS AND STRESSES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VALUE JUDGMENT AND EVALUATION IS FOLLOWED BY A DISCUSSION OF THE RELATION BETWEEN EVALUATION AND CURRICULUM. TEST AND MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATING FLES PROGRAMS ARE THEN SUGGESTED. A CONCLUDING SECTION INDICATES THE DESIGN OF A…

Interim results of the American Institutes for Research study on the impact of the ESEA Title VII Spanish/English Bilingual Education Program imply that certain inferences can be made about the program, inferences which are unjustifiable. By providing only statistical averages on a national sample, the report does a serious disservice by failing…

Some empirical data are presented concerning the use of cloze tests to measure children's proficiency in a bilingual educational program. The subjects were grade five students in their sixth year of a primary French immersion program. (Author/CFM)

Papers from a conference on empirical research on foreign language instruction in Europe and the United States include: "Foreign Language Instruction and Second Language Acquisition Research in the United States" (Charles A. Fergurson, Thom Huebner); "Empirical Foreign Language Research in Europe" (Theo van Els, Kees de Bot,…

Current research literature on the education of language minority students in the United States is reviewed as it relates to the Bilingual Education Act of 1994 (Title VII of the Improving America's Schools Act). The review specifically examines these areas of concern: language diversity in the United States; limited English skills, poverty, and…