This study sought to determine whether the motivational patterns of first-year university students differed between courses of varying difficulty levels, and the nature of the interactions between self-efficacy, attributional style, and academic achievement. A total of 509 students majoring in history, physical education, mathematics, and private…

Essays on second language teaching focuses on how the kinds of tasks performed by the learner relate to language output. "Choosing and Using Communication Tasks for Second Language Instruction" (Teresa Pica, Ruth Kanagy, Joseph Falodun) contains a taxonomy of communication task types, based on the concepts of goal and activity,…

Reciprocal teaching, a method of teaching first language reading comprehension, is explained and three distinct applications of the method and materials in second language instruction are described. Reciprocal teaching is viewed as a three-level hierarchy of components and strategies, reflected in the organization of materials and activities. The…

As a measure of musical aptitude, a new 90-item Pitch Discrimination Test was developed, and its internal structure was examined. Each of the three sections of the test measures an individual's aptitude for pitch discrimination in a different frequency range using square-wave tones generated by a personal computer. A total of 1,303 examinees,…

Three articles discuss aspects of current foreign language instruction in Hungary. "Foreign Languages in Hungarian Schools Today" (Karoly Fulop) surveys the current status of second language instruction, the developments made since reforms were recommended in 1972 and 1979, and possible directions for further development. It looks first…

Forty-four computer programs specifically designed to help students learn English as a second language (ESL) are listed. The programs chosen focus on a linguistic activity, are appropriate for any proficiency level, are considered appropriate for students of high school and adult age (excluding college-level foreign students), and have been…

The process of revising and validating two English language tests used by the United States armed forces in hiring foreign nationals overseas is described. Development of the item banks and classification of items are outlined, and field testing in the United States and overseas is described. The tests were the basic and intermediate level…

The stability of Rasch test item difficulty parameters was investigated under varying conditions. Data were taken from a mathematics achievement test administered to over 2,000 Australian students. The experiments included: (1) relative stability of the Rasch, traditional, and z-item difficulty parameters using different sample sizes and designs;…

The University of Moratuwa (Sri Lanka) developed two courses in English for engineering students, one for technician-level diploma students and one for bachelor's degree-level students. The first step was a needs analysis, conducted through questionnaires and informal meetings with students and faculty, observation of subject lectures and…

Three questions concerning the Binary Search Method (BSM) of computerized adaptive testing were studied: (1) whether it provided a reliable and valid estimation of examinee ability; (2) its effect on examinee attitudes toward computerized adaptive testing and conventional paper-and-pencil testing; and (3) the relationship between item response…

Summaries of the sessions presented at a spring 1985 workshop for teachers in the Montgomery County Public Schools' English for speakers of other languages program include: "The Adult Student--Involving the Learner in the Learning Process" (Ellen Mentzer); "Creative Writing Techniques--Stimulating Language Learning Through Written Expression"…

The scores of handicapped students taking tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the Graduate Record Examinations are flagged so that admissions officers will be aware that they were achieved under special circumstances. A series of studies was initiated to determine whether special administrations of such tests are comparable to…

The materials status report for Portuguese is one of a series intended to provide the nonspecialist with a picture of the availability and quality of texts for teaching the language to English speakers. The report consists of: (1) a brief narrative description of the language, the areas where it is spoken, its major dialects, its writing system,…

Birnbaum's three-parameter logistic item response model was used to study guessing behavior of low ability examinees on the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test, Verbal Measure. GRE scoring procedures had recently changed, from a scoring formula which corrected for guessing, to number-right scoring. The three-parameter theory was used…

The materials status report for Dari, the dialect of Persian (Farsi) spoken in Afghanistan, is one of a series intended to provide the nonspecialist with a picture of the availability and quality of texts for teaching various languages to English speakers. The report consists of: (1) a brief narrative description of Dari, the areas where it is…