Random parallel reading comprehension tests in Japanese and English were administered to a sample of native Japanese students enrolled in intensive English instruction. The students had been placed at three different levels of English language proficiency based on an independent proficiency assessment measure. Evidence for a threshold competency…

An alternative to the traditional standardized test of language proficiency administered to Israeli students at the end of secondary school is proposed as a means of giving schools more autonomy in the testing process. The test was designed based on the following assumptions: (1) the test matches the curriculum and not vice versa; (2) the…

In 1983, in the Netherlands' highly differentiated school system, two types of curriculum representing different ability levels were combined as a first step towards a more heterogeneous grouping of student abilities. A study of one aspect of the results of this change compared over 1000 samples of English and German second language listening…

A study was carried out to assess the French language proficiency of students enrolled in two different programs at the kindergarten level in Montreal: an early immersion program and a "class d'accueil" program. Three groups of students were tested: (1) an early immersion class; (2) a "classe d'accueil," or class for immigrant…

A university writing faculty conducted a study of the concepts of unity in expository prose and of sentence structure as understood by Arabic, Malay, and Spanish speakers to discover why some students grasp some concepts more readily than others. Interviews, surveys, and analysis of written compositions revealed that the reason lies in ways these…

This selective bibliography lists 4 books and 11 journal articles dealing with Italian-English contrastive studies. The entries range in date from 1957 to 1973 with the majority published since 1965. The books cited are American or Italian publications and the articles appeared in well-known European or American pedagogical language journals. (TL)

This selective bibliography lists 14 books and 24 journal articles dealing with French-English contrastive studies. The entries range in date from 1954 to 1975 with the majority published since 1965. The books cited are mostly European or American publications and the articles appeared in well-known European or American pedagogical language…

This selective bibliography lists 4 books and 14 journal articles dealing with Portuguese-English contrastive studies. The entries range in date from 1948 to 1972 with the majority published since 1965. The books cited are Brazilian or European publications and the articles appeared in well-known Brazilian or American pedagogical language…

This selective bibliography list 9 books and articles and 8 theses dealing with Persian-English contrastive studies. The entries range in date from 1951 to 1971 with the majority published since 1965. The theses were prepared mostly in Persian or American universities, and the articles appeared in well-known American pedagogical language journals.…

This selective bibliography lists 10 books and articles dealing with Czech-English contrastive studies and 2 articles on general Slavic studies. The entries range in date from 1959 to 1972 with the majority published since 1965. The books cited are European or American publications, and the articles appeared in well-known European or American…

The potential value and limitations of contrastive linguistic analysis (CLA) in pedagogical application are examined in this article. Attempts to quantify learning tasks in the modes of difference and difficulty are illustrated by the use of four diagrams: (1) a method of computing actual learning tasks, (2) two contrastive continuums, (3) a…

The problem of interference caused by linguistic transfer in second language learning does not increase with the number of languages that the student has acquired. The ability to learn a second, third, or fourth language depends on what Chomsky calls "the language acquisition device," which is a capacity or a sensitivity formed by a combination of…

This book is intended for use in a course on linguistics for students who, having had some introduction to the field, wish to consider the ways in which linguistic theory can be applied to the practical matter of contrasting languages. The intention is to present some of the contemporary themes of linguistics to advanced students who eventually…

Investigation of native English-speaking adults' and native Spanish-speaking children's acquisition of noun gender and its function in Spanish revealed significant differences in first- and second-language acquisition, suggesting a developmental progression in acquisition of noun gender for both groups. (Author/CB)

A discussion of trends in foreign language testing covers current preferences in test types (especially for oral proficiency testing) and external influences on instructional program development and student evaluation strategies. (MSE)