Studies that measure the effectiveness of language-training program for children's language development do not clearly identify in adult-child interaction which characteristics of educators' language are most effective, particularly for children over 4 years of age who need to develop complex syntactic skills. Our study aimed to analyze the…

The Guidelines for Good Practice of the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA) stress the importance of collaboration between all parties involved in the process of developing instruments, activities and programmes for testing and assessment. Collaboration is considered to be as important as validity and reliability,…

THIS 10-MONTH STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO COMPARE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF (1) A HIGHLY STRUCTURED TEACHING PLAN FOR LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION AND (2) A DEVELOPMENTAL, FLEXIBLE INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH IN CORRECTING LANGUAGE DEFICIENCIES. THE EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS WERE ESTABLISHED CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOGNITION OF THE NEED TO INTERVENE EARLY IN THE…

Reviews the results of a 1991 U.S. Department of Education report entitled "A Descriptive Study of Significant Features of Exemplary Special Alternative Instructional Programs." The features of nine exemplary special alternative instructional programs are described that appeared to contribute to positive outcomes for students from diverse…

Language laboratory effectiveness in secondary schools and related research are discussed. Criteria for five elements determining the laboratory's effectiveness are described: (1) the teacher, (2) the teaching materials, (3) the testing and grading programs, (4) the student practice sessions, and (5) the equipment. Some general remarks are made…

A study of elementary school foreign language programs in eight states yielded information about the status and design of language immersion, revitalized foreign language in the elementary schools (FLES), and foreign language experience (FLEX) programs. Immersion programs consist of the usual curriculum content presented entirely in a second…

This report focuses on a family of interventions that includes all "Direct Instruction" products ("DISTAR" and "Language for Learning"). "Direct Instruction" was used to refer to this family of interventions, as well as to all versions past and present. "Direct Instruction" includes teaching…

Argues that the theoretical consensus on second language learning, which focuses on instruction in the target language, contradicts the main premises used by bilingual education advocates to gain respectability for bilingual education programs. The roles of translation, transfer, input, and interaction in the Eastman model of bilingual education,…

The fourth and final report on this study of the impact of bilingual education provides an overview of the design of the study and a summary of the findings, which were discussed in more detail in three previously released volumes. The goals of the study were to: (1) determine both the cognitive and the affective impact of bilingual education on…