Findings of the testing project carried out in the course of the 1959 Summer Russian Language Learning Program at Harvard University (Massachusetts) are presented. A number of students were selected for training at the Russian School at Middlebury College (Vermont) and the Summer Workshop in Russian at Indiana University. After a 6-week summer…

A guidebook, accompanied by a companion book, directed toward English-speaking students learning Spanish and Spanish teachers, presents a step-by-step approach to learning/teaching the formation and uses of all subjunctive tenses in Spanish. The author assumes that students are already familiar with some grammatical concepts and terminology such…

Assuming the relevance of the linear precedence to the scope interpretation of adult Mandarin, this study investigated the development of this principle in Mandarin-speaking children, with a view to providing a basis for further study of parametric variation. Three kinds of sentences were examined, all of which contained mutually commanding…

A study examined the varying degrees to which learners of Spanish at the intermediate and advanced levels use paragraph-like structure in their answers during a simulated oral proficiency exam. Subjects were 24 students preparing for the Spanish Texas Oral Proficiency Test. Data from simulated oral proficiency interviews were compared to a model…

A discussion of language testing focuses on how proficiency scales are constructed and applied to communicative language assessment in Australian secondary schools. A variety of rating scale types are described and distinguished according to how they are constructed, what they attempt to measure, and what criteria they contain. A more detailed…

The final report chronicles activities for the two years of a grant to develop an intermediate-level test of Russian language proficiency based on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines. The resulting test is designed to determine proficiency levels of students with two or more years of high school…

A study investigated factors in design of oral language comprehension tests and their relevance in determining actual language proficiency, focusing on the tests' decoding requirements. Task-based, interactive oral language tests were designed: (1) to elicit information about integration of first (L1) and second languages (L2) in the learner's…

The proficiency movement in second language teaching has had a wide impact because it represents not only an attempt to introduce a national metric but also an attempt to modify the nature of the second language curriculum. The curriculum has been pointed in the direction of instruction in the functional use of language. The list of languages…

This paper examines one section of the objective paper of the Hong Kong Examination Authority's (HKEA) Use of English Examination. One of the test types in this section of the examination involves candidates completing a cloze passage based on a text. It is the HKEA's contention that the exercise involves summarizing/paraphrasing skills. The…

Methods are offered for adapting traditional techniques for teaching more communicative listening and speaking skills in a foreign language. New vocabulary is introduced by using pictures, either prepared or teacher-developed, illustrating the desired lesson. Written statements about the characters, activities, and objects in the pictures are used…

A project is reported that developed a test for students in foreign language in the elementary school (FLES) programs. Relevant tests in Spanish and English as a Second Language (ESL) were reviewed in order to develop a listening and reading test that could determine achievement in a typical FLES curriculum. Pilot testing was conducted with 121…

This is a set of generic proficiency goals in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and culture developed for all languages and for French, German, and Spanish specifically. Both the common and specific goals are being field tested to determine their utility for college and university language instructors. In addition, a questionnaire has been…

The Hawaii State Department of Education's compliance plan for serving the special needs of minority students of limited English proficiency includes current policies, procedures, and program implementation specifications. The procedures address: surveys of newly enrolled students, English and native language proficiency assessment, program…

A method for asessing second language test validity by modifying and applying statistical test bias techniques to the performance of language learners from different native language groups was developed out of concern for internal test bias, both overall and item-related. Valid tests should contain some items testing differential performance…

A study to evaluate seven commonly employed reading comprehension testing techniques in terms of predictive validity, difficulty and discriminability is described. (Author/RM)