Analysis of native speakers ratings of newspaper articles for bias revealed that the occurrence of six linguistic variables significantly affected bias ratings. Comparison of the native speakers' ratings with those of non-native speakers found that both groups similarly rated bias in the articles. (Author/CB)

Applied linguistics and psychometrics have influenced language testing, providing additional tools for investigating factors affecting language test performance and assuring measurement reliability. An examination is presented of language testing, including the theoretical issues involved, the methodological advances, language test development,…

A wide variety of studies have offered glimpses of how learners put their second-language knowledge and skills to use during communication. It is shown that the same empirical findings can lead to very different conclusions. (49 references) (GLR)

Discusses three research/testing interfaces in second-language (L2) testing: the covariance structure analysis of ex post facto correlational data, the qualitative investigation of test-taking processes, and the development of L2 assessment instruments based on developmental sequences in L2 acquisition. (61 references) (GLR)

Investigated the nature of second-language proficiency with respect to its divisibility and components. The correlated-traits and second-order hypotheses were evaluated using 354 students learning English-as-a-Second-Language, a wide range of language proficiency measures, and comfirmatory data-analytic techniques. (36 references) (Author/OD)

Investigative evidence suggests that "advanced" English as a second language (ESL) students lack (1) imputed English language competence in the context of reading and (2) the effective strategies of native language readers and of linguistically more mature non-native readers. Ways to help ESL students overcome their limited control of syntactic…

Some teaching and learning that occurred in the English on the Job Project, a long-term English-as-a-Second-Language program for immigrant employees in Australia, is reported. Language awareness, which was intentionally exploited or developed to increase second-language (L2) proficiency, had a significant positive effect on L2 development.…

Reviews research on the acquisition of second-language (L2) phonology, focusing on whether adult learners have access to the principles and parameters of Universal Grammar (UG). It argues that UG is still accessible in L2 phonological acquisition, and parameters can be reset but that the Subset Principle can impede learning success. (51…

This study illustrates a procedure for analyzing a single subject's variability of response times in a simple, timed lexical task. It examined the extent to which second language English word recognition in this subject was subserved by automatic as opposed to controlled processes. (33 references) (MDM)

Incompleteness of competence--lack of command of certain second-language (L2) aspects--and divergence--interlanguage representations of L2 properties different from native representations--are distinct states of grammatical competence, as seen in French and English speakers of Italian (L2). Discussion argues that competence differences reflect…

Reports results of variety of validity analyses involving American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview as it was administered to 59 learners of English and 60 learners of French. Concludes that ACTFL guidelines can be useful as an assessment tool and offer advantages that warrant serious consideration in the…

Follow up to a previous study of the use of "por" and "para," this study analyzes "ser,""estar," and "haber" for lexical selection in relation to their functions and also for errors in tense, mode, aspect, agreement, and invented forms and uses of copula in simplified or reduced utterances. Data were from 20 oral examinations of Peace Corps…

French cuisine offers a valuable resource for creating culture-based contexts for language use in the classroom. Suggestions and ideas are presented for incorporating food-related activities in the French class. (VWL)

Investigated the behaviors for processing language input demonstrated by five adults beginning to learn Hindi as a second language through the Total Physical Response method. The study suggests that, when adult learners are provided with comprehensive input, they engage in a variety of behaviors to extract meaning from it. (73 references) (GLR)

Looks at the washback effect in language testing, using as an example the new University of Michigan Examination for Certificate of Competency (ECCE), designed for intermediate- to upper-intermediate level learners. The ECCE can be considered an example of the movement toward achievement-oriented proficiency tests. (Author/VWL)